Dissented Unisons

A blessing in disguise.......

2010-04-22T01:51:00.001-07:00

All my life, I always thought that one of the most difficult things for me would be to handle loneliness. People often tell me I am the extrovert kind and I guess I can attribute the fear of loneliness to that coupled with the fact that I am a compulsive talker and need people around me. However, of late I think I have managed to come out of this phobia and that too without losing anything, rather gaining a lot.

It all started quite a while back when I chose to stay alone, aloof and isolated - not completely though but yes to quite an extent. I remember a few nights of my life when I used to simply get dead drunk and go down to Worli Sea face (an sea facing area in Mumbai) at 2-3 in the night. For no reason ofcourse and then used to sit there all by myself, the sea and my wandering thoughts for hours at stretch. It wasnt the most happening period of my life and I used to think over a lot of things (some required, some not required). Therein I noticed that if you keep looking at the same thing for a very long time, you get to see a lot more than you want to or could normally. A natural instinct I believe. For example, on one such night, I saw a sea gull who was trying very hard to fly against the wind but kept failing at each attempt as the wind was very strong. It was tired after trying for an hour or so but didnt let go and finally waited for some time on the ground before taking its successful leap.
On another occassion, I was having a day with the waves crashing against the rocks, they got bigger and bigger and then shrunk in an opposite sequence. Whatever the strength of the waves, I felt that the water somehow was in love with the sea and wanted to go back to it without wasting a moment. Something very silly, very commonplace (One might say, ofcourse it does so - thats why you have water in the sea). Agreed but I dont know why but just applying these things to ones life and incidents around you might give you a new perspective of things. A lot of things..... Some I have managed to decipher and decode, some still await an understanding.

So I took to isolation (to an extent) as a remedy. I thought probably it is the worst way to counter a situation but actually it turned out otherwise. I could see a lot of things with a new found objectivity which probably lacked earlier. Learnt a few things that I did not know earlier, broke some of the misconceptions that I had (about me as well as many other things)... but most importantly I had a reinvented belief in life and moreso in the superior power that guides us. I think all this while, I was fighting life but I guess that aint the way to go.... You can walk together and make a lot more out of it rather than being a misguided revolutionary......

I dont know whether it actually worked for me or not but YES I do know that I am at peace with myself. I am more happy and contented now with a new outlook to things and I guess that is reason enough for me to have a smile on my face..... :)

There's a new sunrise tomorrow, so keep breathing!!!

2010-03-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

Last night I watched Cast Away for the nth number of time. It indeed is one of my favourite movies. Every time I watch it I get to see something so new in the movie. So what did I observe last night which makes me write this post? :)

Well last night what caught my eye in the movie was the amazing story of Kelly (Helen Hunt) and Chuck (Tom Hanks) who are married and are madly in love with each other until Chuck meets an acident which leaves him stranded in an isolated uninhabited island for 4 years through which he learns to live like our predecessors did. His only ray of hope is a picture of Kelly that he carries with himself. The twist is when Chuck finally manages to escape the island on a hand made raft, he finds out that Kelly has married someone else and also has a kid. Further we get to know that Kelly had done all in her power to search for Chuck and also waited for him until long after his pseudo cremation in America was carried out with the belief that he is alive and would one day return but fate choose otherwise and she somewhere lost hope and had to move on with her life. In a very intense scene, it is shown that when they finally meet each other after this long gap, Kelly is tempted to return with Chuck despite her family responsibilities as a mother and a wife but very soon regains composure and decides otherwise. So that was briefly what happened between Kelly and Chuck in the movie.

What it made me think was who's fault was it? Kelly's or Chuck's? Actually none were at fault and this realisation came as a shocker to someone like me who refuses to believe in the concept of fate. I just sat back for a while and started thinking of all the things around me and I really dont know why but I was kinda convinced that yes we are powerless and the reign is not in our hands. We are just a part of a bigger plan and are playing our roles as the director wants us to.

I guess a lot of us could relate to situations like this. At our workplace, between friends, family, love life..... everywhere. We are powerless and must do what he seeks us to do? Recently while reading about Lord Shiva somewhere, I understood that there is no good or bad, beautiful or ugly, righteous or vicious in Shiva's opinion who (Shiva) refuses to react or be impressed with all of world's materialistic offerings. They are just there as a part of the world. This is the objective reality of the universe, while we live in a subjective reality. We perceive things around us and that becomes our world but for sure there is a mighty force above it which unites / connects / disassociates many of our subjective worlds to each other. That force is supreme and most forceful.

