hmm... that was close !!

What Kind of Girl Will You Fall For?
	You will fall for the cutie. You like girls with a personality. She's got to have a nice smile and a sense of humor. Although she doesn't have to be a model, she has to be that girl-next-door.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

When will India be MODI-fied?

I don't pretend to be an indifferent genius who thinks its below my dignity to discuss politics. And I dislike people who do that. You cannot simply ignore the environment you live in and pose as a Mr. or Ms. Know-It-All.

So why India needs Modi?

1. Development: For all MBA friends of mine, read this: Deutsche Bank Report. It will tell you why Gujarat is the best state in India to invest in. And let nobody be fooled, this is not a windfall by any measures.

2. NOT a Chameleon: For a change. The best thing I like about him is that he is not spineless like other politicians. He takes a stance and has the guts to stand by it. That he won is only after effect. He ran the risk of losing too. Indian voters are so unpredictable.

3. No Corruption: That the opposition can't find a single instance, is the biggest proof of that. And the funny thing is that this fact wasn't used as a USP by BJP, since on the whole they can't claim to be a corruption free party.

4. A True Hindu: For all those who call Modi a fascist. If there wasn't a Godhara, there would not have been a Modi. Hinduism is never for first aggression. But Hinduism is also not for tolerating nonsense. Read Ramayana, Mahabharata and Gita. You would find innumerable instances of the same. Right from Lakshman chopping off the nose of Surpnakha to Bheema vowing to clean Draupadi's hair with the blood from Dushasana's chest.

Even if you think Modi is a dictator, he is exactly the material India needs at the topmost level. Too much of democracy has spoiled us.

Terrorism, unlike most political parties in India and unfortunately, is secular. And hence we need an iron-hand to set things straight, preferably 'Made In India'.

Verdict

Windfall brings success to some. And they think they are great. Ill fate brings failure to some. And they start believing they are losers. None of these is a good situation to be in.

Just as losing always doesn't mean that you were wrong,
winning always doesn't mean that you were right !

And the others whose verdicts on your results, made you believe otherwise are not necessarily wise.

People judge us. Always. Most of the times they are wrong. Sometimes they could be right. But should it matter to us all the time?

It is a human tendency to relate anything new to something we already know. But when it takes the form of an instant verdict delivered, it goes a bit too far. At any stage or age in life, it is downright stupid to believe that one knows everything or one can explain anything or one can judge everyone. That too citing one instance. Or may be in a few seconds at times.

In fact, some people are on a perpetual judging spree. They judge everything in five seconds flat. For instance, they know that the poor little boy in rags is a thief and should go to the gallows. It is a different matter that they know nothing of hunger, deprivation & misery. Numerous examples can be given but the important thing here is what verdicts do to people. They make it ...

CONFIDENCE Vs. LEARNING

You may ignore outsider opinions. And you can ignore your own faults.
You might lose the learning and the opportunity to improve yourself.
But it is good because it will boost your confidence.

You may pay heed to everyone's opinion. And find all possible things which you could have done right. It is good because you will learn and improve yourself. But doing it in excess or always, might hurt your confidence and self-belief to a certain extent.

So give or take, excess of verdicts is bad !

And that is my only verdict.

Ghost

Prudie did not believe in ghosts.

And then, one day unrequited love became a part of his life. It was then he wondered how similar his unrequited love and a ghost were.

• Both continue to haunt you perpetually.
  
• Both can rob you of your life. (At least, you think so)
• Both cause hallucinations.
• Both can rob you of your sound sleep.
• Both never let you go.
• Both do not have a solution in science.
• Both are a piece of human imagination. (People say that)
• Both when talked about, make people think that you are mad.
• Both have their reason for existence in unfulfilled human desires.
• Both have victims that can find solace in Hanuman Ji’s refuge.

Since then, Prudie believes in ghosts. Even unrequited love can change convictions.

Fog

Illumination and Darkness are lovers. It is impossible to think about either in isolation. Darkness in all forms seeks illumination. And illumination is the reason for the existence of darkness. And yet, they cannot meet each other in the open during daytime. But think of a moonlit night in dense deserted backwoods, and you cannot tell one from the other. They become one. So when one of them steps into life, it is likely that the other is also not far away. Those eternal lovers are just inseparable.

