Why in most of the love stories mother agrees and father disagrees??
Because mother knows what is love.......and father knows what life is!!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
A white paper on best practises of boozing!!
This blog is a result of 'kadi tapasya' done by me and my friends over a period of 6 years. This has been tested in bars from Kothamangalam to Amsterdam(Jaggu..hope you are reading this) and on brands ranging from 'Jawan' which cost 120 per liter to Jack Daniel's ( i dont know the price, i never paid for it :-)).
Readers(if any) are welcome to put their own research theories and also contradict with us provided that they meet the basic criteria which is given below.
1.Must have the ability to drink at least 6 pegs without puking.
2.Should have experience in this field for minimum five years without a gap of not more than 2 months.
So anyone who matches the above two criteria is all welcome to put up his hypothesis on this blog.
GOLDEN RULES OF BOOZING:
1.Never booze when upset. Booze only to celebrate.
2.Boozing is never addictive. So don't even try!!(to get addicted)
*. Never booze alone.
3.Call up your GF after the third peg. Tell her how much you love her and how nothing else matters to you other than her. When you ve had your third peg, you have this strange ability to speak as if there is no more blood flowing in your veins but alcohol and yet manage to be in control of what you speak.Girls are more often than not fool enough to believe that when a guy drinks, he speaks nothing but truth. Exploit this to the maximum!!
CAUTION:
Never call your GF after the 6th peg. Who knows you might just start speaking the truth!!!
4.Booze slowly and steadily. Booze to be on the high and not to tumble down and puke all over. If you just wanna sleep, try sleeping pills instead!
5.Never go by the society rules of taking sips. If you feel uncomfortable with the taste, gulp it down immediately. After all, the whole purpose is to get the kick! If its the taste that you are looking for, try ice cream!
6.Dip your finger in the spiciest of pickle, rub it on your tongue and exhale as soon as the liquor traces its way down your throat. Helps to overcome jerk which might be a result of resistance offered by your body. This may not be correct scientifically, test it your own risk.
This is applicable only if you are not a seasoned drinker!! For a seasoned drinker, there is no jerk in the first place!
7.Now this one is scientific .Drink a lot of water! Alcohol has a dehydrating effect on your body. So compensate for the lost water by drinking more(water of course!!)
8.Your liver generates in every 6 months(My friend says so and generally he is right!). So no matter how much u drink, you can always take break and start again!
To be continued......
Readers(if any) are welcome to put their own research theories and also contradict with us provided that they meet the basic criteria which is given below.
1.Must have the ability to drink at least 6 pegs without puking.
2.Should have experience in this field for minimum five years without a gap of not more than 2 months.
So anyone who matches the above two criteria is all welcome to put up his hypothesis on this blog.
GOLDEN RULES OF BOOZING:
1.Never booze when upset. Booze only to celebrate.
2.Boozing is never addictive. So don't even try!!(to get addicted)
*. Never booze alone.
3.Call up your GF after the third peg. Tell her how much you love her and how nothing else matters to you other than her. When you ve had your third peg, you have this strange ability to speak as if there is no more blood flowing in your veins but alcohol and yet manage to be in control of what you speak.Girls are more often than not fool enough to believe that when a guy drinks, he speaks nothing but truth. Exploit this to the maximum!!
CAUTION:
Never call your GF after the 6th peg. Who knows you might just start speaking the truth!!!
4.Booze slowly and steadily. Booze to be on the high and not to tumble down and puke all over. If you just wanna sleep, try sleeping pills instead!
5.Never go by the society rules of taking sips. If you feel uncomfortable with the taste, gulp it down immediately. After all, the whole purpose is to get the kick! If its the taste that you are looking for, try ice cream!
6.Dip your finger in the spiciest of pickle, rub it on your tongue and exhale as soon as the liquor traces its way down your throat. Helps to overcome jerk which might be a result of resistance offered by your body. This may not be correct scientifically, test it your own risk.
This is applicable only if you are not a seasoned drinker!! For a seasoned drinker, there is no jerk in the first place!
7.Now this one is scientific .Drink a lot of water! Alcohol has a dehydrating effect on your body. So compensate for the lost water by drinking more(water of course!!)
