Love and Infatuation

Difference between Somebody you Love & Somebody you Like or say get infatuated...
In front of the person you love, your heart beats faster.But in front of the person you like, you get happy.

In front of the person you love, winter seems like spring.But in front of the person you like, winter is just beautiful winter.

If you look into the eyes of the one you love, you blush.But if you look into the eyes of the one you like, you smile.

In front of the person you love, you can't say everything on your mind.But in front of the person you like, you can.

In front of the person you love, you tend to get shy.But in front of the person you like, you can show your own self.

You can't look straight into the eyes of the one you love.But you can always smile into the eyes of the one you like.

When the one you love is crying, you cry with them.But when the one you like is crying, you end up comforting.

The feeling of love starts from the eye But the feeling of like starts from the ear.

So if you stop liking a person you used to like, all you need to do is cover your ears. But if you try to close your eyes, love turns into a drop of tear and remains in your heart forever............................

What if he again comes into power..

The recent spate of political activities in Bihar has really made me worried. The election results of February as interpreted by many psephologists (particularly Mr Yogendra Yadav), was an anti-Laloo mandate. True, he had lost many a seats which were considered to be RJD strongholds, but he was still the leader of the largest single party. NDA/JD(U) alliance, in spite of the strong anti-RJD mood prevailing, remained well short of the magical figure in a house of 243 seats. But beyond doubt it was their best performance till date. Congress with 10 odd seats achieved what was expected of them. So, the ball now lay in Ram Vilas Paswan’s court who managed an impressive 29. Democracy in India finally reduces to number-crunching. With coalition governments becoming the order of the day, people’s mandate has really lost its meaning. One can digest the idea of a pre-poll alliance, but what justice do the post-poll adjustments do to people’s mandate. I sincerely feel a constitutional crisis here. The Anti-defection bill recently passed in the parliament needs to be more stringent. The new law will be only regulatory for the country’s democracy. But much will depend on the political morality of the leaders of political parties. It is the leaders who select candidates for party tickets. So they will be ultimately responsible for a success or a failure of a political reform as envisaged in the new anti-defection law. Independents do not have a major role to play here as it was the case in Jharkhand. So the onus to play the king-maker was now on the dalit leader Ram Vilas. Lack of vision in a political leader is the most dangerous omen of political instability and this is precisely what Ram Vilas suffers from. Here we have a leader who is always holding on to an important cabinet seat – whoever may be in power at the centre. He doesn’t have an ideology of his own – he is neither a leftist nor a rightist – but just an opportunist. When he was the cabinet minister under the united front government, secularism was his core agenda, and when he was offered the railway ministryby the NDA, it took a backseat and the 40 years of misrule of the congress governments came to the front. Now he is back with the UPA and is unrelenting on the godhra and the temple issues. If his deeds are just as apparent, why does he continue to win the Hajipur parliamentary seat by record breaking margins. The reason is that the single most important factor for winning an election in Bihar is – Caste. He has projected himself as the emancipator of the dalits, and the vote bank of the most backward classes (MBCs) is his inalienable right. His spat with Laloo began with the latter grabbing the railway ministry which was so dear to the former. The bickering worsened and took the ugly shape of two central ministers, both members of the cabinet, fighting vehemently against each other in the state election – a scenario encountered for first time in the history of independent India – a real shame to the principle of collective responsibility outlined in our constitution. My belief in the adage – Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely – got still more ingrained. Just after the assembly election results, Ram Vilas declared that he is never going to support any RJD led coalition and he would prefer President’s rule instead. This is what exactly happened and the centre appointed Mr Buta Singh, another gentleman who is famous for switching loyalties (not long ago was he a minister in the Vajpayee government). Laloo was not all unhappy over this, as he could influence the governor by pressurizing the central government. Some happy developments took place during this short stint – only to be buried later. The district magistrates of Siwan (yes, the constituency of Mohammad Shahabuddin having over 40 serious criminal charges pending against him) and Gopalganj (another RJD stronghold) issuing non-bailable warrants against the respective legislators. Hats of to the courage of these lion hearted bureaucrats (not long ago was the SP of Mungher murdered by the leftists for taking some audacious steps against the extremists). But alas – it is Bihar – the two brave hearts soon got transferred. The bold initiative was murdered before it could sprout. The steel frame of India (the bureaucracy) as envisaged by the Britishers has been reduced to a rubber frame which always has to bend before our politicians. And mind you, this time it was not Laloo-Rabri, but Mr Buta Singh playing the spoil sport – or should we blame Mrs Gandhi for this. Recently Mr Ram Vilas offered to support the JD(U) less the BJP. The BJP was also ready to extend the support from outside. But the congress high command at the centre warned Ram Vilas that he will have to part ways with the UPA. Having no vision/judgment of his own, Ram Vilas quickly regained his humor and proposed to support even an RJD led government, if headed by a Muslim leader. Mr Paswan has indeed a very short memory – only a few days ago he had vowed to obliterate the RJD – the dalits of Hajipur, are you listening to your infallible leader. Paswan’s deviation from his earlier standing, led the forward caste leaders of the LJP to rebel. 21 of the 29 legislators decided to support an NDA led government. Paswan upon getting acquainted with this new rebellion in his party, sent the strongman (read gunda) Surajbhan Singh to control them. Laloo too got worried and rushed to the centre. The new speculations over government formation was put to rest by the hasty decision of Mr Buta Singh (courtesy the central government) to dissolve the state legislative assembly. The drama came to a tame end. What next? The Election Commission is already contemplating over the dates for a re-election – yes you are right, the crores spent on the February election have gone waste. Be ready to part away with another crores of rupees from the consolidated fund of India for the soon-to-be announced election dates. And what if the situation remains the same. Will the assembly get dissolved once again and fresh elections be held. Hmmm, I am running short of ideas – our law makers (who are responsible for this dirty game) have to find a way out of this constitutional crisis. And what I fear the most – What if he (yes, Lalooji) again comes into power. After all he has now got ample time to work over his weak points and emerge out stronger. Anyway, the anti-Laloo mood is still strong and NDA should work towards further increasing its numbers (not that I am a Nitish Kumar fan, but Bihar badly needs a change). But one point is clear – Mr Paswan is the clear loser out of this – I doubt if he can regain his 29 seats. Over to you Mr Yogendra Yadav…

