And I thought I knew who I am?

on Tuesday, November 3, 2009

And I thought I knew who I am?
And I thought I knew what I set out to do?
But, now that I see myself today,
I realize the answer has changed again.

I thought that friendship is for keeps,
Love an illusion, Anger a necessity,
But, now that I see everyone around,
I realize this is a world of war and peace.

I thought everyone’s here for a reason,
One chance, one life, one reason for being.
But, now that I see and think about it,
I realize I don’t know how true this is.

And I thought I knew who I am?
And I thought I knew what I set out to do?
But, now that I see myself today,
I realize the answer has changed again.

Sometimes I feel all my thoughts are a joke,
They keep on changing, twisting and turning.
But, now that I see through innocent eyes,
I realize I am lost in the silence of the answer.

If it weren’t such an important question,
I wouldn’t really care a damn about it!
But, since I wander in deeper introspect
I admit it’s a fake focus and a clueless mind.

And I thought I knew who I am?
And I thought I knew what I set out to do?
But, now that I see myself today,
I realize the answer has changed again.

 Your Smiling Faces 

on Tuesday, March 17, 2009

I just love to see your smile,
I am ready to go that extra mile.
All this I want not for you, but for me.
I just cannot live without it.

The day I see no one smiling,
That’s the worst day I ever have.
All this I say not for you, but for me.
The day is just worthless without it.

I am told to go on a larger mission,
This smile is just too small to care,
All this, people say to me everyday.
I am told to care a damn about it.

The world thinks I am naïve and stupid,
Your smile it says will never last for long.
All this it says not for you, but for me.
The world wants me to give up on it.

But I will never let go of my hope,
The smile of yours makes me stronger.
All the worldly things I‘ll give up any day,
But I can’t let go of your smile.

Is this Action?

on Thursday, December 4, 2008

I have been wondering about a lot of things lately, just thought I did share it with all you guys. Perhaps, you could help me get proper answers. I don’t know how right or wrong I am in my thinking process. Hope these questions get you start thinking too….

I had been to the Gateway of India, Mumbai, for the peace rally yesterday, trying to know what the people are thinking about, wanting to see the action live, wanting to see how many people really wanted a change.

Peace rally? I don’t think I could call it that. Voices could be heard from various directions. Voices with varying emotions.

I could see five kinds of people:

1) Aggressive - They seemed to think that war is the only solution. “Bomb Pakistan!” they said, shouted and cheered. Is this really an option? How different would we be from terrorist or U.S. for that matter, if we decide to kill innocent lives because someone had killed lives back here? - An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

2) Irrational- Slogans asking politicians to resign, wanting the army to take the reign in its hands. A politician resigns another will come in his place.
Are you satisfied with his resignation, is this what you really want? Has it served any purpose? I wonder how many of us actually vote. I read a sane slogan amidst the crowd- “Would you vote me if I contest in the elections?”
I think and try to remember the names of countries which have worked better under military rule. -Can you remind me of any?

3) Brownie point Seekers: I see a large number of slogans. Most having a logo of the appropriate NGO, Company, etcetera. I wonder what the reason is for this. Do you really need to have large boldly printed logos? In fact do you need any logo at all? Is this some kind of promotional event?
There were some government party hoardings too. Wonder Why? -Any guesses?
I notice many people handing out brochures with sensible citizen’s action plan. But, at the end of it I do find each time a different organization’s name, email and website addresses. Why can’t all of them work together instead of as separate entities? - United we stand, Divided we fall.

4) Clueless: A friend informs me about the rally. I ask him more about it. What? Why? He doesn’t know. I ask him whether he will be there. He says: Yes!
People are walking, talking.
I see puzzled faces. In the background I hear voices- Ok! So what’s next?
I wonder if our goal will be achieved by lighting candles, signing online petitions, keeping rallies…….I ask myself…… -So What Next?

5) Spectators: I need to be shameless enough to admit, that I knew that it wasn’t going to be a peace rally and that I really didn’t believe anything concrete could come out of it. But, yet I was there.
Trying to know what the people are thinking about, wanting to see the action live, wanting to see how many people really wanted a change, wanting to show my support that I believed that things could change.
Many like me did not mouth slogans, nor did we respond to slogan we did not believe in.
But, we were very much there.
Another friend whom I accidently meet comments; “The major point of being here is showing our strength! Showing that a large number of people care for things to get better!”
But, how do I convert this care into action? -Is this Action?

Irrespective of the category, which I fit in or anyone fits in, the point to drive home is that a large number of people do care. If only we could channelize this into something constructive. Is it possible to do that?

If we are able to get results this time, it would be a win not only for anti-terrorist movement in India. It would be a win for anti-terrorist movements all over the globe.

And more importantly it would prove to everyone, that if humans can take initiatives on their own they can lessen the impact of many of the incorrect problems on the earth- social, environmental, personal…anything for that matter.

Jaago India, Jaago Duniya!

on Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Hi friends, I was told that the earlier post was too long and was suggested to separate it for better reading. I dunno wht difference it makes if I separte it , but, nyways, here it is, same wine in a new bottle!

