It is a topsy-turvy planet

Peter goes to a small town in rural India which is, as he puts in, "in the a*se end of nowhere". It is one of those poor and depressing places, far away from the tinted lights of the buzzing metros. There is one abberation though : he can send and receive emails even in the midst of wretched poverty. The other side? His Mom in the "first world" of Britain is struggling to read those emails for the want of a fast enough internet connection.

Another indication of what I wrote earliar. Touting cell phone penetration in India is a way to obfuscate the reality that despite impressive gains the lives of the most needy has not been touched by the recent economic boom.

A Father's Pilgrimage

I just saw an excellent program on NDTV remembering one of the fallen soldiers of the Kargil War, Vir Chakra Lt. Vijyant Thapar. The proud father of Lt. Vijyant Thapar makes an yearly pilgrimage to the place where his twenty two year old son laid his life for his countrymen, for you and me. Millions of people make pilgrimages every year, but none is as meaningful and honorable as this one.

Vijyant's father has an excellent functioning website. He has posted the last letter that Vijyant sent home. Read it.

WARMING??

I know it has been a LONG time. But I cannot take IT anymore! The snow I mean.

It has been snowing for two weeks now, continuously and relentlessly. I mean I like white, it has a soothing effect. But too much of even a good thing can throw you off balance.

Yeah, if you are reading this you know I am pissed. I do not know who I am pissed with. The last year 2006 was supposed to have been one of the warmest years ever. There have been so many cries of Global Warming and what not. But is this WARMING?

Bhaat!

I got them in a forward, but worth it to put here on blog if it can bring a smile to some faces!

chat transcript of two dudes...i found them incredibly funny...

<><><><><><><><><>
B: hello nick(D)
D: hi thakur
B: tu kaisa hai?
D: jinda aachen dada
B: thakur bol thakrani bol. kuchh bo bol main apni haat tujhe nehi dunga
D: abe maanga kab?
B: tere baki baal jhar gaye?
D: baaki?
D: abe sab bache hain.. baaki kya maltab?
B: Matlab? tu bhi Matlab sikh raha hai kaya?
D: abe maine maltab bola.. matlab nahin
D: kya kar ke khud ki de raha hai?
B: mai leta hoon dada
D: (censored opinion)

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

B: bye smiley kayse type karte hai?
:)
D: finger se..
B: tu kutta hai bahot bara
D: false
B: abe bol na
D: bola to
ungali se!!
B: :) ye smile hai
D: seru..maloom
B: :(
to ek bye ka hota hai na?
D: ??
yahoo mein??
B: haan
D: yahoo mein ja ke dekh
MUHAHAHAHA
B: >:)
D: :p
B-)
doesn't works
D: itni fight kyon maar raha hai?
B: :-D
D: ghar se chai pee ke nahin aaya tha kya?
B: :-D
D: :(
:(
B: :-))
:-)
D: :-((
:-(
B: =:)
;)
D: =:(
;(
KYA SICKNESS HAI!!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

D: ab to tanha nahin hai na?
B: nehi be tu jo agaya hai
D: kya hua.. wife beech mein wapas chali gayee kya ?;)
abhi bhi mere pe line maar raha hai
B: ap aye bangalore me barsat aya
D: yeah.. and meri lag gayee
B: kiun dude M ne to ditch mar di ab kaya prob hai darling?
D: pehle se hi auto ki fight hai.. upar se barish
saale kamine bhaag ja
B: oye weekend me kaya plan hai?
D: treat dene ki sooch rhaa hai kya? :D
Blonde visit to doctor

A blonde woman went to her doctor complaining of pain.

"Where are you hurting?" asked the doctor.

"You have to help me, I hurt all over", said the woman.

"What do you mean, all over?" asked the doctor, "be a little more
specific."

The woman touched her right knee with her index finger and
yelled, "Ow, that
hurts."
Then she touched her left cheek and again yelled, "Ouch! That hurts,
too."
Then she touched her right earlobe, "Ow, even THAT hurts", she cried.
The doctor checked her thoughtfully for a moment and told her his
diagnosis,
"You have a broken finger."

