Anonimity

Why do most of the Superheros have a mask? Why do they hide their identity? Were/ are they afraid of something? Were/ are they protecting themselves? Or from the sick society that judges every action. Whether good or bad.

I watched this video - Why is India so filthy? the other day. These are a group of Indians who believe in actions than words. Who believe in results than who, why, how. These are the people who wear a mask, not revealing their identity. They do not crib. They do not complain. And it really is amazing to see how like minded people get together for a cause even though they don't know who is behind all this. These are real superheros. Not people with power to change, but people who are the change.

So these Ugly Indians believe that by not revealing your identity you are more focused on the results than attaching a political view, religious view and thus forming groups, favoritism and ruining the basic purpose. These people do not talk to the media wanting no publicity, no recognition. They just work no talk. Their mantra is "Muh Band Kaam Chalu". There is no lecturing. There is no preaching. There is no going to people and asking for help. They only used Facebook as social media to spread the awareness. This was their only tool.

Am sure like everything that we do, there are always hundreds or millions of people who have a say on it. Which we are very good at. Of course it is easy to whine, crib, complain, comment, judge, and/ or bitch about anything and everything. I really am waiting for a superhero who can clear this filth.  Filth that is so ingrained into our brains, our judgements, our behaviors and such. They cannot do that with these Ugly Indians because they do not know who are doing this. They are only forced to see the results and work but not see the people. If only they know who these people were nor media or politics would have spared them.

 Again this is the pessimistic me who thinks, there are few things which we cannot be fixed by just being the change. We need more. More than your self. Thoughts?

Muruku

Ingredients:-

1. 2 Cups of Rice Flour
2. 1/4 cup of Urad Dal
3. 2-3 tbps of groundnuts
4. 1 tbsp jeera
5. 1 tbsp Chilli powder
6. 2-3 tbps butter
7. Salt to taste
8. Water

Method:-

1. Roast urad dal till light brown and grind them to fine powder after cooling them.
2. Roast groundnuts as well and powder them
3. Add salt, melted butter, rice flour, urad dal powder, groundnut powder, chillie powder, jeera and make a dough adding required amount of water.
4. Use muruku maker and press the dough to required shape directly into the heated oil.
5. Fry till light brown.

Morning Bustle

This is not how I wake up everyday. The same time any other day yes even a weekend would like quite bustling. It is not the alarm that wakes me up each day. Weekends definitely its my pet Leo. Weekdays are such a routine that you do not need an alarm to wake up to a busy day ahead.

Any other day the same time when I open the balcony doors I see the same picture. Same people, same places and same routine. Two boys, a Mom & a Girl Kid waiting for their school bus. I wonder why do they need to wait! Are the school buses not on time or these people getting ready way early? Moms yelling at their kids in the lobby, elevators hurrying them to schools. I can hear somebody running a mixer or a pressure cooker screaming on top of its voice with just a zest. Cars running in and out of the apartment dropping their kids off to school. Paper boy. Milkman. Maids. People waiting for their cabs, lost in deep thoughts. Though their eyes wander here and there I know their minds are present somewhere else. Only thing that could bring them back to this world is their cab driver honking. Morning walkers. Walking their pets. I exactly know what times who would pass by my apartment or who would cross by me when I take Leo out for a walk.

School buses, cars filling the entire roads like a highway, that I really find it difficult to even walk on the streets around my apartment. Especially the school buses run like ambulance. Is this how busy our mornings are? Is this what we wake up to?

But today was different. I as such woke up late to find a blissfully quite world. Silence. Peace. Serenity. Even the sun who fills my entire dining room with his warmth, did not bother to come out of the clouds. Not even a single person was on the road. No vehicles. No sounds. No one bothered to start the day as if the entire world was put to some spell. As far as me, I happened to have missed that spell that I woke up to such a beautiful morning to witness how peaceful it could be. With a hot cup of coffee, Leo by my side, like everyday I stood in my balcony, at the same place. Watching the empty roads, tall buildings far away guessing how far they actually are, lush green trees swaying gently with the morning breeze, mystic skies not telling you if its going to be sunny or a rainy day.

