Daily Routine

The quality of life in Mumbai city is pathetic. I have seen young people suffering from heart disease. Let me analyse the daily routine of a common man in Mumbai.
1> He gets up at 6 am
2> Finishes his daily chores by 7.30am
3> Takes his breakfast and is ready to go to office by 8.15 am
4> Reaches bus stand by 8.25 am
5> Waits for the bus in queue and finally catches it by 8.45 am
6> Reaches the nearest Railway station by 9.15 am
7> Catches the train at 9.20 am. He does not have to stand in queue for ticket since he is holding monthly pass.
8> Reaches the station nearest to his office by 9.45 am ( This is approx time since it depends on where his office is located)
9> Takes another bus to reach office or walks on foot (Apprx 15 mins)
10> Reaches office by 10 am
11> Works in office betwwen 8-10 hrs. Prepares to leave for home by 7 pm
12> Catches bus and reaches nearest railway station by 7.15pm
13> Takes fast local which is overcrowded. Reaches station nearest to his home by 8.pm
14> Waits for bus or auto sometimes up to 30 mts.
15> Takes auto or bus at 8.30 pm
16> Reaches home between 9.30 pm and 10pm. This is due to heavy traffic jam.
17> His children is asleep by that time and his wife is waiting for his return
18> He takes Dinner by 10.30pm
19> He goes to sleep by 11.00pm

The list of activities I have given above is that of an average Mumbaikar. There are people who travel long distances and by the time they reach home, it is 12 midnight.
You can well imagine what kind of life they are leading.

People have no other option but to lead this kind of life. Life is no better for the privileged few who can afford luxury lifestyle. People are overworked. They dont have the time for leasurely activities like going to gym or garden for a walk with the result that they develop disese like diabetese, Artery blockages at young age.
People are caught in the web. People want to earn as much money as possible so that they can lead a comfortable life. They want to work hard in the competitive environment so that they get an edge over others but in doing so, they neglect their health, family, social life etc which is so essential for a person to be happy.

Grand opening

The whole world saw with bated breath the spectacular show produced by India during the opening cremony of commonwealth games, thanks to the last minute effort made by our brave soldiers to save the country from being rediculed and labelled as corrupt, inefficient and incapable of managing a large event. But this does not erase our memory from the fact that our hard earned money has been looted by the corrupt officials. I hope that after the games are over, these officials will be tried in the court of law and if found guilty will be given severe punishment.

Celebrities

My experience has been that celebrities are ordinary folks. They are made larger than life by media and fans. Those who are in demand are living in palatial bunglows and move around in expensive cars. They hardly come in contact with general public.
But those celebrities who are not high in popularity chart afford such luxuries and they move out to co operative societies. I have had the opportunities to interact with such celebrities. Presently, I am staying in a very large complex consisting of 2 towers and 6 buildings of 7 floors each. This society is located in a posh area in western suburbs of Mumbai. There are many celebrities ( Not so popular type) who are staying in our complex. Some are music directors, Actors, T.V. Host, Models etc. It is a coincidence that one of them who happens to be an actress and who has worked in Hindi films in the past is staying in the flat just opposite mine. She is married to a guy who is an international pilot. She has been staying in the complex even before we moved into this complex 5 years ago. She is very tall, very fair and good looking. She soon became friendly with me wife and often used to come to our flat and chat with her. I had no objection to her coming to my flat so long as it did not invade my privacy. We, on our part helped her as and when required so as to maintain a good neighbourly relations. Gradually, I started noticing that her behaviour and mannerism was very insulting at times. She will ring the bell of our main door at odd hours sometimes at 12 midnight for silly things like asking for change. She did not even bother to apologige for her behaviour. Once, she entered our flat holding a glass of juice. I thought, she is going to offer this to us. But instead, she herself was drinking juice from the glass while chatting with my wife. She often used to criticise all other members residing in the building. We then started ignoring her and would give some excuse or the other whenever she required any help from us. Being in the glamour world, she had many bad habits. She used to hold parties at night with loud music creating noise and disturbing everybody. She was addicted to smoking. Whenever we opened the main door of our flat, we will find her smoking while sitting in the staircase. The stench of the cigarette smoke at times was so intense that it was difficult for me to stand even for one minute waiting for the lift. I was very upset with her behaviour. She had no right to smoke in common area and endanger the health of the other members residing in the neighbourly flats. I was the chairman of the society. I put up a notice on the noticeboard which read "Smoking is strictly prohibited in public place. The society will impose a fine of Rs 500 on any member found smoking in common area like staircase, garden, lobby etc". This lady defied the rules completely and continued to smoke. When the security guards came and told her not to smoke, she started shouting and blatantly told them she is not going to stop smoking. She will rather pay fines than stop smoking.

