White shirt among the sea of colors

Bangalore being surrounded by hills, the temparature seems constant throughout the year. People enjoy when they are in Bangalore. The weather is pleasant; helps u concentrate and work for more number of hours. There is another added advantage of living in Bangalore which I only realise when there is too much pressure of work. The city lies towards south Karnataka. Just a 100 kms away is the state of Tamil Nadu. The beautiful & natural state of Kerela is also not far. People here just have to make their mind and they will be in the lap of nature enjoying the peace and beauty. Kerela always fascinated me with their hills, backwaters, coffee estates, palm trees, etc. I have always wondered what do these have to offer. Do they really provide the serenity, the voices unheard or the splashes of the sea which only the person who has experienced it will be able to explain. Last year I got a chance to visit Ooty, Munar, Coorg and other places. But there are things untold but better understood that "behta paani nirmala", you want more when u tasted it good. I too wanted it again but work didn't permit me to get out of the clutches. It isn't that I am unsatissfied with my work or my manager is a red guy with horns. It's just that is in my nature to explore. Allah granted me my wish and here I was ready to attend a marriage in Trivandrum. Yes, I would be visiting Kerela again. This time to attend a south Indian wedding, a wedding of a simple but extraordinary man, my senior in office. A person whom I look upto for inspiration on how to handle work. He teaches me (without himself knowing) how to keep patience. Yes, he has been gifted with one of the most important gifts of life from Allah (swt). And when I got to know that he is getting married there were 3 things which didn't stop me to accept his invitation: 1) first south indian wedding, 2) a wonderful teacher's marriage and 3) Kerela

It was the first week of January but surprisingly I was told to take warm clothes. I did as I was told. Accompanying me were my office collegues, viz. Sirisha, Nishant, Shreyansh and Pooja. Pooja was benovelant enough to provide her big house as our place of stay for those two days. Her parents were caring enough as we had full meals and no trouble at all. The house was huge but the lane leading to the house was narrow. It tested the experience of drivers. And to my surprise they were good enough as they not only negotiated the narrow lane but also the 40° slide road which I thought would be impossible. Nevertheless we had Saturday to ourselves as the wedding ceremony was on Sunday. We had booked a cab and the cabbie looked very experienced. The way he brought the vehicle into the road was remarkable. He was a man of short height, a round face on which he had a typical Mallu style beard, an old golden watch on his hand gave me a sign that time is very important to him. His beard reminded me of my uncle who is very strict and responsible. Seeing him as our driver and guide I totally got into submission mode, agreed to myself that we all would be in safe hands. My assumptions were totally justified after we were back home tired but enjoyable day. We visited two places that day; 1) Poovar and 2) Kovalam beach.
A beach is a beach nothing new about that. Kovalam had a lighthouse which was new to me. There were many foreigners which was also new. The beach indeed was beautiful but before that we went to Poovar. The journey through the magrove forest was made to look very adventourous. The owner of the boat told us that the place would look like how it was shown in the first part of the movie Anaconda. Excitement fell into us. We thought that we are onto some scary stuff, but then we thought we will see whatever comes. The forest looked forest, too many trees, birds chirping around. From time to time we saw some cats passing around. Flying birds would try their luck to catch a fish or two by diving into the water. The forest was on both side of the bank and we had to keep looking left and right to be aware of the situations we do not know. The boat took around 45 mins to take us to a place known as Golden beach, the place where the river met the Arabian sea. It wasn't crowded, the beach had its own charm, fresh water meeting the endless sea. I wasn't able find the line where the sea met the sky. I always wanted to see that. It was mesmerising. Those two hours of time spent gave us some hundreds of photographs. While on the way to Kovalam beach we stopped for our afternoon meal. The restaurant was full of people and to my surprise not a single of them belonged to southern part of India except Pooja. All of them were excitingly joking around in Hindi. The restaurant's owner too looked indifferent. It looked like I was in Delhi. I wanted to be in Kerela and there I was, wanting to leave the place as soon as possible but we had demands of our stomach and had to fullfill that. Nevertheless the tiresome yet exciting day ended with Sherlock being watched over and over again by our group. Pooja skipped it because she got busy preparing dinner for us, Nishant too avoided it because he had some beautiful voices to hear.

