Musings on Friendship...

A true friendship is,
Hard to gain, Easy to sustain
Like an insurance in life for the good times to rain
Having a true partner in pain and gain
Avoiding a life that’s living in vain

In a true friendship,
It’s connecting to another ignoring the race
Living your life at your own pace
It’s not always the smile on the face
But it’s here & now, how both hearts embrace

For a true friendship,
I never think twice to pay any price
To beget a friend so wise,
Who always shuns his disgrace!
Yet prefers his than my disgrace!

For a bad friendship is
Easy to gain, Hard to sustain!
I shun the thoughts that depress my heart
He isn’t my friend at misfortune who depart
“Friends”, betraying me at the ruins brink
Burning my heart whenever I think
For a bad friendship is
Easy to gain, Hard to sustain!

In a true friendship,
It’s not just to pair up for easy deeds
But to hit and correct me when faults exceeds
A bond in amity is a liberty from bonds
For I can be “me” sans my “personality brands”

What is a friend?
A friend is a farmer & a reformer
Sometimes as brother, sometimes as bouncer
Many times our banner, yet a fine balancer
Not like a master, yet a catalyst for the learner!
Above all for me a friend is a teacher

Yes, my friend is a teacher helping me to learn the lessons of life!
Yes, my friend is a teacher helping me to learn the essence of life!

Happy reading!


PS:
1. Based on the feedback from my friends / regular blog visitors that the blogs are too long for their attention span, i have split this into 2 parts. The flow has not changed, but guess it accomodates the attention span.

2. If some of you are wondering that some concepts above are familiar (esp. those who have read Thirukural) then you are right, few lines are direct translation of the couplets in my own words.

For my eyes are jealous of my heart!

This small piece is self explanatory and can be considered as "Rumblings of a friend in solitude".

Time wounds all heels before
Time heals all wounds!
The former came uninvited
The latter is hiding unintended

A victim of her ego with
Silence as her shield
She locked herself in a cage
Despite being smart enough to recognize this stage

A victim of his ego!
Does not know where to go!
His exasperations so true
Alas, persuasion isn’t his virtue

Her shield is her weapon
A curse he bequeathed upon
Her weapon so sharp
Making it a no exit trap!

A life so ecstatic
Shattered by a silence so static
A frozen friendship so artic
With the chillness of Antarctic

How do I explain that? Never
post the opera, behave like a black spider!
Climbing the height of conceit, wont make you a winner!
For I am a tree lover despite being a wood pecker!!

She has been close to my heart
Yet far from my eyes!
How can I help my eyes for being far?
For how can i help my eyes for its jealous of my heart!
For how can i help my eyes for its jealous of my heart!!

Happy reading!

Yours rumblingly!

Rise of India! - Opportunity window for optimism

Certainty prevails! - That was the topic of the last blog just about 10 days back and I am happy that it does now. The extent of pessimism surrounding the political outcome of the elections, the deteriorating security scenario in the region, the plunging economic situation across the globe, gave jitters even to the most optimistic souls!

In fact the day before the results I had written these lines which obviously are not complete …

An election without a clear mandate is like…

· Foreplay without the act
· A preface without the plot
· A feast without hunger
· A marriage without love
· A responsibility reneged!
· A right unexercised!
· A promiscuity in politics legalized!
· Indicative Immaturity of the majority!
· Renewal of Political virginity every 5 years!

Good that I don’t have to complete this.

So is the optimism just limited to outcome of elections?…. Actually not:

· Clearly the outcome of elections where Indian electorate leaned to the 2 national parties instead of the so called “3rd Front” increasing the nuisance value of Indian polity and decided to stick to a “centrist” approach than a “rightist” is the key reason for optimism. These have several sub / smaller reasons:
o Indian polity is devoid (atleast hopefully) of the left and the likes of Mayawati, Mulayam Singh, Amar Singh etc…for the next few years.
o It’s a good lesson for BJP for their attitude to the several incidents in Bangalore, Mangalore and then the misadventures of Varun Gandhi. I hope that they would move a little more towards “center” than going more into temples and mandirs.
o The optimism that’s reflected in the stock market where the trading is halted for the day with a 20% surge means something significant. I understand that of the INR 3100 cr traded today only about 10% of it’s constitutes cash trade the balance on F&O. This means the restrained bulls, MF houses etc would probably ensure that the trading is halted on Tuesday too… which is 19/May…..

· The scenario in Pakistan where the army is after Taliban also is an encouraging sign. Unlike the past if there is any loyalty to this approach I think we would have a major threat off our back or least minimized.