8.Your liver generates in every 6 months(My friend says so and generally he is right!). So no matter how much u drink, you can always take break and start again!
To be continued......
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Where is the passion??
Starting something of my own has always been a dream for me. And when you have a dream that you see with your eyes open everyday, your mind unconsciously works towards achieving it. At least i believe so.
I understand the risks involved in leaving a high paying job in one of the biggest IT companies to start-up your own business especially when you are just a 'toddler' in the industry with no previous experience in business. But then, that's how everything started. Those who succeeded were not exceptionally great men. They were also once like us who just believed in their dream.
Yet, there are so many people around who are convinced that i can never make it big. Why, because i am just 2 yrs old in the field. Because i will not get clients. Because i don't have initial investment. The list is unending.
But then without all this, so many companies started, and some of them managed to become "the changing face of India" and their leaders, "New gen enterprenurs".
"You will not understand the benefits of being in a job. You will understand it later" said a very matured friend of mine. Yeah i wouldn't understand. I can sit in this company and have people who i know are not half as capable as me, deliver me lectures on the process i should follow here. I really don't understand it, please help me understand.
"There are so many advantages of being salaried professional". I am sure there are! But they don't interest me. Ships would never drown if they stay in the harbor, but is that why ships are made for?
"Hey N, look Anoop is going to start a business. Why don't you invest some money?" V called out sarcastically to N
"What am i mad or what? Business...hhmmm. The guy is out of his minds. Dont worry he will be alright as he begins to understand the world"
Its always easy to take the easier path. The path that has been traversed by so many people before you and and will be traversed by so many after you. Does that excite you. Not me. I read somewhere that a very famous university conducted a study on two groups of people. One who wanted to make money, another who pursued what interested them. And they found that 20 years later, it was the latter who were richer than the former.
Its not about money. Its about doing what i feel like doing. Its about driving your own show. Its about eliminating all that i think is just a waste of time and resources and putting a better and more efficient working model.
A is a nice guy and happens to be my roommate. A is what you call a satisfied person,contented in all sense. His daily routines revolves around three 'S'. Sleeping, sex and shitting! He spends as much time in lavatory as he spends in his bed. And when he is not sleeping or shitting, he is thinking about sex. So much, that if mind-raping had been a punishable offense, he would have been awarded death sentences each day since he attained puberty.
Just before i started writing this blog, i had a big argument with him. As he got up from his 16 hour long sleep, i advised him to get up and do something with his life. He said he is thinking about it. He said he doesn't feel passionate anymore about anything. He blames it on his failed love. Nothing irritates me more! He said how he was passionate back then and since she left her, he lost interest in life. With this he walked to lavatory to experience what he says is a divine pleasure. One and half hours later he emerged with a satisfying look on his face. This was probably 5th or 6th time he had been to "London"(that's his code word for lavatory).
Then he advised me like a grand old man "There is more in life than this work"
Yeah i see that.He had kept the door of the bathroom open,just in case he wanna go back in, he need not take extra effort to open it!
"For you, starting your own business is a passion. But what after that. While you die, you cant take anything with u rite?"
"What nonsense" I was in no mood to give up. "At least i will not regret that i didn't do what i wanted to. Its not what you take with you while you die, its how you have been living your life till then. Life's is a journey and death is the destination. If i pursue my passion, i will enjoy my journey and embrace my destination without any regrets". I was rather surprised by own philosophical spontaneity. Lately i have become quite a philosopher. J would agree!
"That is your view point,Anoop. Just like you enjoy dreaming about the unachievable(sucker!! i wanna give a punch rite on his nose), i enjoy my sleep. I enjoy my food. Ultimately what matters is whether we are happy or not. Living my life like this gives me happiness." He has a point there and i cannot deny that!Though i simply cannot believe that anybody can be happy by living a life like that.
As i pen this,i don't know if he is really happy or he said that just to win the argument(he is in lavatory,anyways) but i am not happy. Am not at all satisfied. I cannot spend my whole life like this. I want to do what i love to do and not just "work".
And with a belief that someday i will be able to prove all these people wrong, i conclude.
