So much for Bail outs- one for me please

With bail-outs being the flavor of the season. It doesn't matter where they are - US or India or Middle East. They are just there.

Can i request one for myself, please :D

An idea for nagging Bosses

Should definitely be able to help the sales guys at least.

Lead India Pledge

This is the Lead India Pledge as started by Times of India. This is for benefit of my previous post.

Elections India 2009

Did you become a part of the largest democratic election in the world – the general elections for the 15^th Lok Sabha in India? It is estimated that a whooping 714 million people would exercise their power to vote in this election.

Yes, I did, I did. I voted and I’m elated, delighted, exhilarated, happy, etc etc.

I have a feeling that can’t be described in words.

During my last visit to Lucknow, my home town, I’d registered myself as a voter. I’d got myself photographed, my thumb prints, signatures recorded, etc. In a nutshell I did all that I could to get myself registered as a voter at my home town.

I was carefully seeing all the advertisements and the sentiments on the blogging circle about voting. The Jaagore series: http://www.jaagore.com, and the Time of India initiative: http://www.lead.timesofindia.com, in print, radio and television proved to be very, uhmm, if nothing else than informative. Apart from these there were several other campaigns that also caught the imagination of the tech or rather the net-savvy young and urban Indians. Some of the mentionable few were No Criminals: http://www.nocriminals.org/, Vote Report India: http://votereport.in/.

If all of the above was good and motivating, there came, without warning, the perfect anti-thesis – the print, radio and television ads of political parties. As if this in itself was not enough, there came a flurry of constant nagging phone calls and sms’es exhorting the voters to vote for a particular party or a candidate. This was despite one sending the touted DNC (Do Not Call) registry.

Initially, I was looking forward to voting. But, in between all this overselling, my decision started to vacillate. I was divided and torn whether to cast my vote or to turn chicken and wait for another 5 years (hopefully). And as if by chance I got an alibi, just what I was looking for to not vote – a friends marriage at a distant location almost simultaneous to elections at my home town and then some work at Delhi for me. Such was my schedule that there was no way that I could have made it to Lucknow on 30^th March ’09 to vote. Just what the doctored ordered.

I consider it a really fortunate turn of events that I reached my home town just in time for casting my vote at the Lucknow constituency as a part of the India Elections ’09. I can attribute this to a friend’s marriage. More about the same on Trip to Ranchi –I, II…

This post is all about my exploits as a voter.

When I woke up on 30^th April’09 at my hometown, the first question that my parents put forth was whether I’d like to cast my vote. They said that they’d be leaving pretty soon. So, if I wanted to vote, I’d better freshen up in a jiffy and tag along. I looked at the sun outside and the lazy demon inside me won the day. I refused to vote, citing migraine and was dismissed by parents as a gone case. They left to vote and were back in about 3-4 hours and were brandishing the blue ink-mark on their fingers.

They were short of teasing me, that I’d been a chicken and that at the young age of 27 I didn’t vote and them; soon to be septuagenarian’s managed to cast their vote.

I’ll summarize what happened next. I dragged my lazy ass out. The crux is that I did mange to stand in the long queue and await my turn as a voter. I stood in the sun for greater part of the second half of the day when the mercury was reading above 43 ^C. But, again it was my fault. I could have accompanied my parents and cast my vote when it would have still been morning.

But, nonetheless it was a good experience. I was excited while I was casting my vote.I saw the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for the first time. They were pretty simple. The name of the contestant and the party symbol were there next to a button. All that one was supposed to do was to remember either the name of the contestant or the symbol of the party and press the button next to the one of your choice. The moment a button is pressed a loud sound will emanate from some where close by and the officials will tell you that you’ve successfully cast your vote.

All said and then, I must laud the efforts of the Election Commission of India. The entire thing was very well organized and managed. Kudos to them for completing this gargantuan task with amazing organization.

Lastly, I hope that I was part of the greater good – to vote to bring a difference to Indian Politics. I hope that I and all the informed people who voted have been able to do some good and may we see some change in the otherwise hopeless Indian political landscape in the 15^th Lok Sabha elections. Amen!

Friends

I’ve always thought of myself as a fighter, or rather a striver to be more precise. I’ve always put in a lot of hard work to achieve things. In the 27 years that I’ve been here I’ve learnt and benefited from my association with everyone.