Getting started!
Please read the guidelines below to understand how WE as a citizen can help:- (These are commonsensical things. Yet, they seem to be not followed or known by many.)
1) Be calm and patient. Do not panic. Be wary of rumors and chaos which cause unnecessary delays in rescue operations.
2) Do not mix religion and politics into it. It adds fuel to the fire. This is what the terrorist want you to do; make you fight amongst yourselves. Stop the blame game.
3) Be informed. Try to understand the motive beyond such acts. Listen to radio and television for instructions.
4) If terror strikes in your area, do not crowd and make matters difficult to handle for the police. Instead, volunteer to help the affected. Provide first aid if possible. Donate blood if you can. Help, but don’t get in the way of rescue operations. Co-operate with the defense officials.
5) Just criticizing the government and police won’t help. Kudos, to NSG for their bravery in Mumbai rescue mission. There are people who are putting their lives on line to save you. See how you can improve the system.
6) Corruption harbors terrorism. By bribing, potential terrorists illegally get hand on passports, credit cards and identity cards. Please try to avoid it as far as possible. If you find it difficult to take a stand. Inform someone who can do something about it. Inform the media.
7) Terrorist know how to use technology to their advantage. Please avoid entertaining any unknown e-mail address asking for confidential information. Please report spam mail. Also, please notify when you come across inflammatory or agitating emails with the sole purpose of infuriating mobs. (These may be seen on many social networking sites).
8) Be alert and aware about who and what is normal in your surroundings. Knowing this, can help you detect suspicious activity. You may recognize suspicious activity by:
a) Unusual enquiries: Asking about an individual or location’s where about and history or unnecessary interest about the security system and working of an area. Do not give out such confidential information unless you are familiar with the person.
b) Unusual and sudden accommodation of people: A person suddenly lodges in a hotel and is then frequently visited and joined by a large number of seemingly unrelated people. Also, notice their secretive behavior.
c) Noting down of exact location and architectural plan details: The person not only takes pictures of the building. But, also, makes a note of entry points, number of cameras, etc. Creates rough sketch of the entire area and is visible at certain points of the day, trying to monitor and get rough estimation of people to expect at a given point in the day.
d)Unusual deliveries and commodity orders: A media channel reported that the Mumbai blast terrorists had allegedly stocked food well in advance. Terrorist may stock supplies to ready themselves before their ghastly operation comes into action. Do notice if someone is suddenly placing orders for large number of commodities and getting frequent suspicious deliveries.
e)Report unattended packages: On seeing unattended bundles and packages do not panic, if suspicious report such observations. Please store helpline numbers in your cell phone. You never know who you may need to contact in case of emergency.
9) Report details accurately. When providing any information about suspicious activity to a defense official try to be clear in your description. Report only what you saw not what you feel or think might have happened.
a)In case of people description, try to keep the following things in mind: height, hair color, approximate age, sex, scars, unique mark or identity characteristics, dialect and tone of conversation, etc.
b) In case of vehicles, note the color, make, model, body damage, license plate number, etc.
10) Do not take law into your hands. After going through the trauma of terror attack, a backlash is unwanted. Please do not join or encourage angry mobs which burn down shops, buses, etc in the disguise of expressing anger against the government’s inefficiency.
11) Join the anti-terrorism movement. If you think that there is something unjust going on. Do not just keep mum. Find out how you can help. Spread the message. Try to change the chalta hain attitude of others. Every individual has a power to make a difference.
12) Support such organizations who are trying to highlight the issue to the concerned people. You can use you skills like writing, advertisements, etc to help campaign in a non-violent manner.
13) Pressurize the government for action and proper enforcement of law. Ask them to stop manipulating laws for political gains. Pressurize the government to not only lay down policies, firm terror laws but also implement them.
14) Children are our future. Please never encourage anti-religious sentiments in them. Volunteer to educate kids in orphanages, schools, anywhere for that matter. Try to build a positive way of thinking.
15) Last, but not the least, believe that things can change. And that you as a citizen can play an active role in bringing about the change. Be positive. Be the change.

Jaago India!

on Saturday, November 29, 2008

Good Morning! India. Wake Up. It is time that each one of us stand up and get counted. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH…

The Year 2008, the common man has yet again experienced riots and a series of terror attacks under various pretexts - communal clashes and vested interests. Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Surat, Imphal, Assam...Mumbai. The terror strikes again and again.

I am the common man. I have experienced all these lying low. Keeping quiet, being calm and hoping that this will soon pass.Terrorism has terrorized me. But, now, “Enough is Enough” -I cannot sit lying low, while people out there are dying for no fault of theirs. Those cowards are brutally gunning down men, women and children indiscrimately. For what? What is the motive behind these brutal acts?

A typical ‘common man’ is bothered about situations only when it directly affects him or his family. That is the bracket where in we all majorly fit in. But, it is high time we start thinking above our city, we need to think as Indians first.

The terror attacks have increased in frequency over the years. Yet, we as individuals have never thought over actually taking any measures to safeguard our nation’s interest. Do we have proper security and anti-terror laws? How successfully are they implemented?

We as citizens need to be alert and start pressurizing the government to do something. Pressurize them to enforce policies, laws, try getting yourself involved in effective security management...anything sensible for that matter...that makes us involved in reducing terrorism instead of lying low and being cowards ourselves.

The cynics say: “But, you can’t do this all alone!” “You are just one man.” [The Impossible Dream - Art Buchwald].

Let the critics and cynics say what they want, if there is something and in fact anything that we as citizens can do we must do it. Yes, it is the government responsibility to protect us. But, is there anything that we can do to protect ourselves?