I have told you this story to impress upon the point that celebrities are spoilt brats. They think, they are above the common people. They think, they can get away with anything by sheer power of money. They have no civilised manners, not even basic courtsey which is expected of a normal human beings. They carry an inflated ego with themselves thanks to chamchas and media who make them larger than life. Some societies have rightly made it a point not to allow such people to buy flats in their premises.

The straight line that you draw will look big until you draw another line which is bigger than the one you have drawn previously. CSW scandal, the latest one in the series of scandals this country has witnessed over the last 10 years is perhaps the biggest one to date. All other scams including IPL, look peanuts compared to the scam of this magnitude. Public money has been laundered and looted to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees. The hard earned money of Indian people has gone into the pockets of few shameless corrupt officials. I ask you why the hell should the income tax be paid by the citizen of this country to the government which is not put to use for road infrastructure, public transport, Hospitals and other developmental activities but wasted in such manner. The officials who are involved in this crime may never be punished as usual but what perhaps the Indian Public can do is to boycott commonwealth games as a sign of protest. Ministers, beauracrats, Govt officials have become corrupt to such an extent that they keep denying their involvment despite all the documentary evidence. Why ministers, even the doctors cannot be trusted now a days whose profession is considered noble. It is difficult to pinpoint a single individual who is not corrupt. Corruption is the single biggest impediment in the growth of the country which has the larget pool of technical manpower in the world.

Traffic woes

It has been a long time since I have written blog. Reason being that I have been very busy now a days with a project. There is no other reason for not writing the blog for so long. I hope you understand what I mean. I find Mumbai's traffic very frustrating specially while driving down in the evening back home. I am covering a distance of roughly 20 Kilometers from my home to workplace and vice versa but it takes me 2 1/2 to 3 hours in driving everyday which develops lot of stress in my body. It is not just the traffic intensity that is causing stress but the gross indiscipline of motorists, Autodrivers and pedestrians in following traffic rules that is scary and dangerous. I have to pass through narrow lanes in between which is not wide enough to accommodate even 2 cars in the same row. There is always a risk of meeting with an accident. Even if I cross the traffic signal with green light showing , I still feel unsafe because vehicles can come from any direction and hit me. Almost everybody breaks the signals unmindful of the consequences of doing so. Scooters, autos, Cars can be seen being driven in haphazard manner posing serious threat to life. There is no sense of traffic rules whatsoever. Traffic police is nowhere to be seen. It is free for all. Do whatever you like kind of scenario. Everybody seems to be in a rush to go to grave. Everyday, I wonder whether I will be able to reach home safely. It is this anxiety that is causing stress

Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Who can forget Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1985 in which more than 40 thousand people reportedly died and more than 2 lakhs people were crippled on account of leakages of poisionous gas from Union Carbide factory located in Bhopal. The actual death toll could be much higher. Indian Court has finally given verdict after 25 years by which time people have already forgotten about this horrible tragedy. Those who are alive are still suffering from various diseases. The government has given compensation to the effected families which is good for nothing. The amount is not even adequate to meet medical expenses of those who are undergoing medical treatment in various hospitals. The wound which is inflicted upon thousands of families will perhaps never be healed. To add salt to the wound, the govt of India has given safe passage to Anderson the Chief of Union Carbide to flee from the country, who is the prime accused in this Tragedy. Whatever be the political compulson under which the govt allowed Anderson to go scot free, they had no right to let go the murderer of thousands of innocent lives. It was the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who should be held responsible for this Barbaric act without whose knowledge Anderson would not have escaped.