PS: A is not as bad as he would seem in this post. He is a real nice person,rather a gem of a person.Just that, he is one big lazy bum and is suffering from never ending stomach disorder.
I understand the risks involved in leaving a high paying job in one of the biggest IT companies to start-up your own business especially when you are just a 'toddler' in the industry with no previous experience in business. But then, that's how everything started. Those who succeeded were not exceptionally great men. They were also once like us who just believed in their dream.
Yet, there are so many people around who are convinced that i can never make it big. Why, because i am just 2 yrs old in the field. Because i will not get clients. Because i don't have initial investment. The list is unending.
But then without all this, so many companies started, and some of them managed to become "the changing face of India" and their leaders, "New gen enterprenurs".
"You will not understand the benefits of being in a job. You will understand it later" said a very matured friend of mine. Yeah i wouldn't understand. I can sit in this company and have people who i know are not half as capable as me, deliver me lectures on the process i should follow here. I really don't understand it, please help me understand.
"There are so many advantages of being salaried professional". I am sure there are! But they don't interest me. Ships would never drown if they stay in the harbor, but is that why ships are made for?
"Hey N, look Anoop is going to start a business. Why don't you invest some money?" V called out sarcastically to N
"What am i mad or what? Business...hhmmm. The guy is out of his minds. Dont worry he will be alright as he begins to understand the world"
Its always easy to take the easier path. The path that has been traversed by so many people before you and and will be traversed by so many after you. Does that excite you. Not me. I read somewhere that a very famous university conducted a study on two groups of people. One who wanted to make money, another who pursued what interested them. And they found that 20 years later, it was the latter who were richer than the former.
Its not about money. Its about doing what i feel like doing. Its about driving your own show. Its about eliminating all that i think is just a waste of time and resources and putting a better and more efficient working model.
A is a nice guy and happens to be my roommate. A is what you call a satisfied person,contented in all sense. His daily routines revolves around three 'S'. Sleeping, sex and shitting! He spends as much time in lavatory as he spends in his bed. And when he is not sleeping or shitting, he is thinking about sex. So much, that if mind-raping had been a punishable offense, he would have been awarded death sentences each day since he attained puberty.
Just before i started writing this blog, i had a big argument with him. As he got up from his 16 hour long sleep, i advised him to get up and do something with his life. He said he is thinking about it. He said he doesn't feel passionate anymore about anything. He blames it on his failed love. Nothing irritates me more! He said how he was passionate back then and since she left her, he lost interest in life. With this he walked to lavatory to experience what he says is a divine pleasure. One and half hours later he emerged with a satisfying look on his face. This was probably 5th or 6th time he had been to "London"(that's his code word for lavatory).
Then he advised me like a grand old man "There is more in life than this work"
Yeah i see that.He had kept the door of the bathroom open,just in case he wanna go back in, he need not take extra effort to open it!
"For you, starting your own business is a passion. But what after that. While you die, you cant take anything with u rite?"
"What nonsense" I was in no mood to give up. "At least i will not regret that i didn't do what i wanted to. Its not what you take with you while you die, its how you have been living your life till then. Life's is a journey and death is the destination. If i pursue my passion, i will enjoy my journey and embrace my destination without any regrets". I was rather surprised by own philosophical spontaneity. Lately i have become quite a philosopher. J would agree!
"That is your view point,Anoop. Just like you enjoy dreaming about the unachievable(sucker!! i wanna give a punch rite on his nose), i enjoy my sleep. I enjoy my food. Ultimately what matters is whether we are happy or not. Living my life like this gives me happiness." He has a point there and i cannot deny that!Though i simply cannot believe that anybody can be happy by living a life like that.
As i pen this,i don't know if he is really happy or he said that just to win the argument(he is in lavatory,anyways) but i am not happy. Am not at all satisfied. I cannot spend my whole life like this. I want to do what i love to do and not just "work".
And with a belief that someday i will be able to prove all these people wrong, i conclude.
PS: A is not as bad as he would seem in this post. He is a real nice person,rather a gem of a person.Just that, he is one big lazy bum and is suffering from never ending stomach disorder.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Nostalgic Videos!!
As i was youtubing around, i found this video. This was one of those good old NFDC presentation which would keep me glued to TV sets back when i was studying in primary school.