The Sholay Team..

A Rare classic photo from Ramesh Sippy's blockbuster. Thakur ke dono haath sahi salaamat hain aur gabbar bhi bahut seedha lag raha hai.

Bhartiya Rail..

Gandhiji had said, India lies in its villages, and if you want to explore this great nation go to its villages. Without contradicting the father of the nation, I would alternately suggest you to explore India by traveling on a train – yes, the Bhartiya Rail – the largest rail network in Asia and the world’s second largest under one management, running around 11000 trains everyday (of which 7000 are passenger trains), carrying about 1.3 crores of passengers everyday. So we could accommodate 70% of the Australian population on our trains!!! I have had a fascination for trains since I was a small child. I remember cajoling my elder brother to take me to our hometown railway station just to watch the trains pass by. The announcement was made for the arrival of Magadh Express. When it comes to naming trains – the railway department is unrivaled – what brilliant names – Sampoorna Kranti Exp, Toofan Exp, Purushottam Exp, Rajdhani Exp. My heart used to begin pumping at an accelerated rate upon hearing the whistle of the approaching train. The giant engine of the train puffing a large volume of smoke would send shivers down my spine. I have to admit that I wanted to become nothing but a train driver. A procession of red bogies would finally come to halt with a screeching sound. I could see the train jam packed with people – even the train roof was not spared (electric engines were still rare those days). The effective width of the train would actually be about a meter more than the engineered width – courtesy to the butts of the people (critically holding the door bar) hanging out. The chai wallah would shout chai chai – a typical sound he makes by stiffening the middle of his throat. The passengers to get down would hurry and jostle with the passengers to board. Some passengers would rush to the place marked sheetal jal with empty bottles. And then there are these young hunkies who get down for no reason – probably just to have a glimpse of the chicks moving around. The signal then turns green and the train starts dragging slowly – to enable some late-comers to board the moving train. And yes, those hunkies would board only when the train begins to move – it is an insult to their age to board a stationary train. Slowly the train catches up speed and soon it is out of the view. My brother would then ask me to come back and I would always make him agree to watch one more train before we pushed off. Today I have grown up, but my enthrallment to trains lies undiminished. If time is not a constraint, I would prefer commuting by train than taking the aerial route. And ya, you don’t get a feel of the environment unless you travel in the sleeper class. The surrounding in the AC class just seems so dumb to me. The people there wear a busy look on their face, and are caught up with their cell phones – you just got to give your cell a rest and enjoy the milieu. Let your sophistication take a backseat – at least sometime you got to behave originally. When you get down the AC coach, don’t show how uncomfortable you feel outside by raising your eyebrows. Look into the eyes of the coolie or the hawker – they are your fellow citizens. Real India lies in the sleeper coaches.

I remember how I used to grab the window seat when I was a child. Slowly we become familiar to the people sitting nearby, to the extent of sharing each other’s food items. You get to meet people from all over India speaking different languages and wearing different attires. It is India on wheels. You can enjoy cracking moongfalis, sipping chai or just gazing out of the window. I personally also have some forgettable experiences with train journeys. It was the end of my summer vacation after the first year. I had a confirm ticket for North East Express. The train reached the station on time at 10 in the night. I was ready with my luggage to board. The train was just over crowded. Somehow I made my way inside the bogey but could reach my assigned berth only after about 2 hours of journey. Hmmm… My friend Shailesh Kalsia had to go to the bathroom to answer nature’s call. But there was no way he could walk to the loo. But he was acrobatic enough to reach there by taking the aerial route (crawling by holding to the upper berths – like Spiderman).

