How relations are made and then fade........

This is yet another thought based post of mine. I am in a little way a "Behavioural Scientist", I pretty much analyse people, classify them and act accordingly. These are loose fragments of my memory with a common theme.
Scene 1:
Funeral ceremony of my granddad, My dad and all the rest of his siblings were in a state of grief and sorrow. My dad whispers close to my ears " I am alone now!!!". Well, when words like this emulate out from a 50 year old who lost his mom before he turned 15, its quite understandable. However, I responded by giving my usual smile( Ok!! grief filled) desperately wanting to say " Dad!! all is not lost, we are still there for you". But, I didn't, knowing quite well that relations as is the case with this is quite irreplacable.
Scene 2:
A casual chat with my second cousin. She kept talking to me about the usual things .......formal chitchat. Suddenly, she was confused. The reason was as to how I was related to her????......
This question took me by surprise. I knew her from when I was a child..... I have seen her a couple of times also!!!
This is the second category.... the blood relations.......... Maybe all of us have seperated because of the nuclear family system and this has kept close relations as this at bay.
Scene 3:
My friend says" We are best friends and are forever".......... Ref: My prev blog on friendship!!

Look who is talking.....

The Mess I Landed Myself into!! "The Lovemania!!"

Before I actually go into my experience, I want to apprise you all about the existing ground reality. Well, when I entered college as a fresher, a few of us juntas had experienced this feeling. Out of this few, a few of us realised that we were mature enough not to continue with the relationship and realised the path of austerity. Another category realised that school-day relationships are immature and began to search for unchartered territory and the last few( the virtually non existant) continues with the relationship. Now when I enter final year I am aghast to quantify the virtually shrinking number of the true followers of the ethics and morality of bachelorhood(Poor me!!! Hope I am not left alone finally).

when I hit college everyday, the dignified angels of our class ( rather the ones with the hidden horn painted blood red, hehe!!), would post me with the gossips of the day. I pay all attention to whatever is being told with the heart and body of an infant( God!! I dont wanna be a part of this dogmatic male-female debate...... Gossips are a female's ecstasy and a male's bone of contention.... They never learn!!!! ). These gossips would most probably bear testimony to the central theme of my post. I would hear of the couple of couples who hit the famousily infamous gossip of the day or even the new lamb who got caught in the web( ref: shrinking number of.....).

Now lemme focus on the this junta X who is known to every other person as being in love with juntess Y( I am beating around the bush cause they never like this being told otherwise!!). X is a profound worshipper of Y cause grades that once hit the stumps slowly improved because of Y( this is a particular case though). Y resonates pride, harmony and above all happiness in X. X begins his day like most engineering students do:

1. Get up 20 min b4 bell.... do necessary chores( I said NECESSARY!!)

2. Hit the class 5 min b4 bell....... ahhh!! finally meet goddess!!!!

3. Classes are dozing time( applicable to all student fraternity)..... (This individual sleeps now)....

4. After the day, Of course filled with the never ending imaginations and hours of talking with Y.... Suddenly watch strikes 4 pm.........

5. Again doze off and then dial those 10 digits that connects Y. ( This process has been so thoroughly researched that many a mobile companies come to the rescue. They have initatives with which you could even call a particular number for free...unlimited!!!.....Any new maggot out here can check with the mobile service providers or of course any senior..( ref: shrinking number of.....).

Hmm....... reality at best.........

What is that got to do with me??

Well, a maggot A was caught talking with a maggot B by A's mother and there ensued a Kurukshetra. A approached me to mediate........ As is the case with me after quite some persuation (ofcourse A was not culpable then) I had to heed........ I had to parrot quite some premeditated thoughts to make the whole thing trustworthy. I did so with extra peppering including tales that go on to prove the guilt of all other maggots in his room and A being guiltfree. How would I have known that the maggot would disprove the whole theory....... Yes!! he did...... I now face trial from all the maggots who share the room ( for he did tell them abt it.....afterall maggots who share room are thick friends) and ofcourse mom!!!!!!!