Now this led me to do a bit more youtubing in search of similar nostalgic videos. And then i found this one. I remember not missing a single episode of this 'MOGLI'.
More searching and i came across some of the good old ads. One of them is the "Hamara Bajaj" campaign. I remember back then most of Bajaj scooters would have "You just cant beat a Bajaj" caption on their Stephenie cover.As a kid, i used to stand in the space between the driver's seat and the handle with a lot of pride!
And the Lifebuoy ad: "Tandooristhi ki raksha kare Lifebuoy, Lifebuoy hai jahaan, Tandooristhi hain wahan"
And finally how can any Indian not have seen this video. The remake of this video by a popular production house was as disgusting it can get.In fact,to say it was disgusting would be a understatement. I didn't see a single word of praise from any one over the cyberspace for the newer version except the makers themselves and the actors in the video who claimed it be historical.Reminds me of sprite ad caption "logon ko paisa do, kuch bhi bol daalte hain"!
And now the remake version of this. This video seemed to me more than about achiever's kids than acheiver's themselves.The most disgusting part is when the song is retuned on the notes "aati kya khandal" for Aamir's screen presence.For me that was the lowest point. But then there are plenty of blunders in the video for every one to have a pick of their own. Shirtless Sallu, Deepika in minies...i wonder how they missed out Rakhi Sawant!
Now this led me to do a bit more youtubing in search of similar nostalgic videos. And then i found this one. I remember not missing a single episode of this 'MOGLI'.
More searching and i came across some of the good old ads. One of them is the "Hamara Bajaj" campaign. I remember back then most of Bajaj scooters would have "You just cant beat a Bajaj" caption on their Stephenie cover.As a kid, i used to stand in the space between the driver's seat and the handle with a lot of pride!
And the Lifebuoy ad: "Tandooristhi ki raksha kare Lifebuoy, Lifebuoy hai jahaan, Tandooristhi hain wahan"
And finally how can any Indian not have seen this video. The remake of this video by a popular production house was as disgusting it can get.In fact,to say it was disgusting would be a understatement. I didn't see a single word of praise from any one over the cyberspace for the newer version except the makers themselves and the actors in the video who claimed it be historical.Reminds me of sprite ad caption "logon ko paisa do, kuch bhi bol daalte hain"!
And now the remake version of this. This video seemed to me more than about achiever's kids than acheiver's themselves.The most disgusting part is when the song is retuned on the notes "aati kya khandal" for Aamir's screen presence.For me that was the lowest point. But then there are plenty of blunders in the video for every one to have a pick of their own. Shirtless Sallu, Deepika in minies...i wonder how they missed out Rakhi Sawant!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Kill IPL !
"An embattled IPL commissioner Lalit Modi refused on Saturday to resign from his post and dared BCCI to sack him at Monday's IPL governing council meeting. While the BCCI brass went into huddle to chalk out a strategy to remove him,Mr.Modi showed no signs of backin down"--The Hindu
Two weeks after setting in motion a sequence of events which would lead to the resignation of the man who is no stranger to controversies,Mr. Shashi Tharoor , Lalit Modi himself finds in troubled waters.Such is the impact of introdouction of Kerala team. And here am thinking that malayalees have no role to play in IPL!!
For the past three days, IPL controversy has occupied the front page of all major news papers except TOI which chooses to put some sex scandal and pictures of bikini babes instead!Thats what i like about the TOI :-).
From allegations of rigging in the team allotment process to match-fixing, IPL seems to be unfolding enough melodrama to put Kavitha Kapoor's saaas-bahu soaps to shame. And its just started!
As a person who was very passionate about his cricket in his teens, i ve come to understand my cricket and hence appreciate the beauty of a classic stroke play.For me batting is a bit more than bang bang.
In a 50 over match, you need to save your wicket and cannot throw your bat just at anything. Thats when the batsman's true skills are tested. In IPL, you just need to be bothered about 20 overs, which means there isnt a lot of need to save your wickets. Its just hit as much as you can or die doing so.
Thats not the only reason why don't like IPL.i dont feel the same passion seeing IPL that i get when i see India taking on Australia(forget Pakistanis, Australians are our new enemies!).
