Live.Laugh.Love.

Today, is the Independence Day. Many schools have already celebrated the day with a cliched finesse, a day before, so that the wealthy parents, the Oh! so hardworking teachers and the busy staff could have a day, or better, a long weekend off. Those who could get out of their houses, no, they didn't go to some I-Day function or flag hoisting, they went, in huge numbers, to the premier of Singham Returns, Rohit Shetty's mix-and-match recipe for a blockbuster hit. Those who stayed home, they didn't see the Prime Minister Modi giving his I-Day oratory on the television, but they did manage to see the just released trailer of Shahrukh Khan's, err.. King Khan's Happy New Year. And the rest of us have probably started for a long holiday. Yes, Today is the 68th Independence Day in India. And we people have become independent. No, I was not referring to the Boston bombings or gruesome tale of Israel-Gaza. I am questioning the self-proclaimed Indians, what has become of ...

While a commoner like me sees #NarendraModi as the man with a magic wand for every problem, the challenge is now upon him to deliver on expectations. But foremost, he should clearly commit to curb the pseudo-religious extremism which his party and its more extreme wings, are accused of. He is quite forthcoming with comments in general, but on the occasion of such attacks which incite communal violence easily, his silence has been deafening. Now-a-days, going by the timely controversies our self-proclaimed preachers are setting up, its a pity how these learned people mire their followers in murky waters of baseless propaganda. If I had an ounce of belief in the zillion avatars of God, it would've been certainly no blasphemy in my reckoning to equate Jesus with every Durga, Ganesha, Jagannath, or Krishna. Multi layered styles of worship in Hinduism make it the most democratic and broad religion ever. The ranks of religion would be seriously depleted if seers followed such excommi...

I am not going to lean back much on how "Tradition" started. As far as I understand, the beginning of Tradition were Language, and Power. These are two different things, with only one similarity - the inherent desire to express. Then words like "Faith", "Love", "God", and "Culture" were introduced for the simplicity, or, as I put it, for instilling an utter delirium in the minds of the masses so that wicked persons got to rule easily. Yeah, Traditions, Culture, Ideals - all of these were built on bloody layers of history. Any tradition is a system of learned and shared meanings. People learn and share things over the course of generations, and so we say this clan has such tradition. Now that we are back to the 21st century, ask yourself - Is there such thing as #ModernTradition? Everyone takes what he deems suitable to his lifestyle. And then coins it his tradition. And his generations follow. People have this habit of sucking up to ...

Finally, after ages I write another post. I guess it's becoming a practice for me - write one post every few months. Yes, Time and Responsibilities are a constraint but there's another - which clogs our mind more than the . Do you remember those impromptu laughs of childhood? Rare laughs that echoed through the old walls of the house we lived in. Laughs that showed we were ready to rule our small worlds any time. But then, we were too busy - for wiping the smirk off our faces while playing in the mud, for being stubborn enough to secure the big piece of chocolate, for donning the crown - of the King of our "territories". Only when we indulged in conversations with civilized storytellers who brought to light stories of kingdoms and palaces, of alluring lands far away, of the stars and of the planes flying high and many more; some men did invoke our laughter. The weekly dose of Disney cartoons also played its part in making us happy, once or twice a week. Our comics di...

Well, after long topsy turvy days I am penning down something. Hope this post doesn't hurt anybody's sentiments. Please bear with my uncharacteristic sentences, if there'd be any. There wasn't any topic worthy of consideration other than the sorry state of affairs in India. Not that writing about it or humming the same over social media gives me immense pleasure, but the apathy of the rulers, coupled with no surge of genuine efforts from the commoners at large - leaves the nation at unfathomable pity. On the West and North-west, a politician with good oratory skills moves lakhs of Indians, convincing them of some sort of a change. The political party in charge, before hours of the event, distributes free skull caps and burqas to the Muslim community which attends the rally. Travel expenses were also paid. A good marketing tactic, many would think, but at the same time in North-east, at Muzaffarnagar, the same party is also accused of kick-starting a riot. Riots are con...