Reunion - A tribute to all the batches of IITG

In the year 2018 ...

Reunion!

"Class of 2003 - Reunion", read the banner,
oh! the last 15 years has gone so sooner,
The great College days, I started remembering,
Seems like only yesterday I finished schooling.

Seeing my class mates, after 15 years,
My eyes were filled with tears,
Everyone has changed a lot,
No one escaped nature's plot.

Guys who were smart and handsome,
have become bald and buxom,
Girls who used to fill our dreams,
Almost brought out screams.

Saw the girl, whom once I thought as my life,
oops!, today she is somebody else's wife,
after years, talked to her for a little while,
learned she is happy, that made me smile.

Entered our class' Mr. Romeo,
Who has played many a cameo
We started teasing him together,
About what all he did to-get-her,

Grade card reviews to personal interviews,
Nicknames to last bench games,
Cultural rehearsals to love proposals,
Short term crushes to class room blushes.

Everything was fresh in our mind,
Wished life could rewind,
Laughed, played and rejoiced,
Once again we became girls and boys.

Chatting and laughing, we all were in elation,
Till the painfull moment of seperation,
It was time to part,
returned with a heavy heart.

Today life is full of commitments,
And too many worries,
But those cherished moments,
Will live forever in our memories..

Maa...

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers!!!............Anonymous!!

Browsing through the newspaper I came across this ad showing some gift items on discount for mother’s day (8th May) – a bouquet of flowers, a pack of kaju barfi et al. The idea of giving a pack of kaju barfi to someone who has fed me all through my life with some of the most delicious home-made sweets seemed ridiculous. In the U.K, mother’s day is celebrated on 6th of March. We Indians do not have any particular day earmarked for the celebration, but the media has a propensity to go by the schedule of the people on the opposite side of the globe. I guess no one portrays moms in such high esteem as the bollywood films. Most of Amitabh Bachchan’s movies in his hey days had mothers as a very important character. Among the female protagonists in his movies the heroines had hardly any meat in their roles except for some song and dance sequences behind the trees (we saw Late Parveena Bobby in that role quite often). That dialogue sequence in Deewar between the two brothers – Mere paas gaadi hai, bangla hai, bank-balance hai, kya hai tumhare paas. Shashi Kapoor replies after a tense lull – Mere paas Maa hai. Manmohan Desai was such a genius at reading the emotional veins of the Indian viewers. During my school days, I used to sometimes wonder whether Nirupa Roy is the actual mother of Amitabh Bachchan. Whereas a mother is portrayed as a Goddess, a ‘step’ prefix makes her a fiend. Sauteli Maa is seen to make her step child do all the domestic chores and then beat him at the end of the day. In Beta the mother (played very well by Aruna Irani) goes to the extent of poisoning her step-son (the mahapurush of Bollywood – Anil Kapoor). That is something I couldn’t quite digest. Hindi film-makers are extremists when it comes to character portrayal. Either an actor is devta samaan or he is a rakshas. This is contrary to what we actually find around us. Most of us are moderates – is it not. The movies released during the last decade, have shifted their focus from the mother-son duo to father-son relationships – K3G or the recently released Waqt. This is probably because the most agyakari beta (read Vijay urf Amitabh Bachchan) of the yester years has grown on to become a father himself. And moreover this is an era of super moms – they are no more the traditional saree-clad bhartiya naari with a big bindi, busy with the kitchen work holding her baby in her arms. Lillette Dubey plays such super mom to perfection (in some crossover films like Monsoon Wedding, My Brother Nikhil.. etc). I doubt how many new moms (or would be moms) even know how to wear a saree. I really feel sorry for the upcoming generation.

Having said that, I firmly believe that the love of a mother towards her child can never be diminished. This is the purest form of love. Today I am miles away from my mom. Mummy, I can’t think of a present for you on the occasion of mother’s day. May be, I will just call you that day and say – I love you. I clearly remember how mischievous I was during my childhood. I used to always fight with you whenever you scolded me for reaching home late at night. I used to think that you were curtailing my freedom. Today, I am away from you, completely free to do what I wish to. When I return late night after watching the night show, I have no one to scold me. I have no one to tell me why it is good to go early to bed. I really miss you mom like anything – and more than anything else I miss your scolding. I need someone to scold me when I do something wrong. I don’t want this freedom. Probably this is the trick of life. You get to know the importance of something only when you don’t have that. I remember how I used to get fussy about the food, and you would be after me whole day so that I could have something to eat. Today, I have no option but to eat silently in the lost surrounding of the cafeteria. I feel so lonely. I don’t know if Goddess exists, but I certainly feel to be in her vicinity when I touch your feet.