 I wish life is as peaceful as today not because there is a bandh, but because each of us need to stop for a while. To breathe.

Good Morning.

Fear Of The Unknown

There is no greater creation than giving birth. Mother is the only God I know. Rather Parents are the only Gods I know. I cannot imagine what the parents go through in protecting, raising the life they created. How much can you protect? How I wish the world is all gooey, warm even if its dark. Like a Mom's womb. So that I can just float around in the safety and comfort of endless dreams.

One of my close friends recently asked me to inquire about the best school in town for her 3 years old daughter who will be ready for school next year. How much planning ahead do we do for our kids? Planning before even the kid entered the world. Does everything go as per our plans? And from what I knew, I suggested her this place and I see that the same school today is in news with a 6 year old girl being raped right in the school premises. Is anything in this world a safe place? Is such a thing a myth?

And the school is trying to protects its name from media. Do they even realize what they are doing as an educational institute? Whom are they trying to protect? School's prestige? The Staff? Their Profits? As a school isn't it THEIR responsibility to expose the culprits and do the justice to the parents and kids? Shouldn't it be the school the first to file the case with police. Till now the names of the culprits have not come out. Why doesn't media use their network to pull their names out?
Unfortunately I happened to see a video by Aaj Tak, where in this lady is interviewing the Delhi Gang Rape Victim and Survivor. She is taking him to the same exact places from where Nirbhaya & her friend hired an auto, where they got down and the bus they boarded. I am never ever going to watch Aaj Tak channel. Heights of stupidity. You can watch the video here. This shows to what levels media has stooped down and how good they do their job.

Few of my friends/ colleagues have their kids studying in the same school and they were speculating if its one of theirs. Seriously? Who the victim is of such importance to you? They may have good intentions behind doing this, which I may not understand. But what good does it do you, knowing the kid or her parents. Are you going to provide moral support? Yeah right, that is all we are capable of doing. Ain't it?

And am shocked to see people lecturing on teaching the kids, dressing style etc. How does what a girl wears or how she behaves or what she talks seduce somebody? That too a 6 year old girl. Why is that we have this tendency to defend? Defend the accused, unless you relate yourself to the accused what reason on earth do you have to defend the culprit and give advise to the victim? I have seen this in many a places. Pity comes into picture and somehow showing pity makes people feel like Gods. Do they even realize what damage they are doing to others lives who really are the sufferers? No one has right to take someone's life not even the court, but death is the easiest punishment. Everyone talks about punishment but why do we miss prevention? How can we not have such incidents happening in the first place?

If a normal day-to-day activity of sending your kid to school is such a threat that you would not know what would happen to her/ him, how can you ever be in peace through out your or your kids life?
This is just one incident. How about the accidents? How about the filth, the bad that lingers around almost everything nowadays? There is no way I can teach my kids that right will only result in right. That being good is not a weakness but a  virtue. 

Do I ever want to bring a life into such a place? A place where there is no safety, truth, justice or good? Where everything is corrupt. On my favorite show there is a quote which tried to answer my question - "The World changes when good people raise their babies right". I dont think so. I know for sure that the kid would only end up being a victim or the best case a loner with no one around to trust.

Also posted on MouthShut.

Life Is Grande

In my childhood America was my dream. My only dream. Not visiting it but living on this land of success. That is what it meant to me back then - Land of Success, Fortune and Dreams. I have said enough about how much I wanted to study abroad and settle down their doing some cut-throat research. Well am glad its just a dream.

Though later my priorities changed, this fading dream was still there. Somewhere. Somewhere in the zone of "if I get a chance why not". Then it was not for studies but for work. I wanted to work abroad. I really cannot say why exactly, but cause everyone else were doing it. Then later the age dawned on me, and it eventually became a place I want to visit. With time many more places got added to the list of places to visit. I wanted to visit Las Vegas( again not that I appreciate the city for what it is), but because what I hear from others and because its on everyone's bucket list( at least the people I know). And how does it feel when all this comes true? Amazing? Unbelievable? Not really.