Sony's IPL campaign showed picking up sides in IPL as trendy and soon people started choosing their teams for support. The element of glamor involved also played its part in making the IPL popular. But do my hairs stand up like it does when Sachin faces Shoaib....naaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! I am a big time Sachin fan and hence i support MI, but even when they lose, i dont get that dejected feeling that i get when India loses to Australia. The only time i clapped hard was when Bhajji slapped Sreesanth! He long deserved one :-) didn't he?
And the fuss about IPL being a wonderful concept and a unique business model is again baseless.
It was ICL that came up with this idea in the first place. If not for BCCI's arm twisting and cut throat techniques to establish monopoly, IPL might have been a different story altogether. They didnt follow ethics of fair competition from day 1, but now when Shashi Tharoor come gate crashing to Modi's party and demanded that he give his state an IPL team, Modi's plans of making a few extra bucks for himself by allotting the ownership of the new teams to a premier industrial house of the country took a beating. An outraged Modi questioned the Tharoor's ethics, which triggered a chain of events which led Tharoor to resign from his ministerial post.
At least now he can tweet in peace!!
Little did Modi know that, his actions were to backfire on him sooner than he anticipated.Now he is on the brink of losing his job as IPL commissioner, if he hasnt already. And now BCCI is going to setup all kinds of enquiry commissions that you can possibly imagine (and some that you cant possibly imagine :-) ) against him. Poor Modi! Is this what you call "apne pairon pe khuladi maarna" ?
People who live in glass houses shouldnt throw stones at others.
Kapil Dev and the entire ICL team would be watching the events with a lot of interest.And why not,BCCI issued threats of bans and used its influence with the cricket boards of friendly countries to burn down ICL to ground. They should have something to cheer about after all.
Two weeks after setting in motion a sequence of events which would lead to the resignation of the man who is no stranger to controversies,Mr. Shashi Tharoor , Lalit Modi himself finds in troubled waters.Such is the impact of introdouction of Kerala team. And here am thinking that malayalees have no role to play in IPL!!
For the past three days, IPL controversy has occupied the front page of all major news papers except TOI which chooses to put some sex scandal and pictures of bikini babes instead!Thats what i like about the TOI :-).
From allegations of rigging in the team allotment process to match-fixing, IPL seems to be unfolding enough melodrama to put Kavitha Kapoor's saaas-bahu soaps to shame. And its just started!
As a person who was very passionate about his cricket in his teens, i ve come to understand my cricket and hence appreciate the beauty of a classic stroke play.For me batting is a bit more than bang bang.
In a 50 over match, you need to save your wicket and cannot throw your bat just at anything. Thats when the batsman's true skills are tested. In IPL, you just need to be bothered about 20 overs, which means there isnt a lot of need to save your wickets. Its just hit as much as you can or die doing so.
Thats not the only reason why don't like IPL.i dont feel the same passion seeing IPL that i get when i see India taking on Australia(forget Pakistanis, Australians are our new enemies!).
Sony's IPL campaign showed picking up sides in IPL as trendy and soon people started choosing their teams for support. The element of glamor involved also played its part in making the IPL popular. But do my hairs stand up like it does when Sachin faces Shoaib....naaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! I am a big time Sachin fan and hence i support MI, but even when they lose, i dont get that dejected feeling that i get when India loses to Australia. The only time i clapped hard was when Bhajji slapped Sreesanth! He long deserved one :-) didn't he?
And the fuss about IPL being a wonderful concept and a unique business model is again baseless.
It was ICL that came up with this idea in the first place. If not for BCCI's arm twisting and cut throat techniques to establish monopoly, IPL might have been a different story altogether. They didnt follow ethics of fair competition from day 1, but now when Shashi Tharoor come gate crashing to Modi's party and demanded that he give his state an IPL team, Modi's plans of making a few extra bucks for himself by allotting the ownership of the new teams to a premier industrial house of the country took a beating. An outraged Modi questioned the Tharoor's ethics, which triggered a chain of events which led Tharoor to resign from his ministerial post.
At least now he can tweet in peace!!