Close on the heels of the harrowing gang-rape case in Delhi, two other such events have cropped up in the news. A Swiss woman, on a cycling trip in Central India, was gang-raped by 6 men . Although her condition is not fatal and she's recovering now, this raised a lot eyebrows across the world, and nations are now thinking on issuing warnings to travelers on increasing sexual assaults against women in India. Just recently in Agra, a UK tourist jumped from her hotel to escape a sexual assault . The tragic tales of ‘Indian Rape’ also happens in areas occupied by the Indian forces, especially Kashmir where thousands of women have been raped and murdered. But with a mindset of hoping against hope, I thought that after the 16 Dec news spread like a wildfire, the lid was blown off the systematic sexism in Indian culture, and rape began receiving the serious attention it deserves. But that was to fizzle out, and seemingly nothing changed here. Police said,"these people were in the w...

Asumal Sirumal, or Asaram Bapu as you 'fondly' know him, is a part of the sexist, feudal and beguiling past that we need to leave behind. But the real issue isn’t them uttering nonsense. It is what gives people, like him and Akbaruddin Owaisi, the nerve to say what they say. It is all those thousands of supporters who jump to their defense when someone questions the weird pronouncements of these people. The sad human need to obey and follow has found willing exploiters in this nation.                                  Asaram and Akbaruddin should be allowed to speak their mind. If their words are termed as criminal in nature, well the law will be nothing different from the Middle-East. Punishing those who push unpleasant ideas and violent thoughts under the rug does not solve problems. It is vital to know what people are thinking, and where the thoughts are...

Greetings, fellow bloggers and dear readers. As I s it down to write a really long post, please excuse me for the length and make sure that, if you read this, then do so till the end , with a heart. I have deliberately added excerpts from the father of Jyoti ( Damini , or Nirbhaya , the assaulted lady) to keep the emotion on pace with the post. India is mourning the demise of the courageous lady brutally assaulted and raped by 6 men on 16th December 2012. There are silent protests to express solidarity and seek justice for Jyoti Singh Pandey . My heart goes out for the parents of the sufferer. Time, they say, waits for none, but for them, it seems the clock has stopped. Her father, Badri Singh Pandey , says, “We want the world to know her real name. My daughter didn’t do anything wrong, she died while protecting herself. I am proud of her. Revealing her name will give courage to other women who have survived these attacks.” Meanwhile, many people from different sections have sugg...

That the large-scale protest will be used as a playground for the political parties, was no doubt, but to this scale, that it now echoes in the whole universe. A clueless government and the brute force of a rather blunt police has come out of the politicized high-voltage drama engulfing us. The nation is outraged at heinous and brutal treatment meted out to the protestors. With around eight metro stations closed, the capital has come to a stand-still. Slogans are being shouted against the government and the police, agitations and candle march protests are being held in different parts of the country and we are perhaps witnessing one of its own kind of protests in many generations. People are resorting to Facebook, Twitter to send across a message of "enough is enough" to whosoever is listening. But is this serving the real purpose? Almost all protestors are innocent, unarmed, mostly young girls, some with their mothers. While they bear the brunt of what looks live savages i...

The great B. R. Ambedkar believed that the Indian State would be able to remove inequality in social and economic life. But the track record of the Indian Republic in the last 63 years doesn’t inspire much confidence in that regard. What will be the trigger for such a social transformation? How can we kickstart the process of moral regeneration? This blogger doesn’t have the definite answer but one possible way is for each one of us to propagate and inculcate the right values in our own spheres of influence. Slow and unglamorous,but are there any better alternatives? A country like ours, though can’t afford to wait for a few generations to get rid of a heinous crime like rape. The government has been promising a lot of things now-a-days, post-Delhi-girl-rape-case. CCTV cameras in buses, more policemen, women-specific helplines, politics-free police, quick convictions, and so on. But none of this will happen. We will end up with some cosmetic steps to satisfy the outraged public and ke...