B: good joke. mind blowing be....
D: not that good. i just started checking my joke repository
abe life itni boring hai offie mein :(
B: kaya hua
D: trying not to fall asleep
B: ok tu fir ye puzzle solve kar
D: :O
B: taran ki super man T-shirt right now kiski pas hai?
D: tere paas?
B: good guess.. but keep trying
D: superman ke paas?
B: sahi hai
D: B-)
B: ab batao kiun?
D: kyonki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi?
B: abe subhe subhe confuse kar raha hai tere bachche nange payda honge
D: aur tere helmet ke saath
B: wrong chicken biriyani ke sath
D: :- kaise?
B: ho gaya na confused ! revenge liya...hihihahah
D: oh!!!!! ye baat
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

reminds of the kind of bakar we used to do, and still manage to do once in a while!

Appreciate what you have....

Ranjan Kant comes across the poverty and the misery of the poor of Mumbai. Then he comes across a callous and insensitive colleague

"Yesterday, while coming from a party, I generally commented at how lucky each one of us was to be where we were in life, and then I this colleague of mine, said "No", we had worked very hard for where we are, and there is no luck involved, per se. And then I asked him, that Rickshaw-puller over there, doesn't he work just as hard as you or me to earn his hand-to-mouth sustenance, day in and day out ? And he still said, there's no destiny involved. And I was so angry for like 10 mins, angry at the callousness, the misplaced confidence in one's abilities."

and then goes on to say

"All I want to say is that even though we continue to live in our glossy walls of good life, not for a moment think, those people on the street don't work as hard as you and me, appreciate that, that common man defeats more odds than a soldier at war, to survive, and live another day and beat life at its own game. "

I could not have said it better. Read the full post here.

Nothing says things better than pictures. Here is a presentation that says the same thing, but with pictures. (Thanks M)

On True Love

"I am in love", she said. The first thought that crossed my mind," Never underestimate the power of ethanol". The next moment, a smile was plastered across her face, the kind of smile which comes with nothing but absolute bliss. "My God", I thought, "she is serious". "Wow!", is all that I could say aloud.

Of course, in such situations one needs to say much more than that. Like, "I can't believe it, who IS he?" or “Congratulations. That’s awesome!”. Anyway, I ended up saying just “Wow!”

The next few seconds I was trying to think of something more to say; something to say before the blissful smile faded away. “Who is he?” is what I thought would be appropriate, although I had a pretty good idea about the answer to that question. “Is it true love?” is what I blurted out finally. I had no intention of wiping off her smile, but the question did do that. Disaster!

“What do you mean by true love?”

“Forget it. I have no idea what this love thing is. I was just asking if you really want to be with him or is it just one of those momentary feelings.”

“Still?”

“Well, you need to ask yourself this. A few years from now, when both of you are mired in your own careers, will you still beam in the same manner at his thought the way you are beaming now? When you are no longer young and he is no longer dashing, will you be still like to be with him, and he with you? Can you folks spend an evening just in the presence of each other, without talking a whole lot, and still feel happy?......Blah Blah Blah ” (Never underestimate the power of ethanol !! Sh%&!).

I was hoping for a happy ending: she would have answered yes for those questions, even if just because of the bliss, and moved on. Unfortunately, she is now confused. “Is it really true love?”, she is asking herself.

Does it matter?

The Difference between WILL and SHALL

A senator steals another's amendment and offer's the lamest excuse of improvement. Anything is possible in, for a change, America! Watch Stephen Colbert in this hilarious piece. One can ignore the politically loaded latter part of the video depending on taste.



As they would say in KGP : "Colbert is GOD!"

On Loneliness

apne saaye se chaunk jaate hain
umR guzri hai is kadar tanha

(
Even the sight of my shadow catches me by surprise
I have lived such a lonely life.
)


The most forceful analogy for loneliness that I have ever seen. Who else but Gulzar is the poet.