End of a Legend

Courtesy HT - 12th Jan'08 - Delhi Edtn

I first came to know about him when I was in class 2nd and we were asked to learn by heart, a list of "World's firsts"; the first man to conquer the highest peak on earth, Mt Everest - Sir Edmund Hillary of NewZealand. It was just a name then. But later when I read about him, I was able to put a man behind that name. A man who relentlessly followed his passion till the time he died. A man who left an indelible footprint on the highest point on this earth. A man who will always be remembered through textbooks, record-books and through stories of courage and a rock-hard will.

"We knocked that bastard off", were his words when he scaled the Mt Everest in May 1953. I pay my tribute to the legend. Few people have the courage to follow their dreams, and those who do are remembered by millions, even long after they are gone.

The Small Wonder

After a long hype and much furore, the Tatas have drawn the curtain off the much awaited "Car of the people". The dealer price being Rs 1 Lac, the buyer just has to pay the extra VAT and other taxes. Apart from the standard edition, two more variations will be manufactured, one of them being air-conditioned. Though the critics suspect performance issues and declare it "not-safe", the Tatas have enough facts to dodge the criticisms.
Expected to make the market debu in mid 2008, the "Nano" has already created jitters in the automobile world. It boasts almost all the features of a modern car and is still priced much less than the other "small-car" variants of different companies.

The 'Nano' is expected to intensify the race in the already competitive automobile market of India. Other companies such as Maruti and Hyundai will certainly come up with something matching. After all, if Tatas can do it, so can someone else. In the end, its the consumers who are going to benefit from this bid of the automobile giants to tap the hitherto neglected section of consumers - "the lower middle class". People are having apprehensions regarding the performance and so am I. Remember the time when reliance phones were launched, priced at Rs 500? "Kar lo duniya mutthi mein (Grab the world in ur fist)" . Dhirubhai Ambani's dream to give the cellphone in common man's hand. It started with a band and a much publicized hype, but the bubble burst soon. The boat has steadied a bit now, but soon after it's launch, the issues came to light - bad network, poor connectivity, and a hundred other complaints.

But I prefer be optimistic and hope for the success of this latest "popular" venture of Tata Motors. I hope all goes well and Mr Tata is able to deliver his vision to many of those families, one of which - a family of 4 he saw dangling on a two wheeler and for which he dreamt to provide a much safer a affordable means of personal mobility - gave him the idea for his latest product.

An extra "Phera"

For those of you not informed about the rituals of a "Hindu" marriage, I will provide an introduction to just a small part of it, which is in context with what I am going to write after that.

In a Hindu marriage (you may say North-Indian or Brahmin, because I am not really informed about the rituals in other parts of the country, so excuse me if I am wrong ) during one of the rituals, the Bride and the Groom are supposed to make seven rounds of the holy fire in order to complete the seven important vows of married life. Each round is called a "Phera". So, in all, there are 7 Pheras. Now, let us come back to the topic.

In Alwar, Rajashtan, in all the 800 marriages which took place last month, the couples took 8 Pheras. The extra phera they took was for a noble purpose. The 8th Phera was taken as a vow against sex-determination tests and female foeticide. The trend was encouraged by an NGO and people willingly followed in all the community marriages.

I hope such initiatives will help us increase the ever worsening male to female sex ratio in the country and spread awareness among the people. I wonder why such things never make news.

Death of "Appu Ghar"

I think most of us would have heard about the famous amusement park in Delhi, The Appu Ghar. I first heard about it when I traveled to Delhi for the first time at the age of 6. Then, I was able to catch only a glimpse of it from outside. I never managed to persuade my parents to take me inside. :) I still remember the excitement I felt when I saw it for the first time. The place seemed to be a dream world for me and I just wanted to "live" inside it.

I got my first chance to be there after a long gap of 7 years, when we moved to Delhi. Though I was much older now but the excitement was still young. I spent the whole day inside and quenched my long pending thirst. The place was nice and since my first time, I have been there at least 10 times more.

Today I was reminded of the place again when I read the newspaper. Appu ghar is going to be demolished, following the orders of the Supreme Court. The degradation of the place started when Metro Rail entered Delhi. They occupied a part of the premises for the construction of the Metro corridor. Now, they are taking it fully. The reason - Land is needed for construction of SC's lawyer's chamber and for expansion of Delhi Metro.

Appu ghar is not simply any other amusement park. It is a historical landmark. One of the oldest amusement parks in India. Named after the 1982 Asian games' mascot, it attracts scores of people each year. Most importantly for millions of people like me, it a something to be associated with.

Govt fully supports the court's decision and has not proposed any alternative site for shifting. It seems to be the end of the road for the 'only' and the one of the most 'loved' landmarks of the Indian capital. Maybe this is the price the city has to pay for the increased pace of development.

Asian games of 1982 led to its birth and Commonwealth games of 2010 is going to be the cause of its death, which surely will be a painful one.

Early morning battle

Myself: Dude, the alarm is ringing
Me: What alarm?

Myself: Dude, the alarm is ringing, get up.
Me: Its not even 4 AM, how can the alarm ring at this time?

Myself: Boss, it is past 6AM, get up now, the alarm is ringing.
Me: Duck the alarm. I am so tired. No way I'm gonna get up.

Myself: This alarm sound is deafening right in the morning. How can you still sleep?
Me: Ok, I snoozed the alarm, happy?

(After 2 minutes)
Myself: Sir, the alarm is ringing again.
Me: WTH, can't you talk about anything but the ducking alarm? (Snoozed again)

(After another 2 minutes)
Myself: Alarm ringing !!!
Me: Oh comeon !! (The alarm not snoozed, but "switched off")

Myself: By any chance you remember that you weigh 83 kgs?
Me: What? What are you talking ...?

