Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Some stark comparisons!!



There’s a saying that “To know how good or bad you are, always compare yourself with someone better than you”. I love my country and no doubt I feel delighted to be part of a democratic and secular nation like INDIA. Coexistence of several religions, diversity in terms of land and culture, and the amount of historical heritage we have here makes me feel proud as never. However, it was only when I visited the United Kingdom I realized how far we are from being developed. Yes, they looted us, made us bankrupt, ruled over us for more than 100 years and bullied us but it’s a sad truth that we have been free from their rule from past 66 years. Yet the level of development we have seen over the years seems to have only widened the gap between “the rich” and “the poor”. Going back to last year when I stepped in London, what made me happy was the fact that I was in one of the most sought after cities of the world. In the 2 months which I had spent there, apart from admiring the clean roads, the traffic sense, and the superbly structured buildings, I did not get the feeling that it was even a bit different from where I had come from. Also as for my statement which would go to people who used to ask me “How are you feeling there?” I would simply say, “It feels good, I am abroad!! But trust me; foreign cities are way too hyped” .However, the truth hit me when I landed back in India and rushed out of T3 to meet my parents.

So while I was out in the open, in my own country, just a glance around the airport area made me realize, “London wasn’t hyped at all”. Almost all I could see and hear now were cab drivers screaming, stalking people especially foreigners; the cars being honked round the clock in an effort to make some space for their parking ignoring the fact that there was none; people eating snacks and treating the floors as the invisible dustbins and the officials (policewalas) who seemed to be stationed to help themselves rather than the masses. Not to mention you wouldn't find a glimpse of all these out abroad. Blame it to the less population or more money, the thing is that they have it and we don't.

Sitting in the backseat of my car when I was peering through the window I could sense how far we are from being called civilized. Forget about the lane system which is strictly followed abroad, the traffic sense was nowhere to be seen on the roads. It felt as if almost everybody had a flight to catch. Even my own cab driver, honked unnecessarily at a red light for approx 30 sec before realizing the fact that it was actually a traffic signal. Not he, almost everybody on the road followed the same; even few high class people of BMW. I wondered whether we aptly term the rightful bunch of people as the high class ones. This also reminds of a conversation I once had with one of my colleague. It was the usual Friday party mood and we were driving through to our destination to one of the restro-bars in Delhi, when suddenly my colleague from the back seat asked the person driving the car to give the horn. I was puzzled as I could not see a need for this as all the cars ahead and around us were totally jampacked with not an inch to move. When I asked her the reason for it, she promptly replied, "It's just Fun!!". I smiled and  wondered myself, how many more of these ignorance in the name of FUN are yet to be revealed.

The differences are huge and can be very well seen and listed down. However, my sole point to mention it here was not to term my country as a backward or an underdeveloped nation but rather to help people realize the fact that is us and only us who are making the nation like this. I took a simple oath by myself, no matter what happens I would always throw the trash in the dustbin. Believe me it’s not at all difficult to follow and when you do it, it feels so right. Imagine, if each one of us does the same, would we ever need someone else to clean the city/country for us? Yes, we require effective governance but the rules and laws would only make sense if they are followed. And it is upon us to bring sense to them. A country is borne out of its people. Since long we have cursed the Britishers for inflicting upon us such agony, however it’s now high time that we validate ourselves who we bring to power and let them not rule us like the Britishers again, in the name of democracy. Let’s aim not to let us down in our own eyes. Let us aim that from now on a journey abroad would make us miss home more rather than inviting a blog entry full of stark comparisons.



Sunday, August 18, 2013

The Hollywood Love!!


Yes I am fond of the sweet romantic English movies where unlike Bollywood movies Love is not portrayed as a sudden twist which destroys the overall peace of humanity, but, rather as a sweet affection which is borne out of nothing but enraptures the entire universe with its simplicity and pureness.

In the journey of my so called “boring” life I happened to meet many couples who claim to be madly and deeply in love with each other. Some were ready to climb the mountains and swim through the ocean to demonstrate the power of their love while few others would be the less vocal couples who would only come out in the open when you see the “Relationship” status update on their facebook wall post. There were few who remained limited to the college “khopchas” in the hope of never meeting each other beyond the 4 years of college life, while others who happily tied the knot thereafter. So, I was quite accustomed to this “Love Happens” theory but never did I feel a slight tinge of the Hollywood romance in there.

It happened however that I met 2 people who changed the way I perceived Love. So there was this guy, tall, thin, wheatish complexion, supporting a thin beard with short kempt hair. He had small, rather drooping eyes which never seemed to see the light of the day. Overall he wasn’t whom you would call “handsome” but yes was decent enough to strike a conversation with and be friendly. Then there was this girl, tall, thin and dusky white. She was what we call an Indian beauty with perfect features bestowed upon her. She would often sport specs and wear a lanky salwar suit with unmatched heels, almost all of which would be the sport shoes. So, overall she was the “beautiful” but the unmannered one whom you would very often notice caching people’s attention. Only God knows how did both of them struck a chord, but I am glad that they did.

Even before they were in a formal relationship it would often occur to me, “Why aren’t they together”? Such was the chemistry between them. I would often sit and observe both of them; no, not that I was a stalker, I somehow happened to be their best friend. So I was kind of rooted to them and thus carried both the advantages and disadvantages with me. Advantage for myself, as I could see and admire the beauty of their being togetherness and disadvantage for them as I was kind of always stealing their privacy. Nevertheless they still love me. So yes I was talking about Love that brought me talking about both of them on my blog. I would first begin with the stealing glances sessions wherein I would spot them talking silently with each other. Often the stare would be something which would make me feel that no other existed for them, except themselves. Then the longing to meet each other every time, to be together, with each other: Yes there were sessions in which I wasn’t a part of but I was more or less aware of them, infact always aware of them. Both of them made me realize how lucky do they feel being together. Every moment spent with them would bring new instants to cherish for. Every day which they spent was like a precious moment which they wanted to never end. And yet even after all these I never felt the cheesiness which could often be spotted in young couples. They were together and open about it.

Oh yes, life was not all happy go lucky for them. And like all Hindi movies drama they too faced turbulence all over, family, job, education, long distance etc. There would be times when one of them would act mature and talk about the future which was far off and kind of didn’t seem to exist for them. Then there would be phases wherein they couldn’t talk or meet for like weeks even months. Virtual breakups and emotional atyachaar always accompanied them. But even after all these, there would be one day in the month, the only day when no matter what they would cherish their being togetherness. The perks for me?? I would get a nice treat on this very day every month.

I have seen them in all phases, the “happiness” one when they were together, the “troubled” one when things were not working out, the “sad” ones when life seemed to go nowhere and the “difficult” ones when nobody could decide what should be the next step. Yet they seemed to hold on and coexist.

I could write a book on them and yet I wouldn’t be able to express the deep desire they felt for each other and the hassle they have gone through to keep this alive. So, when she was finally flying off the coast, and he had travelled 1000 miles just to spent those last 2-3 hours with her with the knowledge that this might even be their last time together, I knew that this is something which is the “Hollywood Love” I had always dreamt of!!!