We woke up next day for the most important day of Arun. I don't know why I never wanted this day to come. Probably because life is a bag containing a lot of things and you never want to let go good things. And to think that after today there won't be any such things happening again. There will be better things there will be worse but not the same things to give that feeling again.
I heard that the groom would be wearing white shirt so to give him company i too wore a white kurta. I had a misconception that southies are not that fair probably due to the climate. How wrong I was when I saw some real pretty faces at the ceremony. The ceremony was short. Within half an hour the bride and the groom was pronounced husband and wife. Of all the colorful dresses the white shirt of the groom was clearly visible from the distance where I was sitting. It reminded how simple a wedding should be. No dhoom dhaam, no extravagance, no show offs, no wastage of money, just relatives, friends and food. And with the word food it reminds me of the paysam and kheer I had there. The never ending types of kheer they provided me was simply fascinating. Although it was difficult to comprehend a wedding without meat, I had to agree that there are certain things in life which I would enjoy in its original form. And so was the wedding of South India. A banana leaf as a plate, boiled white rice, different types and colors of vegetables the name of which I never heard of, the shape of which I have never seen. But it was truly enjoyable. To me, a food is a food, if it is capable of filling your stomach and agreed and accepted by my belief it is considered to be eaten. The curd rice looked good but it was the sweets which won me over. There was a white couple seated in front of us, probably friends of bride. They had tough time in deciding how to eat each of the food provided by a line of dozens of kitchen men. More than eating they were spending their time in taking photographs of the delecacies. We enjoyed our food, with our stomach full we took time in getting up our seats.
We grabbed an oppurtuniy to get the attention of Arun again. Congratulated him again, this time infront of the camera as a proof ;-) .We bid him goodbye and wished him a happy married life ahead, wished him to be as awesome as ever. Walking outside the gate I looked back again, saw the couple accepting wishes and praises and gifts graciosuly. I strode out of the hall room, saw that Pooja already had her car ready waiting for me near the main gate.

Indian Foreign Policy for Dummies – II

This is a Level-II course on Indian Foreign Policy. Please complete Level-I before you enroll. If you already have, read away.

Bhutan: The cute little toddler who is in awe of you. He’s very good for your ego since you can indulge your fantasies by posing like a superhero in front of him. You reciprocate his adoration by pretending to treat him like an equal. The regular supply of toffees from your side keeps the relationship firmly grounded. He always seems happy and contended. Your worst nightmare is that C may entice B with bigger toys and lure him away from you.

Pakistan and Bangladesh: (Continued from Level-I) The world was once very liberal..liberal enough for you to date twins. Of a different religion. At the same time(aich!). But things then got less liberal. You wanted to get married as per the provisions of the secular uniform civil code. They thought it undermined their religion. You broke up. One of them, P, doesn’t take the break-up well. She gets addicted to all sorts of drugs and has lots of rebound-sex. Gets herpes and blames you for it. Tells everyone that you are the one who gaveher herpes. She now wants to give you herpes. So keeps throwing herpes infected needles at you. She wants to hurt you more. Dresses up and offers herself to A and C to bully you. A and C also get a bit of herpes.

The other girl, B, P’s less glamorous sister, moved in with P after the split. However, P started abusing her when they moved in together prompting your intervention to separate the two. P has never forgiven you for interfering in what she feels was a domestic squabble. B remains estranged from P, emotionally and physically scarred by P’s violence. B wants to be get back to being friends with you though. She’s nice but has a bit of bipolar disorder. She is currently perfect for you, often helping out with your assignments. But she’s messy and leaves her things scattered in your place. But you need her. She needs you. But you are too messed up to realize that. Suffering awaits.