So I had to travel on a business to this country of dreams and I had time to visit Las Vegas too. And my experience of the whole thing? It really does not matter where you are unless there is someone to witness your happiness, your excitement. Someone you love. Someone who cares for you. So that your life does not go unnoticed in the midst of billion lives of other people on this planet. When have I become such a hopeless romantic? Anyways, here's my take on my dream country  - Life is Grande here in Unites States Of America. Yes, one thing I learned from my trip - to live larger than life. I setup so many constraints, boundaries around myself. Home loan that made me frugal. Not traveling enough cause of lame reasons of health, work, Leo( my pet) etc. So yeah,  live life by your standards, not by standards set by someone else. Do not end up living your whole life saving for rainy day or for that special day.

Life is Grande

We tend to do so many things just because its fashion to do so. So I WANTED to have a cup of coffe at Star Bucks ( and it pretty much tastes the same). Since I took the plane to US of America, everything came in large.You order a small coffee, and its larger than the large in India( that did not sound right, but you get it right?). You order food the quantity is so much that two of us can share it. Not just food or drinks, the roads, the malls everything is so big, huge and so advanced. They do not have one fourth of the traffic that any Bangalore road has but they have 4 times bigger roads. Why? Take any infrastructure, its just huge. I still cannot get why? Nothing is just sufficient. Everything is in excess. Everything is large and you are larger than life.

Variety Vs Uniqueness

And talk about variety. Same stuff is available in so many varieties. No 2 cars are the same. I guess people are very unique over there. Unlike here in India where we just follow the flock. I was parked on a pretty busy road in Bangalore and there were 6 i10's among 10 cars. One among them is mine. Only uniqueness was the number plate. Yeah we do spend so much on fancy numbers :-P. Take from fashion to cuisine this country embraces every culture.

Discipline

Every time I step out of my home, there are two things that I dread. Chaotic traffic and having to use a toilet. Toilets in a restaurant, airport or any place that is not yours, use it like you are never going to use it ever again. Not only you, but anyone after you. That is the way we treat anything that is not ours. We are hygiene freaks when it comes to our home, our toilets, our car etc. But if its not yours, why do we treat them the way we do? And we are in such a hurry to get rid of any unwanted baggage, that we throw it anywhere we like it. Well again anywhere that is not my home. Why can't we keep the city clean? We boast so much about how patriotic we are, but where does it all go when it comes to simple act of keeping your city/ country clean? And then traffic. Only place I saw same traffic as on MG Road in USA is Las Vegas Strip. BUT. There were no honks. What a bliss? There are no speed breakers anywhere on the road, just a "STOP" sign written on a the road. People just stop whether or not there is another vehicle, pedestrian or a signal. How come they are so disciplined? Cause the fines are way too high? But what are the chances of getting caught in the first place? We gamble a lot with our luck. Everyday. More than the gambling that happens in Vegas. If no one sees us we break rules by betting on our luck. We would even drive on the opposite direction on a one-way. Anything to break the rules. If there is a queue, you would want to push through, as if you are in a hurry. We are in hurry all the time. In every queue that I had been in USA people were very patient. They always let me first. Irrespective of their age. I was actually ashamed that an older person offered me to go first.

Being Connected

Somehow I felt people are to themselves. Like in India people do not connect. May be cause I was a stranger there. Or may be not. Even at office I do not see two people socializing over a cup of coffee. And work ethic is so high. If a person is in office and s/he says they are working - they are really working. If they want to take time off they do not lie about it. They take a vacation. They value their self development and families enough that valuing work comes easily. They are not working cause the society is expecting them, but cause they need to support themselves or their families. Not because they are bored but because they need the job. I had a conversation with the shuttle driver who apparently is an immigrant from Indian Origin. He works 6 months and takes a vacation back in India for 6 months. No job is a bad job or a good job. Every job is equally respected. And there is no superiority in terms of social status. Every one is treated the same.

In the end...

There are many things to improve on for us. Not in terms of Government or Finance or Infrastructure. But first as good citizens. Responsible people. This is all it takes to be a better country. That is all it takes to grow. Be conscious, be responsible and respect discipline. There are no shortcuts. Now be one and vote :D.