This thought I think has provided me with a new outlook (if I may use that term) or at least a new way of thinking and looking at things in life. Will end this post with Chuck's final comments in the movie.
"I decided to end my life and I hung a log with a rope to a tree, the branch broke and at that moment I realised that I was powerless. I could not control anything. I just had to keep breathing, living. So I kept breathing with the hope that tomorrow's sunrise would bring something new. But I was thankful to Kelly for being there with me on that island all this time"

Will watch Cast Away again after a few days - Who knows what you may come out with this time :) Till then, keep breathing coz theres a new sunrise tomorrow.... :)

An apology from me – to me

2009-08-01T14:19:00.001-07:00

Well this is like my heart spilled out. People often say that when the storm passes by do you get to know what went wrong. This in a way is kinda close to it. I aint such a good writer that I can actually pen down each of my emotions today…… so for the lesser mortals like me, we seek solace from music greats. One such being Mettalica.
I really donno why I like this song so much. After a lot of grey cell pumping, I thought maybe the one person whom I need to apologise most to is myself – A wise man once said, you let things happen….. things just don’t happen by themselves…. Like we let the storm happen and then apologise, something similar.

This ones from Mettalica – Reload, its called Low Mans lyrics. I really don’t know why I listen to Mettalica so much now. I remember a time when I was a country music fan and couldn’t stand the likes of Mettalica and Iron Maiden. I thought these were more black, more devilish…. Something like disrupting peace. On the other hand, I cant handle country music today and Mettalica kinda soothes me down……. U never know whats really black / devilish / peaceful……….. Dissented Unisons I guess…..

Enjoy the lyrics.... Have highlighted my favorite parts in bold and heres the link to the song on you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If1vafTxHjw

My eyes seek reality, My fingers seek my veins,
There's a dog at your back step, He must come in from the rain
I fall cause I let go, The net below has rot away
So my eyes seek reality, And my fingers seek my veins

The trash fire is warm, But nowhere safe from the storm
And I can't bear to see, What I've let me be, So wicked and worn

So as I write to you, Of what is done and to do, Maybe you'll understand
And won't cry for this man, cause low man is due, Please forgive me

My eyes seek reality, My fingers feel for faith
Touch clean with a dirty hand, I touch the clean to the waste

The trash fire is warm, But nowhere safe from the storm
And I can't bear to see, What I've let me be, So wicked and worn

So as I write to you, Of what is done and to do
Maybe you'll understand, and won't cry for this man, cause low man is due
Please forgive me, Please forgive me, Please forgive me

So low the sky is all I see, All I want from you is forgive me
So you bring this poor dog in from the rain, Though he just wants right back out again

And I cry, to the alleyway, Confess all to the rain
But I lie, lie straight to the mirror, The one I've broken, to match my face

The trash fire is warm, But nowhere safe from the storm
And I can't bear to see, What I've let me be, So wicked and worn

So as I write to you, Of what is done and to do
Maybe you'll understand, And won't cry for this man, cause low man is due,
Please forgive me, Please forgive me,

So low the sky is all I see, All I want from you is forgive me
So you bring this poor dog in from the rain, Though he just wants right back out again

My eyes seek reality, My fingers seek my veins

The Rational vs The Emotional

2009-04-24T02:29:00.000-07:00

Many a people have told me that I am a very rational person and lack emotions and practicality. They also tell me quite often that things according to me stand only in Blacks and whites and a grey doesn’t exist. To all my well-wishers I bow down and say thanks for your opinions - they are highly rated but I think the concept has been a little misunderstood. Allow me to explain :)

The debate that I hold is not between the rational and the emotional. Rather it is more about following the right path - the path of righteousness, which is not a rosy one and demands a lot of one. Very often in my encounters with different kind of people at various junctures, I have met people who can very easily dismiss this thought. The reason being lack of practicality - they kind of preempt results and the results then become impractical. So why do it? The bigger question here is how long can you ignore it? If one were to tell me that he did not see the right path even in the middle of all the chaos in his life - it would be difficult to digest. It is just that we dismiss the thought.
So then what becomes of the situation we are stranded in? What is the difference between the definitions of my well-wishers and that of mine own? The difference is the preemption of the rational as an extremist and the emotional as accommodative. They hold this view.
Lets look at it this way, all of us at many times have come across incidences in our lives wherein we were loaded with an emotional baggage and were asked to make a choice between the right and the not so right (most often this came as a result of the emotional bombardment). What did we choose then? Did we choose to be better men or did we choose to be a better son/daughter/brother/lover/husband.........? Were we blinded and did not see the right path? What was it that we leveraged out of the situation? What would have been the best thing to do?