Little did Modi know that, his actions were to backfire on him sooner than he anticipated.Now he is on the brink of losing his job as IPL commissioner, if he hasnt already. And now BCCI is going to setup all kinds of enquiry commissions that you can possibly imagine (and some that you cant possibly imagine :-) ) against him. Poor Modi! Is this what you call "apne pairon pe khuladi maarna" ?
People who live in glass houses shouldnt throw stones at others.
Kapil Dev and the entire ICL team would be watching the events with a lot of interest.And why not,BCCI issued threats of bans and used its influence with the cricket boards of friendly countries to burn down ICL to ground. They should have something to cheer about after all.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
A read from Neo's blog! Awesome!!!
Why it is meaningless to say you’re proud to be an Indian
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama.
“More than you know it I’m aware,
Of this connection that we share.
I know it seems like sometimes I don’t care,
But you are the colors that I wear” – “3 AM”, Poets of the Fall.
“I’m proud to be an Indian ” – Twitterer, January 26th, 2010.
“You were an Indian in America, and now you’re an American in India. Always confused.” – Neo’s Uncle Abhay on Neo, January 26th 2010.
“What time is Lost?” – Neo, moments ago.
*
On Republic Day, Uncle Abhay kept trying to get Neo to enjoy the parade, but Neo was more interested in spending quality time with his Google Reader, podcasts and wine – only two things were “dry” on Republic Day at Neoville: the municipal water supply, and Abhay’s throat because he couldn’t stop talking.
Uncle Abhay finally gave up: “Are you even an Indian? What the hell are you doing in India? Why did you come here? Aren’t you proud of being an Indian?”.
No.
Neo has plenty of time to listen to Raga Marwa, or wait for his turn at the traffic light, but he has no time to waste watching parades, waving the flag of any country, chanting slogans or reading @nevervotes92’s tweets on how he’s proud of being an Indian. Saying that you are proud of being an Indian isn’t much different than saying you’re proud to be born on a Monday – being an Indian is just a fact, not an achievement to be proud of. Would you be less proud if you were born Romanian, or on a Tuesday ? You could say you’re lucky to be an Indian – millions of Bangladeshis would agree.
The ridiculously sloganeered and caricatured shows of patriotism that occur in India (and every other country) on “national holidays” are an insult to the intelligence of its citizens. What happened to the thoughtful, deep India ? When did we choose gaudy weddings over happy marriages, not-stalgia and past glory over reality, rutty careers over our real aspirations, pretentious religious ceremonies over what they actually mean, deep-fried over grilled, elder-worship over thinking for ourselves, the display of money over tastefulness and rote-memorized slogans over an intuitive understanding of civic duty ? You can get a kid to recite “Mera Bharat Mahan” or the sugary-sweet “All Indians are my brother and sisters” until his face is blue, but he’s still not going to stop throwing his fucking candy wrapper on the road until a parent teaches him to.
And have you noticed ? Around the world, the more pathetic the condition of its citizens, the grander and more pretentious are the patriotic celebrations and the forced, fake statements of pride. If the Martians were watching the parades on TV, they’d think North Korea was the leader of the world. The lipstick on a prostitute gets more garishly red as dawn approaches, or as the drugs wear off.
A few of Neo’s family members and friends serve (proudly) in the Indian armed forces. None of them are impressed by the Facebook status updates, tweets and blog posts proclaiming pride for India on national holidays or disasters. This Republic day, Neo’s friend said “We serve in the army so the rest of you motherfuckers can be safe and change India, not so you can sit around forwarding patriotic songs and feel happy.”
How about we replace all the parades, speeches and sloganeering with a simple ceremony that honors the men and women who would run towards a gunshot rather than away from it ? The ceremony can end in a simple wish – “we honor the Indians who died for our country this year, and we hope our enemies will soon have the opportunity to die in very large numbers for their country.”
Hello, and welcome to Neo’s blog. He is Indian, and he’s proud of many things. But he’s not proud to be an Indian. He just is an Indian.
==========================================================================
Source url: http://neoindian.org/
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama.
“More than you know it I’m aware,
Of this connection that we share.
I know it seems like sometimes I don’t care,
But you are the colors that I wear” – “3 AM”, Poets of the Fall.