Nepal: That joint family living in the small house between two large apartments. Head of the family took ill recently leaving the four brothers to fight for the spoils. They fight over who gets to head the family business. You are like the neighborhood aunt who interferes and tries to fix the problems in all the families. Some of the brothers hate you for that. You tell them nicely not to fight. They listen to you because you lend them money sometimes and also because they are scared of you. They stop fighting and each one becomes CEO for a quarter till they figure out whom to make the permanent CEO but struggle to reach consensus. It’s a truly messed up family. You smile and say you only want what’s best for them as long as it is also best for you…

Sri Lanka: You love birds. You have many species of birds, including parrots. In fact, everyone appreciates the diversity of your collection. S was once a good friend who, like you, has been through troubled times. S also has parrots living with him. You are bound together by your love for parrots.

Then, for some reason, after the troubled times ended, S lost interest in parrots. He started mistreating them. Some Parrots got very agitated and started attacking him. You tried to pacify the parrots but some violent parrots poked you in the eye. You got angry and looked away while S put down the violent parrots.

Both of you want to be friends again. You want S to treat the parrots well. You offer to build nice nests for them.  But S finds it difficult to forget the violent parrots and forgive the rest of them. You are still trying to workout a compromise.

But you both share other common interests also. Recently, he sought your help with his science project. You sat on the offer, twiddling your thumbs and whining about issues. Suddenly, C barged in, completed the whole project and also built a telescope for him. Now you are scared bully C is watching you with the telescope fromS’s house.

Maldives: That beautiful girl you once saved from drowning. You hoped she would fall in love with you for that but she sees you as just a fat horny boy with a bleak future, so friend-zones you[Ouch!]. Recently, she complained of a head-ache and you offered her a laxative. She wasn’t impressed and threw away your friendship band. She’s now flirting with that muscular boy C. You are both scared and jealous.

Afghanistan: P’s glamorous cousin brother. You are very, very scared of him because he is violence prone and doesn’t get intimidated by size or wealth. P wants to use him as an ally in her fight with you but he is a bit of a loose cannon. Came out of a skirmish with R with a few broken bones and then got into a brawl with A which has left him bedridden. Both P and you are locked in competition in vying for his goodwill. When he was in deep coma, you arranged for his hospitalization and paid for his medicines. You pray that he remembers how good you have been to him and doesn’t pick up a fight with you after he becomes fully fit.

A note on being a sports fan in India

I belong to a country where people have their opinion in every matter on the face of the earth. The country where cricket is considered a religion, football a reason to fight and hockey a long lost twin of cricket. And not to mention Anand who is known as grandfather of chess (oops! it should have been grand master), Sania a face of beauty, Mary Kom a very strong woman and Sushil Kumar (is he somehow related to Khali?)

Anyways, that was not a full description of sports fanatic country. As far as I am concerned I belong to a group which follows cricket. I wake up early in the morning to check the scores when there's a match going on in Australia and stay late to follow the match happening in West Indies but sleeps when India is playing in India. One may ask why? Boss! it's simple; these players loves Indian ground, give them any target to chase they will do it nonchalantly. Why should I waste my time watching the match, they are going to win it anyways ;)

Cricket runs on an Indian's blood. But football and hockey are shoved down the throat at every given opportunity. Make no mistake of blaming anyone here. Indians are born tad lazy (exceptions are there), football, basketball are not their cup of tea. We are champions in cricket and chess. Bengal my place of birth is the epicenter of football in India. Mohun Bagan, East Bengal & Mohammedan Sporting club were the front runner clubs of India since the beginning of last century. Hockey keeps us reminding every now and then that they are the national sports of the country every now and then as their golden days are history and glorious days are yet to come.

Every 4 years Olympics act as a reminder, it comes with a green lantern and a ring more powerful than the one shown in Lord of the rings movie which makes cricket invisible for that short period of time. It is difficult to fathom how well it reminds us that there are other sports too in this world, there are other awesome athletes and sportsperson which deserves our attentions.