Please understand that if in the near future or later you find this post deleted then it could have been because of 2 reasons:

1. excess pressure from the person described

2. logical error in my whole stance....... not my mistake.......( ref: shrinking number of.....)!!!!!!

Hehe!! Good day!!

The Political Matrimonial Circus

When the world's largest democracy goes to the polling booth and when no one party is expected to dominate and form the next government, alliances become the "Naya Mantra". This happens so much so that yesterday's foe turns out to be today's friend. The masala has become all the more delicious with the climax going to reveal itself in a few days time. I will just post this coloumn with my following up of things.

1. The Indian National Congress:
Synopsys:
Consider themselves as the oldest party and try to induce symapthy through their so called heritage and history. They have ruled the country for the vast majority of years since independence. Have popularised the 'Aam adhmi concept'. However, with the magic number of 270 odd not in their hands, open for any political merger.
Expected Alliance:
No bar here. Any party considering themselves as being secular are eligible.
Age limit:
They call themselves a young party .......... might be because they find Rahul Gandhi a charismatic young leader ( he is so to speak) ..... However, with the legacy of the Gandhi - Nehru family continuing , no one would be against the cause though. Here again the expected partner need not have merit.
2. The Bharathiya Janatha Party(NDA)
Synopsys:
Considered as the protagonist of the "Hindutva concept". They have great achievements including destruction of a masjid. They were the only serious party after the congress to have completed the 5 year term period. Opened the Indian economy to the world, However, when a part of the opposition, they would try to find a loophole in decisions which many-a-times would revert to themselves.
Expected Alliance:
Try to learn the "Gayathri mantra" and tell it a few times. Saying anything about the minorities would be a great icing on the cake ( Varun Gandhi effect). If a minority joins the band wagon it would hit daily news and they would refer to it as being their "Receptive nature".
Age limit:
No bar here. " Any age or any sage we need rage".
3. The Communist Party of India
Synopsys:
Make lot of noise but no voice. They represent among the only few communist party alive and functional. All the party members are against all capitalists and bourgeoisie not realising that the IT dept could always raid to find atleast a few crores with all the prominent leaders. They along with the so called 3rd front seem to imagine themselves as the next "Maharaja of Hindustan".
Expected Alliances:
Non Congress, Non NDA criterion holds good for atleast a few days. This sub section would actually be required to be updated atleast 20 times in a day before we could actually complete this part.
Age Limit:
Anti American ........."Wah hum tho Bharath matha ka puthar hai" ............ As long as these sentiments are raised by any age group...... Open alliance ...... else learn the mantra and come back again.


Hmmmmmmm................. Do vote though we need to vote for a reason to believe in a government.

Noble Thoughts

To make an exhaustive list of all the great words that have produced a very great impact would be impossible given that everyday I am influenced by a number of things and people around me. Also it would prove futile for the very cause for writing them. I am gonna list some selected ones that remain with me even today( selected in terms of personal best and interms of my memory)....The order of arrangement is not indicative of preference.
1. The movie Gandhi has left a big impact particularly the funeral scene and the commentary which summarises everything
"The objective of this massive tribute...... died as he has always lived......a private man without wealth without property.....Mahatma Gandhi was not a commander of armies nor a ruler of vast lands ....... He could not boast of any scientific achievement or artistic gift... yet men, govt dignitaries from all over the world have joined hands to pay homage to this little brown man in the loin cloth who led his country to freedom".
2."Be the change you want to see in the world"- Mahatma Gandhi
3."Examinations should test one's knowledge not one's ignorance"- My friend Vivishek when we were faced with an examination or something like that and were spell bound as none of us knew what most questions actually meant.
4."When one is faced with lots of troubles, one should always hold faith in oneself cause no matter what the magnitude be,it will hit you, but will definitely leave you and is not there to stay"- My Cultural Education Sir
5."Within every block of stone there lies a statue waiting to be liberated by the touch of a sculptor"- Michealangelo saying which my friend Rijo keeps reiterating evry now and then
6."Never use the same tongue with which you say "RAM RAM" for using foul language"-
My grand mother( Saraswathi kovilamma) who was everything and everything for me.
7."God is Love and Love is God"- Sai Baba
8." Is it possible to concentrate at infinity?? thats why we use idols"- When I asked my grand father the Late Ganghadharan Nedungadi for why we worship idols.
9."God has been very kind to me and whatever I am is the manifistation of the presence of that power" - Me