My closest friend ever has been my knight in shinning armor. He taught and showed me that a person’s inner turmoil or difficult & seemingly unsolvable equations of life must never be allowed to be the cause of a frown on one’s face. I’ve tried to live like this for a long time now. Trying not to allow that frown to caress my forehead. I’ve been successful and then unsuccessful. But, I’ve tried nevertheless. And, feel proud to say that I’ve given it my best shot.

Off lately (the last couple of months) I’ve been under tremendous pressure on more fronts than I could possibly imagine and handle. And, needless to say that I’m trying my best to come to terms with them all and emerge victorious. Sounds gallant, ehh!! Lols!! But this is not what I want to achieve by writing this.

A rather strange but not entirely unforeseen turn of events has made me stop, look back, ponder, analyze. I’ve asked the rhetorical question only too often to myself “Am I doing something wrong here?”

A popular saying goes something like this ‘it is at times like these that the true potential of an individual comes to the fore’. When you are trying really hard, how often have you asked yourself, if for once you can go out unshackle yourself and shout from the rooftop, that ‘Here I am’, come and get me for all I care? But, then you don’t unshackle because so many people depend on you, so many people have hopes from you, so many people hold you in high regard. And you continue your battle or you “Live to die another day’.

At times like these when you can’t share things with your parents as you know they’ll never understand, you think of banking on your friends.

‘Friends’ in today’s world is an unsolvable conundrum, a paradox of sorts.

People who call me friends and whom I call friends are numbered. I’ve always lent my best possible ear to them. I’ve always thought of myself as a good listener, always trying to empathize with the ones that I like or would want to like [:p]. I know more secrets of people than they can possibly imagine. I’ve heard them rant and rave about nothing and everything; in essence I do this ‘cause I like them and truly feel for them.

I consider myself a man of few words when it comes to talking about me. I rarely give vent to my feelings, unless ofcourse when I’m too drugged. On one such occasion I chose to talk about the problems in my life that I’m struggling to counter and that too after a constant nagging by someone. And post that I was called a ‘sympathy-seeker’. This one day I was shocked and actually pondered over the events of the day to see if I’m indeed a ‘sympathy-seeker’ and the one to be blamed or has the ‘friend’ in picture misunderstood.

In the end I’ve realized that it was my fault, and I’m the one who needs to stand corrected. Aye aye Sir!

But just when I was closing the chapter, I did a peek-a-boo at the life of some close friends of mine. And what did I find? Surprise! Surprise! I found that almost all of them were struggling with vicissitudes of life. A close friend of mine broke up with a long time girlfriend and he didn’t even tell his friends. Instead he chose to write about it on a blog. Another close friend instead of talking about his love life wrote about it; again on his blog.

I found similar stories emerging out of closets of friends; in droves when I delved. It was then that I realized that the talk of the world in 21^st century as connected is all crap. It is not instruments/gadgets that can bring one to be truly connected. It is genuine caring and being there for friends for even the most simple and naïve of things that will make on truly connected with friends. I’ve realized this and will work towards being more connected in the near future.

So friends, watch out for me! :-)

Words

I was sitting in my room this summer and was cleaning my closet. It was then that i laid my eyes on this hardbound pamphlet with the title 'Words'. It immediately caught my attention and i quickly recalled that it was given to me by one of my elder cousins who is a big shot in a pharma giant in India.

I don't know what to call it, prose, poetry or just a couple of lines here and there sewn together. Whaterver it may be called i care the least, but all that i know is that this makes for a great read and gets you up and thinking in a jiffy. So here it is:

"A careless word may kindle strife,
A cruel word may wreck a life,

A bitter word may hate instill;
A brutal word may smite and kill.
A gracious word may smooth the way;
A joyous word may light the day.
A timely word may lessen stress;
A loving word may heal and bless."

And here is another one I found on the net that fits the bill nicely:

"We cannot always control our thoughts, but we can control our words, and repetition impresses the subconscious, and we are then master of the situation."

-- Florence Scovel Shinn Artist, Teacher and Author

जिन्दगी ये किस मोड पे ले आयी है

जिन्दगी ये किस मोड पे ले आयी है

जिन्दगी ये किस मोड पे ले आयी है,
ना मा, बाप, बहन, ना यहा कोई भाई है.
हर लडकी का है Boy Friend, हर लडके ने Girl Friend पायी है,
चंद दिनो के है ये रिश्ते, फिर वही रुसवायी है.