No Disclaimer. I want people to feel their guilt on reading this. What’s horrifying is how a bunch of people could do something like this, that seems like a scene out of a rape-fetish-horror movie, in public in the capital city! And those 4-5 men were obsessed about raping her at the same time! It’s very very hard to be optimistic that anything will change in the near future. It’s not about individuals or a few power-wielding men. It’s about a mass cultural mindset that’s the issue here. Do you think our society really sees rapists as serious criminals? Many of us seem to see rape as something that happens when a rapist is not able to control himself. It seems we have special standards for judging sexual criminals, and rapists know this. One more reality check for a country that claims to ‘respect’ and worship women. Yes, let’s round up the Shouters, 'Indian' citizens like us, who criticize a bad deed, bad politician, or the people who gang raped a woman and beat up her frien...

I am deliberately omitting a Disclaimer for this post. It surely does talk about a social evil in our country , but I want people to get concerned or better, aroused on reading this.  After a few months of the show in SATYAMEV JAYATE which talked about honor killings; the husband has been shot dead in his village while he was visiting his sick mother. Even huge media efforts and social awareness didn't save the man from honor killing. News for the above: LINK- TOI Few More Examples of Inhumanity : In the town of Jhajjar in Haryana, a father allegedly strangled his 21 year old daughter to death just for the trivial reason that she was in love with a guy.   In Uttar Pradesh, a youth who was opposed to his sister’s love beheaded her and threw her head in her lover’s house. This shows how inhumane and devilish one can become when their minds are possessed with spirits like religion and caste. In yet another brutal act of tyranny, a man in Rajasthan had beheaded her daug...

Disclaimer: This article is intended for general reading only. It’s not based on any personal feud. People who find this irrational and disrespecting, are not advised to read along. I am not responsible for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any inspirational or eye-opening remark. Remember the following story? There was a prince of Ayodhya, who won the hand of a beautiful princess , but due to plotting of his step-mother, the prince was exiled, and his wife kidnapped by a ten-headed demon . A vulture tries to fight and protect, the elusive search & rescue by the exiled prince begins, aided by monkeys . A flying monkey burns the whole golden city of Lanka, an army of monkeys gathered, a bridge of floating stones to Sri Lanka and a fight full of stories, one as impossible as bringing a hill from the Himalayas down to Lanka for the sake of finding a medicinal her b in the middle of a battle at a time when no ships or jets existed ! Well , ...

                    One fine evening, as I was strolling down an empty street, I saw a spirit sitting on a bench, sad. "What maketh you sad, Spirit?" "I know not, Monsieur, 'tis just that there's no place apt in heaven for this wandering creature." I giggled a bit. "So that's why commoners call you Undead! Look upon me, Undead. Bow down and look upon me, in deep reverence. I am called a Human, and I'm full of Life, and so many other things. What are you, Undead?" The Spirit spoke nothing that could be heard. And as I started to leave, his voice approached from behind. "Nothing. Nothing as compared to you, Great Human. Of yore, Time hath deserted me, but the soul still wanders, whilst undead; You, Sire, Human, whom the Hour still favors, are, but with a soul, dead" Note - The last lines mean, "I am nothing as compared to you, human-being. Even after dying long ago I couldn't be dead, but you ...

When it's all sick! (around you.) First the rant of all that goes on in Pune. Which would definitely allure you into staying here. Being a Delhite , there was never a need for the two-wheeler, thanks to the wonderful public transport system and the Metro Rail in Delhi, but here the scene was totally different. Every second person beyond the age of 18 was on two-wheelers. Every second driver resembled a terrorist with their faces covered beyond recognition, with only their eyes exposed (that too covered with sunglasses). But that adds a different color. Alongwith the spicy fast foods and the numerous restaurants and cafeterias along the roads, an avid foodie would have no spare time here. The onion fritters- bhaaji and the wada pav (deep fried potato-onion-ginger-garlic-coriander cutlet sandwiched between two slices of a bread- in short the poor man's burger) and the chocolate toast have just bowled me over. Standing under the makeshift roof of a wada-pav vendor to ...