The glitz of metros had always enticed Schalu. It is now when she is living in one, the tenebrous part has come to the fore. She just returned from a party on this frigid and frosty night. It was late past midnight and sleep seemed as elusive as the distant star she was gazing at.

Why did she feel so lost after such parties? After all, these parties are supposed to be ‘great’ and ‘fun’. It seemed to her that the meaning of these words has withered away like the fragrance of a desiccated flower.

Everyone around seems to be so jolly and convivial. But how many of them can she really count on? The city is praised as resilient. But the lack of depth in relationships seems to be the reason for it. Every daily activity seems to be a struggle here or rather struggle has become synonymous with life.

People mostly prefer spending time with their friends by partying. But that is not her idea of intimacy. She would rather prefer those lazy conversations with her friends at home where the topics were anything on earth. She cannot even think of that kind of conversations with people around here. Is that because of the place or because of the fact that she has grown up? She didn’t have the answer. But she could feel the warmth of the quilt and smell the queen of the night in the garden of her home, so vividly. Nostalgia gripped her.

She remembered what a positive person she was as a teenager. She believed in hard work as the way to success. She believed in her dreams, in the power of love, in the fairness of life and in the almighty God. Ten years passed and all these beliefs are shaken now. So this apathy is what being grown up means.

The men in her life so far. At the outset, she disliked their ultimate intentions. Only till she realized that all men are alike by those standards. Still she dreamed of someone who can sweep her off the feet and make every moment feel like one life. Someone who can make her life a fairy tale. Unfortunately, he hadn’t arrived yet. She wondered if she had higher expectations from life or it is just that others had compromised on something lesser.

Was she unattractive? Of course, she was a little plump. And couple of strands of her hair had become grey. She could have done something about it. But she was lazy. And more than laziness it was a kind of revolt from within. Can someone not accept her the way she is? There is a lot more to her than her appearance. But would somebody notice that?

She dreamed of loving and being loved. She had some expectations of how her relationship with her man would be. But with each cultural shock the metropolis gave her, those expectations found a new nadir. Her simplest dreams of life seemed so elusive now. She felt short of breath. She didn’t know who was to be blamed - the mist in the air or the pain in the heart.

She wondered whether she was being harsh to the metropolis. Probably it was her who could not adapt to this lifestyle. Or probably she was also being harsh to herself. Or probably she just needed some more time. After all, that one good event in her life and everything would seem to be falling in place. Life seemed like such a gamble.

The daybreak had arrived as usual. And she was waiting for the ray that would lift the fog. Fog that blurs the vision. Or fog that blurs the faith.

Obviation

Schalu was bored. Sunday morning and no great plans for the day. Lazily flipping through the newspaper, she suddenly came across some shocking stuff. Of course, people killed, sensex acrobatics, death sentences, cricket victories, didn’t thrill her anymore. So-called maturity and the resulting indifference had already taken their toll.

What really surprised her was that the latest Bollywood flick which she and Prudie enjoyed to the core this Friday, was given a poor 1-star rating by the newspaper. What the heck! The movie obviously wasn’t a classic but a decent entertainer. It deserved at least a 3-star rating, she thought.

“The movie reviews are losing their credibility these days. Look Prudie, what rating they have given to the movie we watched this Friday.”

“Lost credibility?". Prudie murmured being disturbed from his day-dreaming. "They never had any credibility in first place. What credentials do these reviewers have to review a movie? Have they themselves made one? If not, then these reviews are nothing more than a Mandira Bedi sitting in a commentary box, explaining how a Sachin Tendulkar should play his cover drive.”

“I think that they are particularly harsh with the Hindi Movies. English Movies have to be really bad to get a bad rating from them. I think it is nothing but deep seated Indian inferiority complex.”

“Hmm.. may be you are right, but not totally. The important thing to realize is that Hindi and Hollywood movies cater to different needs of people. If you take a look at IMDB top 100 movies, at least 40 of them would belong to crime genre and not even half of that to romance.”