घर जाना Home Sickness कहलाता है,
पर Girl Friend से मिलने को टाईम रोज मिल जाता है.
दो दिन से नही पुछा मां की तबीयत का हाल,
Girl Friend से पल-पल की खबर पायी है,
जिन्दगी ये किस मोड पे ले आयी है…..

कभी खुळी हवा मे घुमते थे,
अब AC की आदत लगायी है.
धुप हमसे सहन नही होती,
हर कोई देता यही दुहाई है.

मेहनत के काम हम करते नही,
इसीलिये Gym जाने की नौबत आयी है.
McDonalds, PizaaHut जाने लगे,
दाल-रोटी तो मुश्कील से खायी है.
जिन्दगी ये किस मोड पे ले आयी है…..

Work Relation हमने बडाये,
पर दोस्तो की संख्या घटायी है.
Professional ने की है तरक्की,
Social ने मुंह की खायी है.
जिन्दगी ये किस मोड पे ले आयी..........

I got this forward today and couldn't resist posting it here. It so easily depicts the life of almost everyone i know and yes, that includes me too.

Here i am sitting in my office @ night?

Here i am sitting in my office @ night?

Thinking hard about life
How it changed from a maverick collage life to strict professional life?...

How tiny pocket money changed to huge monthly paychecks
but then why it gives less happiness?.

How a few local denim jeans changed to new branded wardrobe
but then why there are less people to use them

How a single plate of samosa changed to a full Pizza or burger
But then why there is less hunger?..

Here i am sitting in my office @ night?
Thinking hard about life
How it changed?..

How a bike always in reserve changed to bike always on
but then why there are less places to go on??

How a small coffee shop changed to cafe coffee day
but then why its feels like shop is far away?..

How a limited prepaid card changed to postpaid package
but then why there are less calls & more messages??

Here i am sitting in my office @ night?
Thinking hard about life
How it changed?....

How a general class journey changed to Flight journey
But then why there are less vacations for enjoyment?.

How a old assembled desktop changed to new branded laptop
but then why there is less time to put it on???.

How a small bunch of friends changed to office mate
But then why we always feel lonely n miss those college frnz.?.

Here i am sitting in my office @ night?
Thinking hard about life
How it changed?.. How it changed??..

I Believe

I believe
that we don't have to change friends
if we understand that friends change.


I believe-
that no matter how good a friend is,
they're going to hurt you every
once in a while and you must forgive
them for that.


I believe-
that true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.

I believe-
that you can do something in an instant
that will give you heartache for life.


I believe-
that it's taking me a long time
to become the person I want to be.


I believe-
that you should always leave loved ones
with loving words. It may be the last
time you see them.


I believe-
that you can keep going
long after you can't.


I believe-
that we are responsible for what we do,
no matter how we feel.


I believe-
that either you control your attitude
or it controls you.


I believe-
that regardless of how hot and
steamy a relationship is at first,
the passion fades and there had
better be something else to take
its place.


I believe-
that heroes are the people
who do what has to be done
when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.


I believe-
that money is a lousy way of keeping score.


I believe-
that my best friend and I can do anything
or nothing and have the best time.


I believe-
that sometimes the people you expect
to kick you when you're down,
will be the ones to help you get back up.


I believe-
that sometimes when I'm angry
I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn't give me
the right to be cruel.


I believe-
that just because someone doesn't love
you the way you want them to doesn't
mean they don't love you with all they have.


I believe-
that maturity has more to do with
what types of experiences you've had
and what you've learned from them
and less to do with how many
birthdays you've celebrated.


I believe-
that it isn't always enough to be
forgiven by others. Sometimes you
have to learn to forgive yourself.


I believe-
that no matter how bad your heart is broken
the world doesn't stop for your grief.


I believe-
that our background and circumstances
may have influenced who we are,
but we are responsible for who we become.


I believe-
that just because two people argue,
it doesn't mean they don't love each other
And just because they don't argue,
it doesn't mean they do.


I believe-
that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a
secret. It could change your life forever.


I believe-
that two people can look at the exact same
thing and see something totally different.


I believe-
that your life can be changed in a matter of
hours by people who don't even know you.


I believe-
that even when you think you have no more
to give, when a friend cries out to you
you will find the strength to help.


I believe-
that credentials on the wall do not make
you a decent human being.


I believe-
that the people you care about most in life
are taken from you too soon.