All said and done, I love India. I love living here, being connected.  I love the festivals. I like the celebrations. I like the way we see and live our lifes - as if it were a box office hit masala movie - a great entertainer. And little of "chalta hain" attitude once in a while is ok, as long as it is to keep the humor on in life. And isn't my life grand here? It is in Indian Standards. So I would prefer to live a grand life here in India than be a nobody abroad.

Mere Bharat Mahan. Period.

Also posted on Mouthshut.

Whats Up With WhatsApp?

I used many mail service providers, messengers, tools at work for development. With all of these at least there is one annoying thing that makes me disappointed in them. Say ads, say documentation, say ease of use, or say stupid crazy processes that make no sense anyone.

My favorites among all are Perl( the programming language that I use at work) and the WhatsApp. Never did I like anything else more than these tools that I use in my day-to-day life. Why is it that WhatsApp is so popular? I have been using it only for an year and I am totally in love with this mobile application. What is so great about it - it's simplicity.

No Gimmicks
It does not ask for you email ID or for signup. No stupid reminders or advertisements. No invitation requests. If you are on someone's contact list they can message you. Of course there is a block feature to block users from messaging. You have a smart phone and whatsapp installed, then there is no better way to communicate with your friends and family than WhatsApp.

Share Anything You Like
You can share texts, images, files, videos, audio and what not. It uses internet to send or receive. How simple is that? It is platform independent. How cool is that? There is no upload first, set the privacy and then share. You send to the people you want to and there you go. Its shared.

Respect for Privacy
Is there a way to make your cover photo on facebook not public? Seriously? Who made those rules that cover photo has to be public for people to know you? How should I choose not to make these too personal? You share with only those who are on your contact list. Of course you share your number only with trusted people. And even on top of it you always have "Block" feature.

Ease Of Use
User interface is so easy to use that any naive user who is not a tech savvy can adapt and use it. How thoughtful of that? Most importantly it is free of cost for an year and a negligible subscription fee of 1$/year. I have my Dhobi's number on my contact list and am surprised to know that he uses WhatsApp too. He cannot even do a simple addition of numbers.

Literature
I send a message to my friend on Facebook and it gives me another notification to tell if the message is delivered or not. Showing me a red indicator that message was not sent. And how does WhatsApp do it? With simple tick marks. Not so fussy about notifications you see? Isn't that enough? Telling you the status using a simple symbol than "Sent" or  "Not Sent" blah blah. Who needs literature here?

Speed
And talk about the speed! I bet no other messengers can match that speed and THAT is why it beats the rest. Could you wait even for half a second when you have to share a good news with your loved ones? All the time spent on WhatsApp is on sharing but no on waiting.

And did it earn anything by being so cheap? Oh yes! Guess who's buying WhatsApp for 20 billion dollars. Gaint in Social Network Sites - The Facebook. When they started developing WhatsApp, did they get threatened, disheartened by other messengers available in the market? Did they think of the profits? Did they think it would sustain and beat the rest? What was their motive?  Did they have a strategy? Or it was just do it and lets see what happens, and then the luck favored them?

Also posted on MouthShut.

La Vie En Rose

I never believed that there should be one special day to celebrate love. And only one person to celebrate love with. Your valentine can be your Mom, a friend, even a pet apart from just the usual of having your partner as a valentine. Anyways Feb 11th is the day I  first met my husband. So this happens to be a special day and because everyone around talks so much about this month, and valentines day and blah blah we were forced to treat 11th as our special day.

My idea was to have a nice dinner at home watching one of "MY" favorite movies. Well before marriage I made a big list of movies I would watch with my husband again someday. So this time it was "The Bridges of Madison County". How our day ended up watching boring, cynical and depressing "Her" movie and eating in a restaurant is a different story.

When I watched this movie for the first time, I was not married then. Basically if my husband has to describe this movie he would say it is a movie based on adultery. Not on love. Back then when I was single, somehow I failed to notice that Francesca was married. All I could see in the movie was two souls Francesca and Robert falling in love that they lived and longed for till their death. A sweet short story of four days that they cherished and the only reason they could continue living the way they were living with their mundane routine life's.  I have posted already on this movie and its here.