· Bangladesh seems to be settled for now and we need to ensure that our diplomats build the right inroads into the country in a +ve way.

· Nepal seems to be an “ever problematic” situation below the threshold.

· But the most heartening news comes from Sri Lanka where the government seems to have eliminated LTTE and its leaders completely. This is a road to better stability and peace in this region. The killing of over 1100 Indian soldiers, assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, eliminating multiple Tamil leaders in SL, killing of innocent civilians over the last 2 decades, giving the world the art of suicide bombing in a cost effective way etc seems to be coming to an end for good.

· I just hope if Pakistan can be a Srilanka and do a “LTTE” on “Taliban”…. Then the people in the region can look forward some peace in this generation itself.

Without stopping with this let me also put the top 3 priorities for the Indian government:

· The top most agenda on my plate is reform in “Judiciary” and “Financial governance in government departments”. If this government is serious to deliver something to the people of India which is sustainable, basic and long lasting then we should focus on judicial reforms. Just like a TN Seshan delivered reforms in the Election commission which is historic and delivered a system that is dependable, we need the same in judicial reforms.

· The financial governance within government departments increasing the through put of the schemes and reforms is the most important factor. If 15% of the effective outlay reaches the end public, then a repair of 15% leakage effectively means 100% more reaching the end public. For years the coalition politics ensured that both the above are not taken up in a serious way. But there is an opportunity now.

· Threat from Naxals should be the top priority in terms of security. We should extend possible assistance to Pakistan to defeat Taliban and stabilize Afghanistan. But the resources should be spent on resolving naxal issues.

So, with almost a decisive mandate for Congress but importantly for progress and development, with some sanity & stability returning to the global financial markets, with significant success in the war in SL, with some resemblance of return of sanity in Pakistan’s political leadership, with a voice of a moderate US president not rising the tensions across the world and with Manmohan singh returning as PM – probably wanting to leave a long term legacy in Indian political system, we have a “Window of opportunity”…

If we can leverage this “Window of opportunity” then this may be a key milestone in the future history books about the Rise of India….

Happy reading!
Yours Optimistically!

Musings: Certainty prevails!

Imagine, If you are sleepless at 4.30am in the morning and like standing in the balcony of your house with chill air blowing in your face and there is no one between you and your thoughts! This blog was conceived in an identical setting today...

Naïve is the mind that thinks
Life is all about uncertainty!

When the grey sky turned orange at dawn
When I was awake and aloof without a yawn!
The chillness of the north bound wind of the early summer
In the loneliness of my heart and the stillness of the night
A tempest in isolation stirred my untamed thoughts
Telling me, yo! Foolish mind don’t you realize!
Everything in this world is certain!

Uncertainty in life is certain!
Mortality in life is certain!
Divinity of soul is certain!
Humanity in distress is certain!

Impermanence in existence is certain!
Rebirth and Karmic effects are certain!
A unidirectional time is certain!
Old age and diseases are certain!

Increasing ignorance is certain!
Increasing arrogance is certain!
Rage over race and religion are certain!
Craze over caste and creed are certain!

Summers and winters are certain!
Sunrise and sunset are certain!
Autumn and spring are certain!
Actions without thinking are certain!

A divided world is certain!
Their devilish leans are certain!
Our shallow thinking is certain!
Our falling morality is certain!

Nature exploitation is certain!
Nuke explosion is certain!
Warring countries are certain!
Global warming is certain!

Corrupt politicians are certain!
Indifferent voters are certain!
Gains and losses are certain!
Success and failures are certain!

Economic cycles are certain!
Job losses are certain!
Decreasing wages are certain!
Taxes and death are certain!

Feminine fickleness is certain!
Their girlish disposition is certain!
Masculine arrogance is certain!
Their gullibility to feminity is certain!

The faith of a peasant is certain!
Love of your mother is certain!
Innocence in kids is certain!
Estrangement in friendship is certain!

The chirping birds and the crying kids
Brought me back from my world of thoughts
The chilling winds that’s gone long back
The mindless sun and its merciless rays
Thirsty of my salty sweat
The orange sky turning blue!
Mundane chores pending - giving me a clue!
It is starting of another dogdom day!
As I stand under the shower!
Cold water running through my lips so dry
I said to myself with a smile so wry!

Naïve is the mind that thinks
Life is all about uncertainty!

Happy Reading!

Indian Pessimist League (IPL)......