Now, coming to the point, when the news of Bhopal Tragedy was flashed in media and peoples memories were revived, the Govt gave lukewarm response saying it comes under the jurisdiction of state Govt and central govt does not have any role to play in Anderson's release. But when the chief minister of M.P. gave a statement saying that he received instructions from prime minister's office to Release Anderson, the central govt immediately responded by saying that Rajiv was not even aware of it as he was busy campaigning for elections in south. All senior ministers of congress party started defending Rajiv Gandhi. The common sense says how can a state minister take such a major decision without instructions from the prime minister.

Congress party is now talking of taking a fresh look at the compensation to be given to families of those killed or effected. Perhaps it is a ploy to buy some time for the public anger to subside. After some time, everything will be back to square one.

Had a tragedy of this magnitude occured in US, Anderson by now would have been given life sentence. But in India, if you are powerful, if you are influential, rich, you can get away with any crime. There will be no public protest whatsover. Perhaps, the lives lost in Bhopal belonged to lower middle class and labour class only who were employed by Union Carbide. There is no protest because public is insensitive to the lives of poor people. Just look at what happened in 26/11 Mumbai Terror strike. The terrorists this time targetted rich people including foreigners. This time, there was large scale protest by people including film stars, people belonging to business class and the govt had to bow down to the public pressure. Home minister Shivraj patil was asked to quit, Chief mainister of maharshtra Deshmukh had to give resignation and the central govt had to institute a high level committee to upgrade security of states. Rapid action force was developed and deployed in four states within four months. Intelligence agencies started working in tandem with each other. Surveillance in coastel areas were improved. These measures were taken on war footing.

Justice to the victims of Bhopal tragedy can be done only if the common man comes out on the street and protest against the lackadaisical manner in which the govt has acted so far and provided meager compensation to the victims of the tragedy.
I am writing this post for the common man because I associate myself with them.

I dont know whether people will even bother to read my blog because I am a non entity in the eyes of the common man. If I were a Sachin Tendulkar or Amitabh Bachhan, thousands of people would have flocked to read my blog and give comments. What really matters now a days is who has written the blog rather than what is written in it.

Nevertheless, I am not writing to scale myself up in popularity chart. If that were the motive, I would have stopped writing long back because I hardly get any comments in my blog. I am writing basically to express my emotions and thoughts just as someone maintains personal diary. I will continue to write because writing according to me is a beautiful medium of expression of thought.

Little Bird

Little bird has spread her wings

I try to see her

But I can't

All I can see is

Tremendous courage within her bosom

to fly high in the sky

Are you listening

Nature is trying to tell you something. Peaks of mountains tell you keep your self esteem high. Don’t downgrade yourself. Flowing water of river is telling you flow with the time. Don’t stand still. You will be left behind. Little birds flutter their wings with joy and tell you. Celebrate every moment of life for it is beautiful. Don’t worry about the future. God is there to take care of you. Moving Clouds in the sky tell you, dance with joy and thank God that he has given you this beautiful life. Rays of the rising sun tells you, do not discriminate for all are equal in the eyes of God. Branches of trees laden with fruits tell you, be humble and Learn to give. You will receive only if you give. Sweet fragrance of flower in the garden tells you, spread the message of peace and harmony around you. Harvest in the field tells you, sow the seed and wait for the harvest. Don’t hurry up for you don’t get anything before time. You reap what you sow. Little ants tell you, get organized and work as a well knit team, you will not fail no matter how difficult the task is. Rising waves of the sea tell you, keep your ambition high and make every efforts to achieve it.

Are you listening.

