Tum Ho.....

Tum Ho..

Tum Ho Paas MereSaath MereTum yoonJitna Mehsoos Karoon tumkoUtna Hi Paa Bhi Loon

You are...You are near me...with me...
The more I feel you, the more I get you....

Tum Ho Mere Liye
Mere Liye ho Tum yoon
Khud Ko Main Haar Gaya Tum Ko
Tumko main Jeeta Hoon

You are..You are for me..I have lost myself..but I have won you...

Kahin Se Kahin Ko Bhi
Aao Bewajah Chalen
Poochhe Bina Kisi Se
Hum Milen
Bandishen Na Rahi Koi Baaki Tum Ho

Lets walk in any direction...without a reason...
Let meet together....without a permission...
There are no boundaries anymore..Becuase You are...

Kis Tarah, Chheenega
Mujh Se Ye Jahaan Tumhe
Tum bhi Ho hai Kya Fikar Ab Humein

How will this world separate me from you...
Why should I worry about anything, when I have you..Because You are....

Lyrics:Irshad Kamil

Crazy, Stupid..Love...

This recent past has been incredibly thought provoking...I somehow tried to control my thinking; but a recent conversation with a friend has forced me to at least pen down my thoughts. A word of caution: A lot of my Indian friends will not like/agree with my views, but this is one way of looking at things.

Scene1: Recently my Facebook has a lot of updates of people being in a relationship..I'm so very happy for them, but a sudden declaration of their love amuses me, I happened to know(at least 80% of these love stories) that they have been dating for years, but their respective families had no knowledge about it, and now that they are getting engaged/married; they feel (morally) 'ok' to accept it and make it a public statement. The most common reason behind hiding their 'love' to their families is 'our parents are not that forward to understand us.'

Scene 2: I am chatting with a friend about a future trip. I invite her to tag along. She declined saying her parents won't agree. So I suggested, how about you give your parents all our contact numbers, our house phone numbers, and a detailed plan of our trip? Her response: 'No, that won't work either. you know, my parents are not that forward.'

This one statement makes me think again and again, if its really the case. Why our parents are not forward? Does this mean they are not compassionate enough to understand us? our feelings? or is it just  something 'we- this generation' decide for them...

I strongly believe, India is a worse country when it comes to social life..Our daily decisions involve too much of 'what people will say' factor..There is way too much interference of 'people' in our lives..which has bothered me since my childhood..so I agree, that could be one factor of this so called 'backwardness' of the parents..but thats 'just one factor'. 

I personally believe that this is a communication barrier. India is awesome when it comes to family life. We are raised in a healthy, happy family environment. Our parents know us deeply. We spend a quality time with them. But this picture changes once the college life starts and suddenly we start assuming that 'they won't understand us.' I have gone through numerous fights with my folks over small issues, but one thing always helped us get through was 'an attempt in having a communication.' I strongly feel that our parents are willing to come down to our level and listen to us. All we have to do is  present our case. Does that mean its gonna be all hunky-dory? Obviously not..there will be more fights, tears, misunderstandings, silent wars and much more...but this will also help build a strong relation between us and our parents..I can now say it, because I am witnessing it myself. (I'm not saying the job is done for me here.) Had there not been those ugly encounters between me and my parents, we wouldn't be able to have a mature, adult conversation today..Trust me, I have had the worst behavior with them at times, but they still loved me in that. We still fight, disagree over things and decisions, but we are learning to accept each other with those diferences and yet stand together. And that makes me want to share my life with them. I look forward to know my mother's opinion on things..and it feels great to know that there is someone with me no matter what...

And may be that the exact reason that I feel we should take that step to have a communication. Yes, its so difficult at times, but its always better than hiding or not laying it out. So instead of making them 'backward', why don't we all move 'forward' together? After all they love us and we reciprocate...its definitely a crazy, stupid love. 

Playing the Enemy

Two things marked the importance of this day....

First, my morning started with the news that a bill has been passed for promotions in jobs based on the cast a person belongs to (and may be no more talent and hard work) ; and second, the movie 'Invictus'.

Indeed any news about reservations in India disturbs me. I was, am and will always be against reservations based on casts. In my opinion it has always restricted my country and now its destroying. I love being an Indian and I am proud of it as much as I need to be. But one thing I learnt from the pledge we used to recite in our classes is 'we all are equal' and it saddens me to see that my own people have forgotten this fact.

While watching the movie I couldn't resist but think of this issue (I would rather call it a problem). The movie depicts a part of Nelson Mandela's work. The way he united the country through the medium of sports. There is a scene, where he observes that South Africans are divided based on their skin color, and he tries to bridge the gap through a game. We have similar situation, we have been; over the years separated on the basis of cast, and its high time we realize this.

The leader in the movie tries to build the nation by minimizing the differences and hiding the dark past. Our so called leaders (and I mean each and every one of them) are doing the exact opposite. They are using the differences to their personal gains. Yes, we had a dark past too; but we always have a great future, only if we choose to see it. And for that we must learn to look past these barriers. Our nation is known for its 'Unity in diversity', We conveniently show or use the diversity but we forget to trust and promote our Unity. 

Its not about who acted right or wrong in the past, its always about how can 'we' make things better. In order to succeed in any battle its importance to know the enemy. And I strongly feel, any system that tears us apart, or because of which some useless people create an unhealthy environment is harmful. Its a bigger enemy than any terrorism or foreign hand. I feel we should know this. Because the change has to come from within us...I can't stop reading these lines by William Ernest Henley....they say a lot to me...

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

A Letter to politicians

To my dear (?) politicians and their followers,

Now that the elections are over, you have got time to rest. 

Reading every day newspaper (any and every Indian newspaper) makes me sad..

Everyday I read about at least two news involving some political party people getting down on the streets and disturbing the social life and destroying the public property. 

It saddens me more coz this behavior is certainly not right. Agree, you have got problems, your demands weren't fulfilled, your right was denied, your so called 'religious' feelings ( this also includes castes n stuff) were hurt (which is the most common thing in india), but guys, this is definitely not the way one should react. 

All those political parties following whoever and/or whatever beliefs; I am positive that there is NO mention of destruction. India had so many great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. Ambedkar or Shivaji Maharaj (specifically them, coz they are conveniently reminded by our politicians), and the common thing between all the three is they have always wanted, tried and established peace. There is not a single example of any of them asking/ordering/allowing their followers to march on the streets and disturb the peaceful environment; mess up with the public property created and owned by (coz Indian common man pays his/her taxes regularly) the public and create nuisance. 

So how about checking where do you stand in your (so called) faith and actually following what all these great leaders have set up before you as an example. Yeah, you have been fooling Indian public for over 50 years with your mesmerizing speeches, now how about some actual productive work which does not involve breaking the buses and setting up shops on fire? 

If you get some time, from your important work (of fooling and robbing masses), give it a thought. Thank you. 

                                                                                                                                     Yours faithfully (?)

                                                                                                                    a common man