Emotional incidences and situations in my belief just pose a challenge to your thoughts and beliefs - how strong are they? Would you break down or would you continue o do what is right? Maybe there'll be a result as you desired, maybe not. You never know - but there is certainly one surety you'll have and that would be that you own self esteem and honour in your own eyes would not diminish. You'll sleep peacefully. We may choose to ignore the righteous path today but tomorrow it'll surely haunt us and eat us from within.

Coming down to the colours - the blacks, whites and the greys..... Its not people who are either black or white. It’s the above reactions which make you stand in these sections at various junctures of your life. Whenever I choose the righteous path, I score a white and whenever I succumb to my surroundings and end up sacrificing my righteousness, I score a black. It’s like a continous game that goes on. If by your experience, you can tell me one man in history that we can classify in only one of the brackets - I would be amazed. My role model is Che Guevera - He scored a lot of whites. He left his promising career as a doctor, left the aristocracy he would have had as lineage, fought for what he believed in, never gave up in testing times, worked towards the upliftment of the poor and the downtrodden and many more..... Lotsa whites. HE KILLED MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE WHILE DOING ALL THIS. Now there’s a black. Maybe had Che been alive, he would have showed us many more blacks...... So the point I'm trying to drive home here is that noone can be neither wrong nor right. He is either wrong or right. In a way, the summation of our lives is nothing but an equation of these whites and blacks. How do we correct the blacks and how do we try not to commit more of them - the only path is by choosing the whites. It’s not so extremist you see...... :)

The above makes you a very forceful person - determined to go beyond the obvious in an attempt to not let the blacks come in. I think this force is the one which was a little misunderstood. But I think it is equally necessary for stopping the lag factor to come in which then compels you to break down.

So as I said, its not that extremist line of thought you see. Life’s not about winning trophies to satisfy our egos..... Rationality is not about having objects in your life instead of people. It goes a little beyond that - Its about loving to be in an emotional situation (that’s coz people love you) but still not making the love a reason to commit a wrong. Love is love and similarly right is right, both cant be debated.

Stop.... Rewind...... Play !!!!!!

2009-01-19T05:42:00.000-08:00

How many times do we feel that Oh I could just go back in time and do this this way or that way????

Of late, I have been just reminded of one song - "Us Mod se shuru karein phir yeh zindagi; har sheh jahan haseen thi, hum tum the ajnabi" (Lets go back in time again and start our lives from the point when everything was so beautiful and both of us were strangers)

What a thought. Really speaks my mind out. As in giving words to my thoughts. Yes they were beautiful times, lovely ones. I would love to go back then and place myself there. When I didnt know you and you didnt know me. The time when I didnt expect anything, neither did you. The time when both of us were free and happy souls. The time when all we could think of was that day as if there were no yesterday and there would be no tomorrow. Yes they were great times.

Can I go back there and do all that I should have? Can I say sorry to all whom I've hurt? Can I go back in time and hug all those people I didnt coz I thought its okay and took it for granted? Can I go back and not sleep so as to enjoy that time to the fullest? Can I go back in time and just sit under the moon observing its moves?

A million things I'd like to set straight if I could but cant. All that is left of it is a wish, a prayer, a need to relive those times, to be that innocent fool, to laugh out at someone and be laughed at in turn, not being scared in speaking your heart out no matter who the audience is, not thinking twice before waking you up at the middle of the night just to say I love you. All these were sweet things which seemed to have been lost out in the attempt to be mature and professional.

Looking back, I just have a few questions......
Am I more mature / pro etc etc today than I was yesterday?
What is the motivation for me today to do anything that I do? Is it stronger than what it used to be back then?
Have I lost out on my identity and my persona in this attempt?
Am I the same person anymore?

If I am the same person that I used to be, whay this dissent? Why does the vibrancy of the city appear as a noise to me? Why do the nights seem as an alarm for an early day tomorrow rather than an opportunity to dream, look forward, look inside? Why does the rain become a hassle now when it used to be the most beautiful thing back then? Whay have I become so concious of what I eat and not enjoy the junk being sold by the roadsides? Why to I feel as if trapped in an alien body?
The way forward from here - learn to adjust to the new life!!! Look at the brighter side of what you have!!! All that gyan........ But more honestly, there aint much that can be done about it now, the time has gone, the bird has taken its flight...... All that is to look after is the next bird............

Instead of it being a STOP....REWIND....PLAY as I would have wanted; its actually a STOP....PAUSE....PLAY. Life isnt so benevolent to you but fair enough.......