“Yeah! Even the lovely ‘Titanic’ does not figure even in top 250 there. All they like is Godfather, Pulp Fiction, Psycho.. I guess they relate to crime better than romance. But Indians still have a soft corner for romance. Because of the social inhibitions we still possess, romance is still unattainable for many. And anything unattainable is attractive. That is human nature.”

“.. while I was wondering how much romance is left for imagination in a country where average age for people to lose virginity is 13?”

“..aarghh ! Now I think you too suffer from lack of imagination. Can you guys separate romance from ...”. Schalu was frowning.

Prudie saw that his genuine attempt to be witty was seen in bad light. A typical Mars Vs. Venus starwars wasn't his idea of a Sunday morning. Olive branch was the need of the hour.

"Alright! Alright!! But I believe there is one more thing. The rich and the poor divide. In Hollywood, cinema is seen as an art, as a form of expression. They can afford to take more risks. Whereas a typical Hindi movie producer is more worried about the commercial success. That is why he doesn’t take risks and rather continues with time tested formulas.”

“Whatever! But one thing is sure. I am not gonna give a damn about these reviews while deciding to watch a movie in future.”

"May be we should launch our own movie ratings?"

"Ye!! And call 'em Schalu & Prudie's - S & P's !"

"After all, we are challenging some Moody evaluations ..."

They chuckled while their words echoed. Suddenly they realised something. Turning to me, both of them shouted in unison, "Hey you greenhorn-finance-junkie! Stop flaunting your paltry knowledge through us."

I was a lil bit embarrassed but happy. For a change, Prudie and Schalu found something they could mutually agree upon.

Anatomy

She asked Prudie, “How come you love me so much? You hardly know me.”

All Prudie could manage was a sheepish smile.

“No. No. Tell me why do you love me?”

Why does one fall in love with someone? She wants the reasons. As if it was some M & A being planned between two MNCs and the underlying strategic motives better be in bullet points. He was wondering what would be next - graphs of dedication vs. return for their relationship? Or probably something more quantifiable. Beta value of the price of the gifts that he gave to her over the past one year!

Suddenly the gravitational force on his wallet felt to be weaker. Prudie felt like his credit card – swiped and used. Worse, he could also feel the pain caused by the scratches.

“I asked you something?”. Prudie’s thought process was brought back to the point.

Why does one fall in love with someone? He had no clue. So he came up with a management strategy. Take it piece by piece. If he could answer why he fell anywhere, probably he could get some lead. So he tried to fire from the unloaded gun.

Reasons for falling anywhere could be, to:

• crush a banana skin
• taste the dust
• seek attention
• check the strength of his vertebral column
• figure out whether Dettol or Savlon is better

Stupid enough. He felt like a loser desperately trying to justify something which was beyond his control.

Giving reasons for falling in love can only sound more foolish, nothing lesser. At best, one would be talking about the reinforcements that one builds up over a period of time. But are not these the after effects rather than the underlying reasons?

There is no reason for love. If there is a reason, then it is not love.

And that is exactly where its beauty lies.

That is what he told her. And she gave him a smug smile. They were happy.

END OF POST (for the lover, poet, irrational, sentimental, normal … ....et al types ..)

========== X ========== X ========== X ========== X ==========

As an afterthought, some reasons did occur to Prudie. Those could actually have been assigned. He thought of Sexual Attraction, Peer Pressure, Need for Intimacy, Westermarck Effect, Carnal desires …

The surgeon was dissecting, and the reason for beauty had to be in the anatomy!

Religion

Scenario I: Millions of people throng to a city called Allahabad.
Mission: Maha Kumbh.
Reason: To take a dip in the holy Ganga on the occasion.
Belief: This would help them to get rid of their sins.

My take: Wastage of Time.

Scenario II: Thousands of karsevaks throng to a place called Ayodhya, birthplace of Lord Rama.
Mission: Demolition of Babri Masjid.
Reason: Paying back in the same coin for demolition of a temple at the same place earlier.
Belief: Lord Rama is possessive about Thy birthplace?

My take: Wastage of Energy.

Scenario III: A minister in state of UP declares a prize of Rs. 51 crore, on the head of a Danish person.
Mission: Taking the life of person who ridiculed the image of God.
Reason: The person made a cartoon of Prophet Muhammad.
Belief: God should be angry for this, so should be the followers.