Funerals and Lessons

This is the month of April perhaps a dreaded time for most college going students because it marks the end of the even semester with all important events interspersed within the month making it the the busiest time of the sem. Mini projects( as is the case from 3rd sem) still remain abstractless with submission time going to come in hardly a weeks time. I guess that would be an eye opener for the lab exams and the end sem exams as well. Inspite of all this, I found time today to serve some food for thought as this month also remindes me of a great loss last year. This was none other than my grand father. Memories of him still remain with me. Though he was a tough stone to crack yet he had a great heart. I wish I had many of his qualities. One of the greatest time keeper, I have never seen a person who could close both eyes and still could find that small pin he bought last week. He still remains a great moral inspiration and will remain to do so ( meaning I will never change.......).
Anyway I was virtually taken by surprise when at 6 am a few days ago my dad broke the news of another grand father of mine passing away. This took me by total surprise as I had met him a few weeks back and he seemed more than healthy then.( God what is with April and all this!!!!). Now the funeral was to take place at Calicut which is a five hour travel from Palakkad. I hit the KSRTC bus depot early 6:30 and all through the journey I would ponder about all these things when some strange thoughts began to emerge. The thoughts that people who have earned and earned throughout their lifetime who could never take them. Also people who cry foul throughout their lifetime about caste discrimination and later have to leave the world the same way as is the case with all the other people. We human beings always find ourselves dignified when we say " See someone has died so we shall forget all the differences we have whether race, colour, language, caste or anyother and shed a tear for him/her". God please tell these people how we could have made life so much more easier if we thought of this when he/she was alive. When Mumbai was burning media would call it the unity of the "Mumbaikars". But the next day you could find atleast one harijan being a victim of the social discrimination or one rich man exploiting the poor. But hey we die not enjoying anything that we earned ( whether economic or a social privilage). So come out of the seeds of hatred and misconception we have created for ourselves. Come live like a HUMAN, show dignity and love.

An Eye For An Eye

Recently, I came across this very bitter or rather an unfortunate sequence of event that unfolded in Iran. A Lady by the name of Ameneh Bahrami was blinded by her college mate, Movahedi for refusing to accept his proposal to get married to him. Well this sounds like the old tale of rejection leading to revenge sort of male insanity. The pouring of a bucket of sulphuric acid through the victims head let her so devastatingly disfurged that I virtually began shivering and had a few drops of tears whelming in my eyes. My mind would keep reiterating and praying that such an incident never happens and no man even get thoughts of this sort. However, this story would then shift to another scene where justice is to be delivered ........ A court room. Apparently, the lady felt so emotionally and mentally destroyed that she would use a powerful clause in Islamic laws that is applicable to that part of the world which could enable the victim to retribute for a crime. This action is quite justified for many people who reason out that it would be apt and appropriate given the scale of injury done and the victims loss. However, for a person like me to actually accept or even assimilate these words seemed near impossible. I believe that an institution like the judiciary is just when it ensures justice in a manner that it doesnt call for a violation of human rights. This seemed more barbaric and no man even of the like of Hitler should be subject to such a treatment. This is when I remembered a talk given by Justice VR Krishna Iyer in one of his interviews to Asianet to justify his view to remove death penality :
"No man made Institution( referring to the judicial system in particular) can give life to anything so it has got no right to take life from anyone no matter what the crime be"
I guess these lines serve the right sort of explanation to what I wanted to convey. However, at all points I sympathise with the victim even empathise with her. But as far as the trial and the result is concerned, my intellect is a pole apart. To read more you could very well google this story or log on to
http://www.iranian.com/main/2009/feb/ameneh-bahrami