The Balance Sheet Effect

2008-10-22T04:02:00.000-07:00

Assets = Liabilities. This was one of the first rules I learnt of accountancy in my school days. It stuck to me whenever I sat for an accountancy examination and was the guiding light. Never did I knew how true it would be for my life's balance sheet as well......

Those following this blog would know how many of the good news I have had to share amongst all. Those were good times for me when I thought now I was in control and nothing can go wrong. This was to be but not for long and my worst nightmares started to come true. THE BALANCE SHEET suddenly became unequal. So Mr God up there decided to equalise it and all my sand castles started to come down - one after the other. The happiness that came across was forceful - the balancing effect had double its force. It hit where it hurt the most. Probably coz in the entire euphoria, I somehow happened to ignore that there were fundamental problems with my castels - they were not water proof.

Actually I think this year for me has been very similar to the stock market..... Initial euphoria - Stock market rising..... Up Up Up (the initial 5-6 months of this year for me) and then suddenly came the satanic forces of the global crisis (US goofed up and the Indian market fell down - this analogy only a few would understand who know me well, so dont wreck your brains on it).

Still waiting for the stock markets to recover - maybe it'll be a different sector this time or a different country which pulls it up.

Mid Year Update

2008-06-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

My last entry had come in when the year began, now this one is coming in in the middle of the year...... My researchers' mind says that the next one is due sometime in December :) But its really a shame on my part to have behaved like this. Yet again, I broke my promise to be more regular on my blog. So learning from my past mistakes, I wont say that this time but try to do it.

That reminds me that I have been trying to do a lot of things of late...... Lets start with how these months went by;

What happened to my agenda - Things to do for 2008 (refer to my last blog)

To start off with, I did buy my dream bike - The Royal Enfield 350cc Electra on the 9th of May and I'm damn exhilarated whenever I drive it. I know its not a big deal but its like the first cycle for a child - nothing like it then (remember your first time :)). It cost me a hell lot on my pocket as the interest rates are also up but its okay, I did managed it and the wait was over.

Secondly, I am now writing this from Mumbai which means that I managed to get transfered to Mumbai as I had thought of - closer now to my loved ones and friends :) Another reason for me to have a big grin on my face. Got shifted in the middle of March and things have been good since then, better than Delhi in terms of my personal life. As for the most often debated subject of Delhi vs Mumbai - which is better, maybe on my next post.

Thirdly, my elder sister got married in April this year and things have been good for her as well since then. yet another reason for me to be happy. :) :)

So lots of positives till now apart from a few here and there type sad events but thats fine as I keep taking it as a part of the game. Its okay or else you tend to miss out on the fun ;)

Today is a special day for me as I have started off to quit smoking - at least reduce it considerably. I know that in one of my posts I had said that it would go down with me to my grave but that was out of the love for it. Today, I'm trying to quit for something which is more valuable to me than it. Fair trade I guess. You give some, you take some. Lets see how far I go, This is a serious attempt and I do plan to pull this act through. Wish me luck :)

More on my next post. Till then, enjoy and keep reading.......... :)

WELCOME 2008!!!!!

2008-01-31T02:00:00.000-08:00

Pooh!!!!! That was indeed a long gap..... Nevertheless, I think I do not owe an explanation in my own webspace :) Jokes apart there were two main reasons for such a late attendance. Firstly, I could not think of anything on which I should write (nothing much happening or am I plain sulking) and secondly, as many of you would agree I was lazy :( Anyways whats gone is gone.

So whats new. 2008 is here. As usual at the start of this year we are expecting things to take a positive shape. All of us have a tendency to treat an upcoming year as the saviour grace to all of our problems and by the time half of it goes by, we find out that this was the worst year we ever had. Reason for this - not known. Why all the big hooplah over it. Its just another date yaar!!!! chill mar daru pee, naya bahana mila hai :)

On my front, a few things seem to be surfacing for the good. I'm all set to join a new organisation called Millward Brown International (http://www.millwardbrown.com/). No I havent changed jobs, not so early. Its a result of a collaborative relationship my organisation has with this company which is setting up in India. Its a good move because of the kind of work that would be coming my way, package and of course more future options in the area of marketing. Thats latest on the professional front.

There was an alumni meet that I recently attended at my alma mater IIFM, Bhopal. Although the alumni attendance was too sparce but I had other plans. The idea was to basically chill out and remind oneself of the good old days and that i did with utmost perfection. I would call it a trip to remember. Yes ofcourse the team was missing and had teh gang been there, it would have been not rocking, not fun but simply maddening and hysteric. At the end of the trip I realised I did myself a favour and am looking forward to more number of such visits back in campus.