The membership in this IPL (Indian Pessimist league) seems to be ever increasing with people who have clarity in thinking and I have been crossing the boundaries of this pessimism forcibly and it takes a great deal of effort and isolation to come back into the DHO (Die hard optimist) zone…

Let’s start with something that’s popularly called as “Earth Hour” few weeks back. I was frustrated at this concept and the popularity it received. I was actually frustrated since I also was part of this foolish group that followed this initiative religiously sitting in darkness for an hour or so. According to me there is nothing more dangerous than giving a symbolic response to the most threatening events in life. You can comfortably ignore the threat and live like a fool which is a much better than pretending to be socially conscious and giving a symbolic response.

The threat to our very existence at the highest degree due to an imbalanced “exploit”ary relationship between nature and human requires a sustained and measured response from us all and not a symbolic knee-jerk reaction. We have to learn how to live in harmony with the nature as the uniqueness of this lonely planet is its nature to sustain life by sacrificing itself and we testing its limits.

The one and only way we can sustain life in this planet and prevent global warming is to “SHRINK”.... yes, shrink our demand & needs. Lets ask these questions to ourselves and if the answer is yes even for one of the question then we are doing our part in the “Save environment” campaign else we are fooling ourselves…

1. Can we sell our existing car and buy a car which is smaller in size and more fuel efficient than the current one?
2. Once a week can we avoid travelling by car and use public transport?
3. Can we switch from taking our cars out for long drives and travel by public transport like trains and busses ever?
4. Can we ensure that we will walk atleast a minimum of 40 kms a week? Dude, this cant be on a motorized tread mill !!...
5. Can we move into a house which is smaller than the current one?
6. Can we shun the usage of disposable non-recyclable products?
7. Can we switch off all appliances for 5 minutes a day on a sustained basis and teach that to our children as a value? This is far better than switching off 1 hour in a year and forgeting about that for the rest of the year.

The sustainability of the life and survivability of the future depends on just 2 things Shrinking and Re-using….when you think about it deep enough and see how difficult it is as a choice for all of us then you would join me in the IPL. For me it’s a clear NO for most of the questions and a hesitant yes for few of them.

This is just one of the issues look at the status of Indian Polity today and you would apply for permanent membership in IPL:

“The best way to repeal a bad law is to implement it strictly”…. Thanks to Mayawati for the NSA on Varun, for he has received undeserved sympathy and many more followers in hate speeches Mr. & MRs. Lalu, Sanjay Dutt, Saamna editor, BJP’s MP candidate in kandamal etc…. If we have to put everyone on NSA and behind bars I think we need a massive jail expansion program in the country. Also the election commission has to run a BPO for complaint management system.

May I ask what has happened to 26/11 follow up with Pakistan…. All put in the back burner very conveniently.

Height of it is the voter turns out in Mumbai yesterday…. We all know what our constitutional rights are, but do we know what our constitutional duties are? It’s for the Mumbai 26/11 attack I drove 300 Kms from chennai to Bangalore just to vote… where are the Mumbai middle class voters?

The rationality of human mind is under question and the 6th sense for most of us is money or financial terms and nothing more and hence I suggest that the only way to change people’s behavior is financial and economic punishments. Let’s capture the PAN number of all people who have not voted and charge them 60% income tax for the next five years. This will increase the voter turn out to be more than 100%...

While every one is talking about Pakistan based attacks I think the news items I read about Naxalite attacks, hijacking a train and attacking security camps are nothing less than acts of Taliban in Pakistan. Surprising that there is much muted news or responses from our polity on this. I believe the situation in parts of India is as bad as or worse than Pakistan. Who is focusing on this?

With all these issues and the current people’s mandate looking to be weak for a strong government, and the prospect of a midterm poll looming large, I think all right minded people who can think of these issues shall be part of the IPL.

The only things that pulling me out of the IPL are the following things and keeping me sane are:

· Actually the DLF IPL and the fact that KKR and RC are fighting for the last 2 spots very vigorously is keeping me sane and happy. The bollywood mentality of glamour and glitz shall do more harm to sports than good. KKR with our “Dildo” is the epitome of how not to build a team. People have to realize the “TEAM” is the product they need to build. The team consists of a strong captain and a set of team members with complimentary skills. If this simple concept is not understood and a coach is given full rights than the captain with multiple captain theory, this team has to lose. I am happy that’s happening. Let’s look at Mumbai or RR or Hyderabad team for what it means to build a team. Never have too many powercenters in the team.... in the same measure i predict more troubles for chennai as there are more stars and they are less of a team!..

· The other thing is one of the best quotes I have read in the recent times, which accepts human limitation of not knowing it fully but at the same time insisting that it is not difficult to achieve what we want:

“What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it”.

- Alexander Graham Bell


Happy reading

Yours pessimistically!