Did I say or didn't I, not to view this. Now since you have clicked on, don't be angry when you start with reading it. YOU ARE ALL MEDIOCREs. No. Even More. YOU ARE LIKE THE ZOMBIES, JUST GOING FOR THE BLOOD AND FLESH. NO MEANING. NO SENSITIVITY. Did that hurt? Well, I had told you. People today follow the herd principle. Do what others do, say what others say, wear what others wear, see what others see, and so on. I bet none of you have ever thought different. Or most of you. If you’ve ever wondered why it’s so difficult to ignore peer pressure and why you feel anxiety when expressing a differing opinion from the herd, Like most animals on the planet, humans come pre-programmed to notice the behavior of our species and copy it. This has probably helped humanity countless times: avoiding predators, passing on beneficial learned behaviors, etc. But what has resulted, is that nothing is real now. The same old stuff, everyday, repeated. I am tired of taking it all and adjusting...

Disclaimer: This article is intended for peers only. Biggies(or youths) who find this irrational and disrespecting, are not advised to read along. I am not responsible for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any inspirational or eye-opening remark. Before going through this article, please note that I am NOT THE FAMILY MAN KINDA PERSON. I am fairly different, from exploring places to reading novels to watching contemporaries to spending time alone. I do what I like and mind it, it has got to do nothing with those "You surely disrespect your family" and "You don’t know about the real world, son" type stereotype statements. That’s why, if you flinch on reading this and start with usual monotones like " He is selfish" or "At present he is blinded" I give a shit. This (blogging) is the best option to pour my shit out. So, my destruction of Indian Society, its people and its values continues yet again. Ever wonde...

I love the stereotype Indian Society for one compelling factor, it never leaves you wanting for more, whatever be the topic. Those who get enraged while reading this, please don't mind, as main tumhe chodke baki sabki maa-behen karne wala hun! Well, had there been a bike, or car, I would've preferred this as a silent protest to the outrageous hike in petrol prices, but, whatever be the reason, I have been traveling in the Delhi Metro quite a lot these days. These frequent metro rides have been tiresome, entertaining, convenient and irritating at the same time. Tiresome, because getting a seat is as probable as backbenchers in school scoring in History. Rare and joyous. Convenient, because, Oh! eco-friendly ko goli maro it saves me from traveling by auto-rickshaws, which is worse, facing the intolerable heat and some arrogant drivers. Entertaining and irritating are two sides of a coin; what irritates me on some days, entertains me on others (“good mood days”). Source of the e...

After a long time, during which I am sure the Indian Society should have pulled up its socks after my twin attacks, (A Satire on Arranged Marriages,  http://pratik-openbuk.blogspot.com/2010/10/satire-on-arranged-marriages.html  and Hail Aunties!,  http://pratik-openbuk.blogspot.com/2010/10/hail-aunties.html ) I am posting yet another destructing article. Though it has flares of the classic past of Indian Television, this article is a tribute to those Indian Soaps that continue to screw the brains of Indian Viewers by bombarding them with similar and predictable stories, high doses of melodrama, and floods of tears in the scenes. Thanks to the industry itself, the soap opera industry is losing its shin due to the emergence of shows like Indian Idol, Roadies, Kaun Banega Crorepati, etc. So here it goes(and it's gonna be a big post)... That was a fine little evening. I was at my home with maa, and my sis. As usual we were busy in leg pulling of each other. I usually won o...

Disclaimer: This article is intended for entertainment purposes only. Biggies who find this irrational and disrespecting, are not advised to read along. And once again, I don't have anything sort of a rift with parents, mine or yours. I am not responsible for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any inspirational or eye-opening remark. So, my destruction of Indian Society, its people and its values continues yet again. When I sat up to write, I thought of the subject. There were a lot in the reckoning, like the Indian Rail, Administration in Engineering Colleges, The Indian Youth, and a few more; but there was one that won the race hands down. This, Hail Aunties, is a tribute to the modern aunties. Read along this satire based on my real life experiences. Scene 1: Aunty1- “ He went to the Public Works Office and shouted like a demon there. After fifteen minutes of shouting they at last sent a man to fix the things in our house. The whole thing wa...