The trip to Bhopal was also important as it made me realise what all I wasnt doing in my life and what all was missing and slowly fading away. The fun, bubblyness, charm, enthusiasm (in a nutshell kaminapan) seems to all fade out with time and lack of company. Am I too demanding as there are many other friends of mine who are in more challenging places without a lot that I already have and are not complaining. Maybe I am. But I just dont care. I am not perfect and I love it that ways :)

A lot of changes are expected in this year, maybe my location in Delhi; maybe no Delhi. All this is for time to tell. What makes it a happy note for me is the fact that the year has started on a good note and so again I like all others am expecting this year to be my saviour grace ;)

Here are a few things that I have planned to do this year;

1. Visit outside Delhi and meet friends more often

2. Indulge more in my own self in terms of the expenses that I incur on myself from my own earnings

3. Purchase a Royal Enfield motorcycle (something that I cant wait for)

4. Try my level best to move out of Delhi, probably to Mumbai

5. Be happy all the time no matter what comes my way.

6. Visit IIFM at least two more times this year

Well this list is very personalised so might not be interest to many but Hey dude, its my Blog ;)

Lets see how things shape up. As of now I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Assure you guys that my next post would be coming soon and not like the last one. Till then CIAO.

Of Weekends, Alumni Meets & EARTHQUAKES

2007-11-26T00:50:00.000-08:00

Well Well Well........ This is as excited and happening as it can get. Weekends which were always the most sought after but yet the most boring and uneventful ones had a different story to tell this time round.

It all started off with the ever exciting, most awaited Friday evening with a dear friend of mine Tarique bhai who treated me with beer, crab, fish and more sumptous chinese delights, followed as usual by Old Monk which was like a topping on the cake.
I was looking forward to the following day (Saturday) as we had our Alumni Meet for the Delhi Chapter at IHC, Delhi.
It was a real treat to meet some old friends and lost lost seniors at the occasion which was indeed a remarkable effort by our juniors who took it on them to organise the entire event. The event started with some informal introductions and then some formal ones, interactions with some old and some very old seniors as well as juniors. The entire crowd could have been divided into different sets of people. Some trying to catch up with seniors who could be helpful in their career pursuit as they were working in the same industry or functional areas. The other half having a gala time with their own lost out batchmates with whom they lost touch with. A small fraction (esp the juniz) were busy with the arrangements and were aiming towards a prospective database of alumni who could be helpful for the institute in many aspects. It was strange that even in the midst of all this hullaballu everybody had a connection with everybody else. Some leg pulling from here, some taunts from there. It was pure fun. It all ended with some lovely dinner and the typical IIFM anthem sung with full pomp and unison.

That was as good as it could get and just when I started to think that the remaining weekend would be boring, up came Old Monk again and Saturday was past. I woke up surprisingly with a heavy head (had caught a cold - dont blame Old Monk), bid Tarique bhai good bye as he was to leave for Raipur that morning. I kept sleeping then till afternoon, did nothing all day as was not feeling like doing anything. The test match kept me busy and they were also screening Desperado on AXN. So came the evening. Old Monk resurfaced. My brother was supposed to come back with his family that night. They came, we chatted and caught up on the events that had taken place over tha past few days and went off to sleep early, in the hope of getting a good sleep.

Yeah i remember theres an EARTHQUAKE mentioned in the title of the post and i'm coming to it guys........ As i was saying, I slept off and in the middle of the chilly night came a tremor, I felt I was dreaming and suddenly the bottle of water beside me fell to the ground. It never struck to me that it could be an earthquake. It lasted for a few seconds and I didnt care about it as I was too drowsy to understand whats going on. Back to sleep again.

My phone rings at around 5 in the morning. Prashant (one of my juniors on his internship in Delhi) calls up and enquires how am I. I was furious, Why do have to call at 5 in the morning to ask me that when i left you at 9 in the night. Obviously I'm okay. He then told me that there was an earthquake shock that Delhi had experienced now. I started to regain conciousness....... remember what I thought as a dream????? Well thankfully I was fine and so was everybody else. I started thinking that what if it comes again but I was too lazy to get out of my bed. I thought "If it has to happen then be it, I dont wanna screw up my sleep" but I was staring at the ceiling of my room above which were 4 floors. This suddenly made me realise of the very vulnareable position that I was in just in case theres an earthquake. It also reminded me of all the tiny insects, flies, mosquitoes that I had squashed. It seemed that in the event of an earthquake all those insects would join forces and request to God to give me the same kind of treatment. All this made me realize that I did not want to die.... At least not like this!!!!! So unwanting though I got off my bed and the love to not die took me to the door from where I looked outside and saw that it was an empty scene. So I came back thinking all is well....... That marked the end of the eventful weekend that I had but it left me with some questions.....