When I watched it this time. Well on valentines day i.e, Feb 14th and of course alone. I saw it differently. Somehow the scenes where Francesca or Robert were conscious of the society, the neighbors and even the guilt that Francesca has were unnoticed. But now I see them and it all appears to be such a cliche. But this movie should still be watched my married people. It does not show the adultery but it shows what a marriage should not miss. The love between Robert and Francesca is something that SHOULD be there between a husband and wife. Most importantly when you fell in love and got married to this person of your choice.

The way Robert picks her wild flowers. The way he offers a helping hand in the kitchen, the way they have conversations over dinner or a drink. The way they are curious about each other and each others life's. The way they are living it up than walking through it as machines programmed to do so. Building beautiful memories that can last a life time. Memory of 4 days on which Francesca pulled her whole life through.

Well, I did watch a movie(Wall-E) and a TV series(How I Met Your Mother) this month and co-incidentally they had this song being played and this has been on a repeat-mode lately. To all those in love:

Hold me close and hold me fast
This magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose
When you kiss me, Heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose

When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom
And when you speak
Angels sing from above
Every day words
Seem to turn into love songs
Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose

I thought that love was just a word
They sang about in songs I heard
It took your kisses to reveal
That I was wrong, and love is real
Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose

When you kiss me, Heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose
When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom
And when you speak
Angels sing from above
Every day words
Seem to turn into love songs
Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose

Also posted on MouthShut.

Innocence

I read this somewhere - "Greatest illusion of life is the Innocence". I guess its true, only when the reality dawns on you, one realizes how blinded they are with respect to the view of the real World. You were scared in childhood, of ghosts, of devils, not knowing they were fictional. Later as you grow you realize there are more things you need to be scared of than those which do not exist. I really was very scared of these things and even till date I do not watch any horror movies. There were nights in my childhood when I thought I wont make it till the morning cause something was going to eat me up and I just prayed and prayed till it was morning. But the next morning I did not even remember the nightmare. On the contrary and on the positive side, today I can sleep peacefully
 all alone( of course with my pet). I know what is fiction and what is fact. On the negative side, now, there are so many devils inside my head that eat me up day and night. When did you grow up so much that you failed to see the day and the night separately? And I read and watch Fiction a lot cause fictional world seems better than the real world.

 I thought friends were forever. They are the family. Only ones with whom you share a secret. You laugh, you play, you fight with. My innocence did not tell me that someday people part and they are gone, when life happens. Today, luckily I have siblings and they seem to be the best friends who were there all the time. I just did not see them, and thought they were the best enemies. What about those who do not have any siblings? How do they cope being alone in this big world? On paper I seem to have many many friends today than those exclusive few friends who were only for you. Should I be happy for the life happening to me or to them?

Competition was to win. To be the best. To be the first. To be the smartest. To be the one who runs faster. To be the one who scores the high. Not be cheating but by playing the game fair. Now, none of these things matter in the race. When did these definitions change? Honesty, integrity seem to be a loser's cup of tea now. How easy was it to trust then. Trust a thing, a person. Is there truly anyone whom you could really really trust your life with? Not the family members of course. Guess it all says why people started building barriers, bridges, borders. There were times when people took advantage, people cheated, people broke the trust. But now all of us have learnt, tackled and withstood. But to be always on check for who the next one is to be careful of?

I wonder where all the time I had as a child is gone now. Time lying on a terrace and watching the stars, when there was a separate time slot in the day to PLAY. Not just go to school and study, but PLAY. Where did the summer vacations go? Where did all the relatives go? Now you don't remember  when was the last time you saw the sun rise or set. Relatives are only a nuisance now. No one stays more than a week or two anymore. I wonder how we used to spend months together at someone else's place. Everyone wants to leave and get back to their own cozy cocoons. And what is a vacation now? Just a time off from work. You really don't care where you go and what you do and how you spend and who you spend your time with. Just hit the road and be someplace. Somewhere lost. You have already seen the place in pictures before you go, enquired with people who had been there, you even have a weather forecast. Where did the curiosity in life go? Oh well, yest its just a click away. For everything you just click. Click, Click and Click.

Should one be happy or sad for being innocent? Is Innocence a flaw?

Also posted on MouthShut.