Rooting for the same team brings a sense of togetherness and creates an immediate sense of family. Watching sports can pump up your own workout and help you to burn your calories when you jump, cheer and clap during the showtime. A person may not be knowing if there exists a club called Shillong Lajong but he may very well know the full history of Liverpool football club. English premiere league is the most watched league in India. Since support is not backed by the sense of region the fight between the supporters of two teams is not as fierce when it comes to cricket. Indian and Pakistan cricket fans fight with their heart in the mouth because they know that the arguments they are presenting to win the debate may backfire and can be used against them. Lack of tennis players in India have transferred the support to foreign players. Supporting a basketball team is rare. Golf and chess is still there due to the brilliance of one or two individuals.

Being a fan is not always beautiful and it is not always about being happy and shrieking in success. We have to deal with the defeat of our team and debate against a fan of superior team. Sometimes lack of statistics/victories put us under the cone of shame. There are times when we have to deal with stubborn supporters of oppositions and those are the tough times because after that there is no clear winner of the debate, that just drains out the energy.

Prologue to a Travelogue !

The cab dropped him home, it was 3 AM. Usually he takes a bus to his place. He has to get down almost 500 m. before his place due to traffic and then he walks but that day was different. It was 3 in the morning, the day before was 4 but it's hardly any different. The cab had just stopped outside his room, and he could see the gate to his building, it was closed. It ought to be closed. He gets down and starts to walk towards his room. Meanwhile he takes out his phone; abruptly he dials his roommate's number. He didn't want to disturb him but he also had to get inside his room. His roommate picked, nonchalantly he says, "The door is open..." and then he disconnects. He realized that his partner must be tired and should be fast asleep but the good thing was the door was unlocked for him.

He tiptoed inside, threw his bag, and then ate whatever was there in the kitchen (hungry man devours anything). Moment was dull, time was running slow, he sat on the chair and looked straight towards the door of this room. He could hear some voices; some were from inside him, some outside his room. He could recognize the voices from inside. It was the story of his day. He was getting mad, annoyed, harassed; he wanted to get away from those voices. He stood up and walked towards the door as if to check what those noises were. The voices were not clear, it was echoing. He opened the door; it was illuminated as if he was put under a spotlight. He could see a stair, a spiral stair. He was standing at the base of it. Looking up he could see the stair spiraling upwards to the sky.

"They do not understand what is to be done" The voices inside him said and it echoed outside too. He decides to move his heavy legs up the narrow staircase. As he climb, the outside voice becomes clearer. He was not surprised but full of agony. It was the same voice that was disturbing him from inside. He couldn't understand where he was going on, but he wanted to go, far away from his miseries. The voices call out, “What you have done is madness, you should have used it at first instance, that could have saved you time", "But they should understand, time is the constraint" It was killing him. He started to move faster, the stair seem unending. The voices were no longer consoling, it was threatening, "You should be more aggressive when you reply, and that was not how you buy time"

He climbs the final stairs and arrives at the top. It was the damp morning air. Far ahead him he could see his office building not 4 kms. away. He will have to go there again after few hours and complete the responsibilities given to him, "Why me?" the voices said. It was then when he realized that the voices were his own. It was he who was talking to him. He wanted to ask what he should do. He has no knowledge; suddenly he started to feel like a child. "Take baby steps", the voice replied. He felt relieved on hearing that. That calmed him down. He wanted to meet the voice, the one who was talking to him. And so, he lifted his eyes and made a supplication to the Almighty. "Dearest Allah, I pray you to keep me in Your hands, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

With that, he whispers his Ameen ... and as he was trying to turn around, he felt a hand touched him. It felt familiar. He turned around. The lights went off, everything went blurred in front of him. He wanted to know whose hand it was. When his vision came back his room was vibrating with the ring of his alarm clock. It was 5.35 AM. He couldn't contemplate why the alarm was ringing at that time. He sat there for a long time or as it seemed to him at that time. But just after 5 minutes, his thoughts cleared up and he realized it was time for "Fajr" the Morning Prayer. With that in mind, he stood up for the ablutions - to clean his hand and feet and get ready for the Namaaz.