1. What if Delhi would actually experience an earthquake??????
2. What happens to the country then??????
3. What happens to the economy??????
4. Will Pakistan suddenly launch an attack on India to seize this golden opportunity?????
5. Why cant we relocate the country's capital to a place which does not fall in the siesmic zone????
6. @ Alumni Meet - When will I go back to IIFM, Bhopal????? :(
(I know thoughts no 4, 5, 6 are really foolish and kiddish but remember I was sleeping, so I am allowed to think insane ;))

Well thats it folks!!!!!!! Catch you up on my next post!!!!!!!!!

This Ones to Alcohol!!!!! hic hic hic

2007-11-18T22:51:00.000-08:00

Well its been really long since my last post...... Sorry blog.....

The motivation behind this post is an old love of mine...... OLD MONK..... I've been drinking it for close to more than 6 years now and it has never let me down..... Interestingly, I find it there in almost all of the wonderful moments that I cherish......

Some analysis of Old Monk.........

Advantages....
Cheap and Affordable.......
Starts working with the first gulp that you take
Doesnt give you a hangover
An excellent medicine just in case you have a throat problem (regular old monk rummies rarely have this problem ;))
Has a sweeter taste than the others
The bottle reminds you of the old age drunkards in a barn or an inn......
Gives you the rusty feel
Has a colour which ignites passion within you
Goes great with soda, water or coke
You can use the old monk bottles for growing money plants in your home (donno what the connection is but invariably everyone would have seen one)

Disadvantages.....
Hardly any......
Sucks up your liver (but who cares)
Has a tendency to take you out of bounds as you cant stop and the results of Old monk overdose can be catastrophic (leaves you with a wide variety to choose from....... superman, spiderman, shaktimannn, saint, devil....... you can turn into anything)
Not available everywhere

Old Monk in other words can be described as Pleasure Guaranteed..... We started off together during my Delhi University days and it seems to stick even till date. Back then it was the most affordable drink as we were always short of cash but now its graduated as being the most favourite. I would also like to mention about the magnificient correlation Old Monk and Wills Navy Cut ciggarates share...... Both are like husband and wife..... And these two have stayed with me for a considearbly long period of time......

Well I know the evils of smoking and drinking and I also know that had I been a sane person, I should not be doing it..... But hey......., who said that i was sane and if I aint, whats the point of mentoring an insane????? And moreover, everyone has a different set of priorities, ideas, likes and dislikes..........This is just to ward off any comments dealing with I should quit and stuff....... Sorry, I think these two will go down with me till my grave...........

To Alcohol....... The cause and the solution to all of lifes' problems..........

CHEERS!!!!!!!!!

Dil Dosti etc....

2007-10-11T23:43:00.000-07:00

Well as the name suggests, this is about the recently released movie Dil Dosti etc by Manish Tiwary and Prakash Jha. There is just one thing I would say to it. BRILLIANT!!! Probably this review is more as a result of a bias that i have towards life @ Delhi University. Anyways, I personally think that this movie is a must watch for all Delhi University students who are non delhiites.

Other expert reviews of the movie have criticised it for slow pace but I disagree. Another reason why I particularly like the movie is because it can be very closely related to one of my all time fav movie "Hazaron Khwahishien Aisi". In a way i think Dil Dosti is a prelouge to Hazarron ...... In the most subtle manner, it depicts the various moods of Delhi University and the interaction of the atmosphere with the students' life (which already carries a baggage of cultures and ethos with it) therein. Such a movie could only have been made by a DU student and not much to my surprise, the director Manish Tiwary is was a student of Hindu College, Delhi University.

The character of Sanjay Mishra (Shreyas Talpade) can eb closely related to that of what Kay Kay Menon played in Hazaroon.... while that of Apoorva (Naseruddin Shah's son) is something I would attribute to Vikram Malhotra (Shyney Ahuja).

The movie is a good sail back into ones graduation days with all memories flshing back. Maybe among all characters in the movie, one can connect oneself with someone. It reminds one of all the many questions which seemed unanswerable, all challenges which seemed difficult, our priorities then and now........ A must watch.......