Shopping woos

In India, consumers are taken for granted. I have recently bought a new window A/C which is a branded one. The reason I had to buy new A/C was that my old A/C 's outer case was rusted and thrown away by my carpenter. I thought I will be able to get a new case but I soon realised that since my old A/C was unbranded one, the outer case of the same size was not available in the shop . I had no option but to go in for a new A/C. Since last couple of days, I was looking for a suitable window A/C under exchange scheme. Two days back, I saw an advertisement in Mirror of a branded A/c with exchange scheme. It was a single day special offer. It was so tempting that I decided to go to the shop on the same day and have a look at the product. I ultimately went to the shop along with my wife and daughter. I always involve ladies in decision making as far as household items are concerned. The shop happened to be close by inside a mall. We went to the shop and looked around for window A/C of different brands so as to compare the features along with price tag. Ultimately we zeroed in on the same product which was advertised. The reason being it's lowest price tag and and a watch worth Rs 1000 which came free of cost along with the product. On being asked when the product will be delivered, I was told it will be delivered on the following day. I told the saleman that since this offer is in exchange of old A/C , somebody from his side should come to my house and inspect my old A/c to ensure that it complies with their requirements. To my surprise, the salesman said , it is not necessary. All they want is that it should be in working condition. I said yes, it is in working condition. The deal was fixed. I went to the cashier and paid through my credit card. The cashier gave me the watch and cash memo of the product purchased. We came home satisfied that it was good deal. Following day, two men came along with A/C which was packed in a carton. I told them to keep the carton in the drawing room. They told me that after sometime, their mechanic will come to fix A/C unit in the window. I opened the carton and checked guarantee card and other accessories of the product which were lying inside and finally signed the delivery challan to confirm that I have received the product. While they were leaving, they asked for Chai paani to which I flatly refused. After about 2 hours on the same day, two people came to fix the A/C unit. I had called my carpentor also who had renovated my room to come and supervise the operations. While fixing the unit, it was discovered that the opening in the wall for the window A/C was bigger than the outer case of new A/c unit leaving a gap of almost 2 inches width wise and height wise. My carpentor gave me an assurance that he will plug the gap with wood and paste sunmica sheet of matching color on top of it. Temporarily, the gap was stuffed with thermocol and A/C unit was switched on to test the cooling effect in the room.

The drama unfolds after this incidence. While they were preparing to take my old a/c unit, they complained, the A/C unit does not have outer case. They called up somebody on mobile and asked me to talk to him. I guess he was their supervisor. He was quite rude and told me flatly that they need outer case. When I expressed my inability to give it to him, he said in which case I will have to shell out Rs 1000. I told him that he should have inspected my A/C unit prior to purchase. But he was adamant and demanded the money. I firmly told him that I will not give him anything and if he persisted with his demand, I will have to call the police. I also threatened him that I will go to consumer court and I will file a case against his shop. After this, he cooled down and his men quietly left my place.

Reality shows

There are many reality shows on T.V now a days. They are comparatively more entertaining than soap operas.These shows encourage the spirit of competition among participants. There is nothing wrong in inculcating the spirit of competition because competition helps one bring the best out of him. But what is disturbing is the manner in which the participants are eliminated episode after episode from the shows. This gradual elimination is Inhuman and Barbaric specially if children participate in these shows. The organizers of program do it probably for their own selfish motive but at what cost. Have you noticed whenever there is elimination round, children’s faces look grim with fear of rejection looming large over their innocent face. It is a question of life and death as far as they are concerned. And what happens if a child is eliminated, he immediately bursts into tears. Not only the child, even his mummy starts crying as if everything is finished.The judges try to console them but the damage is done. In any reality show, only one person rejoices for his victory at the end whereas all others who participate along with him during the program depart one by one at some point of time with tears in their eyes.

Do you approve of these shows. At least I don’t.

Forgive me dear

Today, while I was trying to delete files from my hard disk, I was opening each and every word file to ensure that I don't inadvertently delete a file which is important to me. I came across a file in which poetry was stored. When I read first few lines of the poem, I found it so captivating that I could not help reading it from first line to the last line. Soon I realised, it was written by my younger daughter. She is now matured and working in a big corporate. I was not supposed to read her poem without her permission. I must confess it was just a coincidence.I will personally apologige to her in the evening when she comes back home. Let me admit it was such a fine and moving poetry that I have no words to describe it. My voice was choked with emotion, while I was narrating the poem to my wife. This poem was actually a tale of her journey of life right from birth to childhood to adulthood. She narrated her experience with such precision and clarity of thought that it really touched my heart. I have got to know the feelings of my daughter much better through this poem. As a father, I also feel very proud of her. I wish her all the success in her professional and personal life.

Childhood memory

I have recently got one of my bedrooms renovated. Before the renovation, due to lack of space, I had no option but to pack loads of books and magazines in two cartons which were kept in the loft above the bathroom. If I needed any book for reference, I had to stretch my hands right up to the level of loft, pull the carton from the loft, carry the entire load in my hands and bring it down. Then I had to open the carton, search the desired book in the carton. And if the book did not happen to be in this carton, then I had to repeat the same for the second carton. You can imagine the kind of frustration I used to develop doing all this. When I renovated the room, I made sure that the newly made wooden cabinet had enough space to accommodate books and magazines.