My take: Wastage of Money.

Do I sound blasphemous?
May be you would say, "Yes".
But then I would argue on the definition of religion and blasphemy.

Do you think that bathing in some water can get rid of your sins?
Sounds pretty naive. May be this is the belief of people of who like committing sins. And when their conscience bites, they want to feel smug by thinking that they took a bath in the holy river and hence their sins are forgiven.
I ask, why to commit sins in first place? And if at all you think you have committed one, there are many better things that can be done in remorse, rather than dirtying a valuable source of drinking water.

Do you think that God would be possessive about Thy birthplace?
Well, if you believe in God, tell me a place which doesn't belong to Thee. And hence, would Thee want people to die for this cause? This sounds more likely of a human dictator rather than God.

Do you think that God would be angry just because someone made a cartoon of Thy?
Being made the centre of a ridicule, I know people, who would easily join the resulting laughter.
And you think the almighty God would not do the same. A joke is just a joke. It does not change what you are or what Thou Art !

So if at all there is a God, (Being agnostic, this debate doesn't amuse me) and Thou art worthy of being worshipped, Thou would be above petty human emotions. It is only human imagination that ascribes human emotions like possessiveness, anger etc. to God. I would go on to say that thinking on these lines is demeaning God and hence tantamount to blasphemy.

My definition of religion would comprise of compassion, discipline, self-restraint, pragmatism and common sense. Updation with changing times using contemporary wisdom would be absolutely vital. No ritual should be followed without understanding the reason behind it. And any kind of vandalism, brutality and fanaticism should be rendered as blasphemy.

Worrying about whether you land up in Heaven or Hell, please don't make the present abode, a Hell. Rather try to make a heaven here itself. Can you think of any task which could not be accomplished with the volumes of time, energy and money we were talking about? Just wonder about the results, had these efforts been made for a real cause.

Now, I ask you again.

Do I sound blasphemous?
I think it depends on your definition of religion and blasphemy.

But in case your answer is still "Yes", please go and get a bath in the nearest holy river so that your sin of reading this blog is forgiven.

And if your answer is "No", don't worry about the people who just dirtied our source of drinking water. It was already dirty with reasons more than religion. We just saved a bucket of clean tap water!

Sunsigns

Ever since my childhood, the most amusing idea for me has been, "What is going on in the mind of the person next to me?"

In the quest to find out the same, I came across the world of sunsigns. To start with, I thought it is the dumbest thing to assume that the entire world has 12 kinds of people. Not that I would completely disagree with the statement today. Of course, the social-political-economic environment, parents, family, friends and a lot of other innumerable factors are important in the formation of a single personality. But then, an insight into this world of sunsigns, and my views changed to some extent.

What is a sunsign? Putting simply, when you are born, the sun is in one of the 12 divisions of space made by the astrologers. And that particular division determines your sunsign. Whether astrology is a science or not, whether you should believe in it or not, I would keep all this discussion outside the scope of this blog. Since I found it worth spending my time, no prizes to guess my views on this.

Predicting future on the basis of Sunsigns is almost impossible. And that is why you might feel that all those forecasts on Sunday Magazines or elsewhere are rubbish. I agree. For predictions, Indian astrology could be better as it encompasses the effects of planets other than Sun. But at the same time, saying that it is complex, would be an understatement. And for the same reason, it has been abused by people claiming themselves to be astrologers not even knowing 5% of it actually. They remind me of this quote, "For every complex problem, there is an easy, simple to understand and wrong solution !"

It is believed that the Sun influences your personality more than any other planet. So, taking sunsigns as a basis, if you predict personalities, it would not meet the same fate as predicting future. It would be somewhat realistic.

Even more interesting is the compatibility of sunsigns. Of course, a wise person can adjust with all sorts of people. But then, sometimes you meet people and strike the right chord immediately. You seem to be speaking each others mind. They are the ones with whom you don't need to adjust. Somebody else has adjusted them to you. Probably, the Sun.

Add numerology to the sunsigns, and the predictions about personalities would get even more realistic. Given the kind of complex creature a human being is, would it not be really great if you can predict something about a person with the birthdate, notwithstanding that it is only 40-50% correct? The only reason which keeps me going on ...