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I marveled how your face looks different behind transparency. It was not merely your face but I also wanted to know how my face would look behind those transparent glass doors. Beyond the cities pollution, the stars seem to be brighter. Above the hills you could see the town living their life. It was the only time I believed every one of us could be beautiful, the deal is to keep moving. Rivers are not stagnant; the snow falls over the mountains every season. The leaves change its color, the trees change the leaves, and nobody is still. Sometimes I love to see my life's routine gets disrupted. The cab is booked and it leaves exactly at 1 AM

Indian Foreign Policy for Dummies – I

(This article first appeared in The Unreal times, authored by Ajayendar Reddy.)

 

Non-Alignment: You were once rich and naïve. You were travelling in a train with all your riches. A classy and rich looking dude comes and sits next to you. You like him; he is white. He offers you a biscuit, you eat it, but the biscuit’s drugged; he loots you, makes you his slave; tells others that you are his prettiest slave. Every day, you wish you hadn’t eaten that biscuit; then he lets you go. You hate biscuits now. You hate strangers now. You are scared of strangers now. You close the doors, shut the curtains, stay home and tell everyone to leave you alone. You make tea and convince yourself that you are good enough to be anything you want and it is your choice to sit at home and watch TV.

Panchsheel: Basically five principles, (1) Don’t trust strangers. (2) Don’t take biscuits from strangers. (3) Make your own biscuits. (4) Be nice to everyone but don’t make friends. (5) Dream of a world where biscuits are not drugged

China: The class bully; was your best friend in nursery; you cried when teacher beat him, but he saw you as the teacher’s pet. He pretended to be your best friend, but one day pulled your shorts down in front of girls. You were humiliated but could do nothing about it. You want to build muscles and one day take revenge, but you were too poor to buy protein for muscle; and too afraid to ask others (remember the drugged biscuit?)

C was also poor. C saved and almost starved himself to death so he can eat full meals later, but realized his folly. He is more pragmatic and cunning, so he went to richer people and did their work in return for chicken and eggs. He bulked up; he did more work and ate more eggs. Then he owned poultry. He traded eggs for iPods, became the cool and popular rich kid. Your stomach hurts because of jealousy, and also because you haven’t eaten in many days. You give him a condescending look and feel superior. Now he makes cheaper iPods, buys guns, bullies you. You reach out to your senior A in school, upload a picture with him on FB (in return for doing his homework) to show you are friends.

America: That guy in the senior class who only likes you because you do his homework. You like him because he is popular, rich, a hit with the ladies, has a pretty sister, lives in a big house and lets you in sometimes. You wish you were him; you also like him because he can bully any other bully. Lately, you started wanting to be friends with him because drugging biscuits is sort of illegal now.

But now he has more juniors who can do his homework; and he plays with C on the school cricket team. They are starting to hang out together, but A is in a run of bad form, while C is the new star of the team. C might be made captain soon. A is starting to get worried. He offers to pay for your coaching so you can become a better player, and displace C as the star of the team. But you are too fat, and too lazy. You blame it on your extra toe, and climate change and what not. You don’t mind being friends with A but you don’t want to trouble C, so you play cricket on the computer.

Russia: Another senior in school; once the philosopher and guide of C but later parted ways. Likes you a little because you once praised him at a party in front of all the parents and teachers; hates A. You love him. He gave you new pencils when no one else did; he sold you his old pencils for cheap. He once bullied both C and A. You love him also because he is selling you a fancy refurbished compass box. You want to become best friends but he finds you boring. Enjoys hating A; loves making A look like a fool.

Pakistan: The pretty girl you love to hate to love to hate. Once joined at the hips, both of you parted ways on a very bitter and acrimonious note. She harbors a grudge against you for keeping one of the crown jewels but as with all failed relationships, it goes beyond that. You still have feelings for her of a very complex sort, and take her abuse in your stride. She flirts with others, including C, as if to spite you, and has just come out of a very passionate and tempestuous, if not abusive, relationship with A. She always spurns your well-intentioned offers to let bygones be bygones and start afresh. The last time you offered to kiss and make up, she poured salad on your face in front of everyone and stabbed your feet with her sharp stiletto. Maybe, she will come around eventually, you hope. With women, you can never tell. Meanwhile, you just grin and bear it, sadly shaking your head as you watch her make a mess of her life.