I remember it was Sunday. I was busy sorting out the books from both cartons trying to seperate those books and magazines which were of no use to me and which I wanted to dispose of. While I was busy doing this, I came across with a very old magazine of school in which I had studied during childhood. This magazine was published by the school on the occasion of completing 50 years of incorporation and contained photographs of meritorious students with details of their achievements during school days and current profession. My photograph was also published in the magazine as I was also one of the toppers in school. There were many other photographs which I could recognise. Some of them were my colleagues, seniors. There was a seperate section for school teachers. They looked quite pale and old. I could not recognise their faces but I could identify them with their names. It was a pleasant experience.

As I was going through the pages, I had flashback in my memory and I could recollect many events during my school days. There was one incident which was very funny and which I want to share with you. I was in standard V then. I was very scared of a boy who was tall, muscular with a pony tail. This boy used to harass me a lot. He will sit next to me in class room and torture me with his stupid behaviour. I was so traumatised and scared that I did not have the courage to even complain to the teacher. This boy had threatened me that if I complain to the teacher, he will give me solid beating outside the classroom. I was timid and obedient in nature. Although I never got punished in the class, I used to get scared when my colleagues were beaten black and blue for not doing homework. I was on the verge of tears and was unable to concentrate on what the teacher was telling. When the teacher looked at me, he realised there is something wrong. When he asked me what is the matter with you, why are you looking so frightened,I started crying. He told me not to get scared and tell everything to him. I could not find the courage to tell him what happened to me. It was at this moment that another colleague of mine who was sitting in the same row as mine stood up and narrated the entire sequence of events. After this, you can guess what might have happened to the boy who had harassed me.

My childhood memories are still afresh in my mind and I can recollect them frame by frame whenever I come across with an object which is associated with it.

Emotional Atyachar

I was quite aghast to see a channel showing a program called “Emotional Atyachar” with live coverage of boys and girls cheating on their partners. How on earth can a boy or a girl fall in love with his partner without even bothering to see what type of person he or she is. Is it love in the first place or just physical attraction. If it is physical attraction then there is every possibility that he or she has physical relations with others as well. Why do you have to hire a channel to test the loyalty of the partner. Is it lack of trust. Channel on it’s part has no right to invade the privacy of an individual and make it public.

I am not a psychologist but I consider myself good at reading the body language which helps me in understanding a person’s nature. Unfortunately, there are married couples who inspite of living together for many years don’t understand each other properly which ultimately ruins their marital relationship. When you meet a person of same sex or opposite sex, you need to understand the person you are meeting thoroughly. Generally, during such meetings, the person tries to project himself as the best person available. He does not reveal his true self. That is when reading the body language comes to your rescue. Rather than what he says, the body language tells you what he has in mind or his intentions. The tone, the eye contact, posture, Gesture, facial expression etc say something to you. If the body language is not in synch with what the person says, the person is hiding facts. You are not conscious of your body language while you are talking. It comes naturally to you as a reflex action. It is easy to manipulate what you say, but it is very difficult to manipulate your body language which is the true reflection of your intentions. Let us see how you can read body language

1> Hands-- When you meet and shake hands with the other person, just notice how he is holding your hands..If it is too tight and gripping, it means he is of dominating nature
If the other person holds your fingers instead of full hand, it means he lacks self confidence. If the person is holding your hand for a longer period than is necessary, he or she is physically attracted to you. If the hand is cold and loose, it means that the person lacks commitment and self determination.
2> Eye Contact--- The person to whom you are talking does not look straight into your eyes and constantly glances sideways, it means he is not interested in your conversation.
If the person flickers or blinks his eyes too frequently while talking, it means he is nervous. If he makes short eye contacts in between, it means either he is shy natured or he is lying.
3> Posture--- Posture tells a great deal about the person. If he is sitting upright with shoulders slightly leaning backwards, it means he is interested in conversation. If the person is sitting cross legged during conversation, it means he is defensive and over protective.
4> Facial Expression—Face is the mirror of the internal feelings of a person. If the face is glowing, it means he is free from anxieties. If the face is grim, it means he is tired, worried or sick
5> Movement of Hand—While the person is speaking, look at his hands. If his hands are outstretched, it means he is accommodative and confident. If he holds his hands tightly to his chest, it means he lacks self confidence The pace at which he speaks also gives an indication of his personality. If he speaks too fast or speaks in high pitched tone, he lacks maturity.