Ardh Satya: Half Truth

2007-09-21T01:30:00.002-07:00

Well my obsession to this poem by the maratha maestro Dilip Chitre made many a friends laugh at me.... Those were good days when people kept looking for an opportunity to pull your leg. Still i think this poem deserves a mention and so here it is..... A really thought provoking work.

Chakravyuh mein ghusne se pehle kaun tha main, aur kaisa tha
Yeh mujhe yaad hi na rahe

Chakravyuh mein ghusne ke baad
Merey our chakravuyh ke beech sirf jaan leva nikatta (nearness) thi
Is ka mujhe patha he na chaley

Chakravyuh se bahar nikalney paar main mukth ho javun baley hi.
Fir bhi chakravyuh ke rachna mei farkh hi naa padega

Marun ya maaron mara javun ya jaan se mar doon
Iska faisla kabhi na ho payega

Soya hua admi jab neend mein se utkhar chalnaa shuru karta hai
Tab saapnon ka saansar usey dubara dhek hi nahi payega

Us roshni mei,
Jo nirnay ki roshni hai
Saab kuch saaman hoga kya?

Ek paladey mei napun sakta
Dusrey paladey par paarush
Aur theek tarazu ke kaantey paar

Ardh satya

By DILIP CHITRE

The Satanic God, The Godly Satan and Me

2007-09-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

Here is something i wrote sometime back. Thought I might share it. Incidentally on reading it again today, I agree more to the title of my blog space....DISSENTED UNISONS.... Have a look.

They say there is god. They say there is evil. They say there is a good and they say there is a bad. The contests between the virtues and the vices have been age old and biased. The vices, evil and the bad have never been contested against the fair, even and the good on a plain ground. It has always had a biased contest with the so called and professed good where the latter had won before the contest. Who was he who marked these differences? Did we ever challenge his thought and prophesies as being a component of good or evil? I guess not. There are a million such questions which still stand unanswered and the common logic behind their acceptance is the fact that it has been agreed upon since generations. I refuse to agree to such reasoning if at all there is reasoning. I behold my right to think and to judge. I agree to give the evil a chance to prove its mettle.

The straight of Gibraltar was until long assumed to be the end of the world. No one ever questioned it as it was something being passed on through generations. The great Galileo was looked upon with disgust and was treated as an outcast and a rebel till the day the whole world started to worship his thoughts as one of the greatest revelations in the history of mankind. The point that I want to make here is anything assumed without a question is nothing but fallacy and an insult to mankind and its ability to think.

What is and who is god? The supreme power and the creator of this universe is the often heard answer. A few questions do still linger in my mind. If it was god who created this world which is one of his best creations, why is he not part of it? Is it so shameful or is it that it is not a great creation and we are living in hell which we assume to reach after we die? If he is a part of this world, he is mortal as we know that there is nothing immortal in this universe. If he is mortal, why do we worship him and regard him for being immortal. What is his age? When was he born? Why is he hiding? Why not do a life cycle assessment of god? These arguments might sound weird and disturbing for the brains which refuse to accept the fact that god is a non entity. I stand in the middle of god and Satan today and am asking these questions because I live by reason and logic and am providing the same opportunity for both god and Satan.

God as I see it is nothing but an extended version of ones fear. He is the living manifestation of our incompetence and lack of knowledge. I would like to take the reader to our prehistoric times wherein the wind, sea, water, thunder, jungles were worshipped. At that point in time there was no Christ, no Krishna, no Prophet, no Judas, no Nanak and no Buddha. These were the gods of the prehistoric times. These were worshipped because man was afraid of their fury, their anger and their power to destroy. He had been witness to incidents when he was exposed to the wrath of these natural forces. He had no answer to such phenomenon then and was helpless. Over the period of time, the meteorological sciences evolved, engineering sciences evolved which understood these forces and to a large extent invented and developed ways wherein man could be saved by the wrath of these forces. The fear is till there today but very minimal. This is because we have been successful in exploring the logic, science and reason behind these forces. They do not scare us anymore so we do not worship them anymore.