Myself: By any chance you remember that you have to loose 8 kgs?
Me: Aaaan? mmmmm ...

Myself: You remember how pathetic you look in that tight fit t-shirt?
Me: I look fine ... go away ... let me sleep ... !@$!@$!

Myself: You remember your waist size is a little below 35?
Me: OK !!! Fine .. fine. Don;t give me these depressing thoughts right in the morning.

Finally after a long battle of 15 minutes, I get up ... get dressed and move my lazy a$$ towards the gym.

Where is God hiding?

When God created earth and then life on earth, he created all sorts of creatures; animals, birds, insects, humans and million other forms. All the creatures were satisfied with this fabulous gift God has given them, so they didn't care much and were happy in their environment. They were thankful to God and never cared to go back to him and ask for more. But among them, Humans were an exception. They always kept on troubling God for something or the else. God, I want this. God, I want that. Also among humans, children were the front-runners, as their's were the most number of requests reaching God.

So one day, fed up from all this trouble, God called a meeting of all his counselors. He explained the problem to them and asked for a viable solution. God said,"My dear Counselors, these Humans have made my life hell. I don't get time to do anything, because I am always busy listening to their prayers. I am not even able to sleep peacefully. Please suggest me a place where I can go and hide. A place which will be difficult for these Humans to access."

So, the counselors came up with their suggestions:-
One said, "Go and hide on Mount Everest"
God sighed and replied, "Comeon Boss. Dont you know people like Edmund Hilary and Tensing? They have already conquered Everest. I cannot go there !!"

Another suggested,"You can go and hide on the moon"
Gode puffed and replied,"Hello!! Neil Armstrong has already left his footprint there. So, others may follow soon. Rejected !!!"

Then one of the wisest counselors of God came and whispered something in God's ears. After listening to him, God's face beamed and everyone was surprised to see the happiness on his face. At the same time, they were eager to know the suggestion made by the wise counselor. Once the hype died, God rose to announce the place he was going to reside in. He told:-

"I am going to live in the heart of human beings. That is the safest place. People will be busy searching for me in Churches, Temples, Mosques, Gurdwaras and other places, but they will seldom peep into their own heart to find me. Seldom will they realize that the real place to search for me is their own heart. So I will go and live there"

The male psyche

I came across this survey in today's HT - Delhi edition. It came as a follow up to the ugly incident that happened on 1st Jan with a woman in Mumbai. Though responses to most of the questions depend on one's personal choice, but still there a couple of things I think, if avoided, can obviate most of the troubles. Again, it's only my personal opinion ... yours may differ :)

• A girl, coming out late from a bar, wearing a 'hot' dress, will always invite trouble. In any part of the world, in any society, conservative, open minded, whatever.
• A 'bar-going' woman, at least in Indian middle class society, can never command respect from men. Men will always treat and perceive such women as 'easily accessible'
• Its still time for the Indian society at least, to give 'equality' to women in the 'real' sense. People can preach equality in seminars, social gatherings and even in parliament for women rights, but still we are far away from even "accepting" an equal status for women.
• The male ego still plays a big role in most of the relationships, married or unmarried, & will continue to play till women keep on bowing to it. (Believe me, it still happens in 80% of the cases.)
• Men are the same, everywhere. They think the same 'crap' about women, everywhere. Same injustice happens to women, everywhere. (Read everywhere as India & Mexico)

And obviously, this is not a generalization of any sort. There are exceptions, and actually more than just 'exceptions'. But these are the traits which are prominently visible. Faults are there on both sides, faults in thoughts, traditions, in hundred other things.

Men command & demand a superiority in a relation. It may not be openly visible, but it will raise it's head, in some situation, at some point.

Women consider themselves "emotionally superior". Because they have the unquestionable advantage of being a 'mother'. Of being the creator and preserver of human life.

Anyways, this debate will never end. And all of us will favor one side or the other in different situations. I thought of writing much more, but will stop here. Maybe the rest will come later ;)

Uncertainty

The only thing which is ‘constant’ is ‘change’; they say. Only thing ‘certain’ is ‘uncertainty’ would be a definite corollary; and I am a living witness of that. I have seen so many certainties bubble into a vicious uncertainty that I am no longer certain of my faith in the certainty of anything on this earth being certain. ( [sigh] What on earth made me write the last sentence)

Uncertainty can hit you in various forms. The most popular of all being - “The unexpected uncertainty”. This form is when you are certain that something would happen and suddenly the bubble bursts. All you can do after this is spread your eyes and open your mouth in awe. You can’t believe that something which looked so certain that you actually felt and ‘celebrated’ it’s happening, is no longer there. You curse the reasons and you hate the factors which led to such a painful transition. But, there is nothing else you can do. You have to accept it, with a broken heart and a bruised soul.

The second one, which according to me is a bit less ‘heart rendering’, is “The unknown uncertainty”. This is the case when the outcome of something is unknown or hazy. You have done your bit, but you don’t know what will hit you in return. You are certain of some parts of the result, but in totality, the outcome still evades you. You just wait, as if staring in dark and waiting for something to emerge; something which no one knows. This uncertainty sometimes makes the whole gestation period interesting. All you have with you is a ‘pregnant’ silence or in some cases a ‘pregnant situation’. You never know what will come out.

Human mind has devised a very good cure for all the wounds the heart receives – God. Here are a couple of statements I often hear people saying, when hit hard by uncertainties

• Whatever happens is God’s will.
• Whatever happens; happens for the best.
• God opens two doors when he closes one.

Blah blah blah …

God has done whatever he wanted to. What about the scar the heart will have once the wound is healed by God’s cure? That scar, that pain, and a hidden sense of regret, which we deliberately overlook for some pseudo-happiness, will never ever go.