Reading body language is only indicative of knowing a person's nature specially a person whom you have never met before but not necessarily a foolproof method.

World cup T20

Team India's early exit in T20 world cup was nothing unusual. The fact is that Indian team has weakness towards short pitched ball on bouncy wicket. On flat wicket, and against weak bowling attack, our boys act like tigers but when they have to play on really fast track against real pace attack, they crumble like a pack of cards. Our media leaves no stone unturned to create hysteria among public before the tournament and raise level of expectation to a dizzing height. But when the boys fail to perform , they dont lose any time to find scapegoat and put all the blame on him. I wonder if media acts at the behest of top BCCI bosses so that they, who are the real culprits and who are responsible for destroying cricket go scot free. Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was till recently considered to be the finest Captain India has ever had, is now being held responsible for the defeat.It is made out to believe that his decision to bowl first was the blunder and was the main cause of the defeat. There is so much money and glamour involved in cricket that players are now more interested in playing in IPL tournaments than playing for the country. Players are now more focussed in attending to late night parties and endorsing commercials rather than match practice before the tournament. Making Cosmetic change like removing Dhoni and making Sahwag as Captain is not going to make any difference to the performance of the team. What needs to be done is firstly to acknowledge that Indian team is not as good as it is made out to be. Secondly, do not allow players to endorse any commercials. They earn good enough money in tournamments. Thirdly, prepare hard bouncy pitches so that our players learn how to face short pitched balls. Fourthly, Selection of players should be strictly on merit. Players who are physically unfit should not be allowed to take part in international tournaments. Fourthly, do not be under impression that the matches can be won on the strength of batting alone. There are other deparments of cricket which needs to be looked at. Unless these basic changes are done, Indian cricket team will remain a paper tiger.

Headhunters

Headhunters are brokers whose job is to get you your next job. They fix a deal between the candidate and the company and earn hefty commission for doing so. Actually, they are doing nothing more than helping the two meet. What is the modus operandi of a successful headhunter. He meets the H.R. head of the company. He coaxes, cajoles, pleads with him to offer him the assignment. H.R. head agrees to offer him the assignment on the condition that he gets 10% cut. The deal is fixed.
The next thing that the broker does is, scan the environment for the fit. He is moving at an incredible speed now.He homes in on to 4 or 5 candidates that he has spotted. He researches on their background and picks the phone to talk to them.. He tells the prospect in a very secret hushed tone that he needs to meet him for a very important project. The candidate knows very well what he means by "Project".

The two meet. The first thing that the broker does is to make unsuspecting soul feel miserable. Miserable about his life, strife and wife. That is that he is living wretched life with no challenge left to suit his talent. If this does not work out, then he tries the real mean one. At the right point of time, when the poor chap is alreading perspiring, he asks him the clinical question. "Do you think your wife and children are happy with the quality of their lives". On hearing this, there is a long pause and the candidate is in deep thought staring at the ceiling. The broker is waiting with bated breath to know the impact of the big missile he hurled at him. It has worked. The candidate is completely downcast, is dying to know what the big opportunity is.

Now the broker is at his glorious best. His prey has bit the bait.

He paints a rosy picture of this new job. Power, Challenges, Money, Glory, Action and Empire- just waiting for the king. Every minute detail is given from the special training program abroad to 400 sq ft cabin with a french window and the best view in town. The new "E Class Mercedez fitted with electronic judgets. Admission to the best schools for the kids and lo behold. Two special holidays a year with his wife.
By now, the candidate is dreaming. Final nail on the coffin is the money- 2 1/2 times the current compensation.. The candidate by now is flying in fighter jet waiting to bombard the enemy territory. The broker derives a sadistic pleasure out of this. And he enjoys it each time with another new candidate.