This analogy leads us to a point where we establish the fact that we worship things that we fear. All of us fear the evil, the Satan. He then under the reasoning established should be worshipped and is none different than god himself. Man is powerful and fear can only come down in one form. Fear is fear as A is A. There can be no other meaning to it. Fear cannot hold attributes like the good fear and the bad fear. If we start assigning attributes to fear, we start being biased again. The entire universe is an explanation of science. I would agree to a few of my friends who would pose questions on me regarding many unanswered issues and questions with regard to the creation and birth of this universe. To them, I would like to go back to the example of Galileo and say that our science is still not so developed to find answers to those questions. The growth of science would mean the death of god. An absolute panacea is something which will eliminate all fears from our minds and thereby eliminate the God as well as the Satan. There would be no one to blame them for our mistakes and no one to take credit for our successes. It would be only us, responsible for what we do. To some extent, even today we are in a manner quite similar to our pre historic godfathers who were apprehensive about various forces of nature. Even now we are apprehensive about many issues. I might be over estimating or talking in a language which reeks of over optimism and agree that the absolute evolution of science is more of an ideal situation as of date and does not seem very practically possible but this does not refute my reasoning that the day when it is achieved there would be no fear and no god or Satan. To assign all these scientific evolutions to someone called god is like taking credit away from someone deserving.

I myself believe in God and am not an atheist but a few questions still linger in my mind which I cannot ignore. These questions put me in a dilemma. Although being a believer in god, I have more faith in the power of mankind and the ability of the muscle and the brain. There is nothing more powerful and more beautiful than that. God is a sign of my weakness and I am not ashamed to confess it.

Utopia: It does exist

2007-09-20T00:39:00.000-07:00

Well its really very late to talk on the subject but why not???? This post is dedicated to the most wonderful days of my life. My life at IIFM.

Whats the big fuss about this place called IIFM???? Every IIFMite on the net keeps bragging about it???? Well to this I'd say, you cannot imagine the Indian summer, its effect and its harshness until u've been there. Contrary to this IIFM would come as the first rain after this summer. Its more than a place on the map. You need to experience it to know what we're talking about.

Life @ IIFM started for me on a really funny note. I was one of the first ones to reach the campus. Once there, I saw a few people sitting in the lawn between the hostels and chatting. My Delhi University mind told me, this was something like ragging (I said to myself COOL!!!!) I walked up to my room and there was this guy from the lawn following me who said "JAB FRESH HO JAO TO NEECHE AA JAANA"(Once u've freshed up, come down to the lawn). The tone and the body language made me think he was a senior to me. Once in the lawn, I got to know he was no else than a batchmate. One who would be one of my closest friends and an iconic figure in IIFM. The great Sreekant Kumar.

Well that done, I understood that life was slow at IIFM and that was quite a shock to begin with but over a period of time we acclamatised to life there or rather IIFM acclamatised to our way of life. Some wonderful seniors, fantastic juniors and lifelong friends is what IIFM gave me. From playing pranks to bringing changes in the system, booze parties to saraswati pooja and Govinda, from wildlife in India to the future of corporates, worst fights to the greatest friendship tales; we did it all at IIFM. In a way sometimes, I feel IIFM is like the iconic hindi blockbuster SHOLAY. Its just a perfect mix. Something u'd like to experience over and over again.

Well all that we mentioned above is nothing new to any MBA institute. All of them do it. So what is it about this place. Introspecting a little, I came to the conclusion that IIFM allowed each one of us to learn and live management without being snobs. All of us kept our respective identities and never changed them. Shree babu is still the typical Bihari guy, Roby still confused, doped and musical, Tirkey still hasnt increased the rate of his speech delivery. What I mean to say is there were no airs about anyone, whether inside or outside IIFM. We were all tha same and probably that is what made life so damn cool at IIFM. Also its a wonderful place to be in which puts you in a fantastically peaceful state of mind. You need silence, walk down to any corner of the campus (Sunset point being the fav), you need commotion and happenings, what better place than the IIFM boys hostel and the most celebrated "BABA Mandalis".

Apart from all these, I love IIFM because it has given me the biggest reason to smile and grin wide and open in my life. Two really wonderful people whom I'll cherish all my life. One of them is a reflection of my one self but flip sided. He brings the storm in my life. The other one a more softer version of me, brings in the smoothness that prevents me from turning into a machine from a human. This is the reason why I love both these wonderful human beings. They reflect the two shades of me which when combined results in Dissented unisons.

Hello.......

2007-09-20T00:27:00.000-07:00

Hello Blog.........

This ofcourse is my first blog ever apart from a few comments posted here and there. The choice of starting up an own blog space indeed took me quite some time although for no reason or probably important reasons. See thats the reason why I've named you Dissented Unisons :) .

Well to just introduce myself to you, I'm an MBA (less by qualification and more by chance), working in Delhi. I hail from Jharkhand (a recently formed state in India) but my heart lies in Bihar. A commerece graduate from Delhi University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal.

I hope both of us together would have a good time and I am able to do justice to you. Probably together we can try and transform these dissented unisons into simple unisons. Rather on the contrary, we might also add a few more such dissents. Lets see, thats for time to tell.