Indian democracy

Abraham Lincoln's definition of democracy " The government is of the people, for the people and by the people" is not valid as far as Indian democracy is concerned. Somebody has said very correctly. Indian Democracy is a fake democracy. It works for rich, elite and powerful people. It does not work for poor, under privileged, downtrodden people. Corruption is rampant in every sphere of activity. The recent IPL controvery is only a tip of the iceberg. The volcano of corruption is still lying underneath waiting to erupt. The police is corrupt, Civic administration is corrupt, Media is corrupt, Judiciary is corrupt. Income tax officers, customs officers are corrupt.There is hardly any agency which is clean, untainted. It is difficult to blame a single individual. The worst part is that corruption is highly organised and deeply rooted in the system. An influential person can mow down half a dozen poor people sleeping on footpath with his mercedez, and still he or she can get away with punishment. A teenaged girl is gangraped, yet the police does not do anything to file FIR. Our ministers are involved in multi crore scam and still ruling the state. Election is farce. Innocent villagers are coerced,manipulated, threatened to cast vote in favour of a particular candidate. 80% of candidates do not even qualify to fight an election. Aam admi is helpless. If he raises his voice against corruption, he is going to invite trouble. He has meekly surrendered and become part of the corrupt system. Public apathy and indifference towards each other has set in. If you have ever travelled in local trains in Mumbai, you will note how common man jostles and fights with each other to grab a seat. The government has failed to provide basic necessities even after 62 years of independence.

Everything is not over as yet. We have sunk deep down. We have no room to go down further. We have to bounce back. Change is going to take place, radical change. I may not be alive to see the transformation but I have hope, it will happen.

Help

Whenever I see a young boy or a girl with a begging bowl, I am in a dilemma whether to help or not to help. I have the strong urge to help him or her as a responsible citizen of this country but stop short of helping thinking what if he or she is connected to the organised gang of criminals who are forcing young children to beg on streets after mutilating their limbs. If this be the case, the money given will ultimately go to their coffer. I ultimately decide not to help but then this creates a tremendous sense of guilt in me. I don't know how to come out of this situation.

Death

On the occasion of my Birthday, I am reminded of the fact that I have moved closer to my death by one year. I am not scared of death. I know that it is going to come to me one day or the other whether I like it or not. I dont want people to wish me long life on the occasion of my birthday because I know that long life gives nothing but physical sufferings. I want to remain physically active as long as I am alive. I am more and more spiritually inclined because I find solace in spiritualism. I am not ritualistic but I do believe in God. I have experienced miracles in life which has only strengthened my belief in Him. I have no regrets. Whatever I have achieved in life, it is due to His Blessings only.

Future

Nobody can predict future . It is blessing in disguise for the mankind. If it were possible to know future, our lives would have become miserable because life would no longer have remained a mystery. There would have been no hopes, no dreams and we would not have made any efforts to realize our dreams. But, inspite of this, everybody wants to know future. Why?. I had seen a film long time back in which the hero of the film finds the newspaper everyday in the corridor of his house in which the news of next day events is published. He used this as an opportunity to win jackpots to the tune of millions of dollars because he knew in advance which horse is going to win the race. He became very rich overnight. One day while he was travelling in a taxi carrying a briefcase containing one million dollar which he had won in the horse race, he noticed a headline in the newspaper which carried the news of death of a middle aged person who was returning after winning jackpot. It happened to be his own news. He was so much shocked to read this news that he suffered a severe a heart attack and he expired. Now, this story would have been different if everybody knew in advance which horse is going to win jackpot. Probably, there would not have been any race at all. It would have become meaningless. There would not have been any lottery. The excitement would have gone. Students would not make any efforts to prepare for examinations because the results are already known to them. If we know in advance that somebody in the family is going to die after 5 years, our life would become miserable. Thank God that the future is unknown.

Faith

While I was walking in the scorching heat of summer, bare footed, exhausted, defeated, saying "Lord, in this hour of grief and sorrow, when my own near and dear ones have deserted me one by one, you were the only one whom I thought will be by my side but it seems you have also forsaken me. I am all alone and that is why I see only my footprints as I walk." Lord replied. My Child, I love you. I have always been with you. In this very hour of grief also, I am with you. The only difference is that this time, you are so much engrossed in your sorrow that you are unable to feel my presence. The footprints that you see is not yours but mine. Right now, it is not you that is walking but me. You are so much heartbroken that you are not in a position to walk on your own. I have lifted you up in my arms.