“I’m proud to be an Indian ” – Twitterer, January 26th, 2010.
“You were an Indian in America, and now you’re an American in India. Always confused.” – Neo’s Uncle Abhay on Neo, January 26th 2010.
“What time is Lost?” – Neo, moments ago.
*
On Republic Day, Uncle Abhay kept trying to get Neo to enjoy the parade, but Neo was more interested in spending quality time with his Google Reader, podcasts and wine – only two things were “dry” on Republic Day at Neoville: the municipal water supply, and Abhay’s throat because he couldn’t stop talking.
Uncle Abhay finally gave up: “Are you even an Indian? What the hell are you doing in India? Why did you come here? Aren’t you proud of being an Indian?”.
No.
Neo has plenty of time to listen to Raga Marwa, or wait for his turn at the traffic light, but he has no time to waste watching parades, waving the flag of any country, chanting slogans or reading @nevervotes92’s tweets on how he’s proud of being an Indian. Saying that you are proud of being an Indian isn’t much different than saying you’re proud to be born on a Monday – being an Indian is just a fact, not an achievement to be proud of. Would you be less proud if you were born Romanian, or on a Tuesday ? You could say you’re lucky to be an Indian – millions of Bangladeshis would agree.
The ridiculously sloganeered and caricatured shows of patriotism that occur in India (and every other country) on “national holidays” are an insult to the intelligence of its citizens. What happened to the thoughtful, deep India ? When did we choose gaudy weddings over happy marriages, not-stalgia and past glory over reality, rutty careers over our real aspirations, pretentious religious ceremonies over what they actually mean, deep-fried over grilled, elder-worship over thinking for ourselves, the display of money over tastefulness and rote-memorized slogans over an intuitive understanding of civic duty ? You can get a kid to recite “Mera Bharat Mahan” or the sugary-sweet “All Indians are my brother and sisters” until his face is blue, but he’s still not going to stop throwing his fucking candy wrapper on the road until a parent teaches him to.
And have you noticed ? Around the world, the more pathetic the condition of its citizens, the grander and more pretentious are the patriotic celebrations and the forced, fake statements of pride. If the Martians were watching the parades on TV, they’d think North Korea was the leader of the world. The lipstick on a prostitute gets more garishly red as dawn approaches, or as the drugs wear off.
A few of Neo’s family members and friends serve (proudly) in the Indian armed forces. None of them are impressed by the Facebook status updates, tweets and blog posts proclaiming pride for India on national holidays or disasters. This Republic day, Neo’s friend said “We serve in the army so the rest of you motherfuckers can be safe and change India, not so you can sit around forwarding patriotic songs and feel happy.”
How about we replace all the parades, speeches and sloganeering with a simple ceremony that honors the men and women who would run towards a gunshot rather than away from it ? The ceremony can end in a simple wish – “we honor the Indians who died for our country this year, and we hope our enemies will soon have the opportunity to die in very large numbers for their country.”
Hello, and welcome to Neo’s blog. He is Indian, and he’s proud of many things. But he’s not proud to be an Indian. He just is an Indian.
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Source url: http://neoindian.org/
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Random Thoughts:State of journalism in our country!
Past few days news papers have been buzzing with Shoaib-Sania marriage. To add more fuel, Mr. Thackarey, the self declared guardian of "Bharatiyatha" went down to threaten Sania for falling in love in with a Pakistani. Man, this guy comes right out of cartoon network!!
A veteran journalist and a self proclaimed "Mr.Right" tweets about professional ethics of a journalist when he sees Shoaib Sania saga in the front pages of all major newspapers. And what does his channel do, they show live pictures of NSG commandos landing on the Nariman house.In his defense,he asserts that Govt. must have restricted them. There is no denying the fact the govt. and the army should have cordoned off the area, but does it take anything more than pure common sense to understand that showing live pictures of military operation can end up in a disaster? Its so obvious,that you have to be Rajdeep Sardesai not to have foreseen that!! Did he forget the term 'collective responsibility' which he uses so often while he grills the top notch politicians of the country.No intentions of finger pointing at the gentleman, just wanted to say , if you cant do things right, go easy on preaching!
The media, in the present day, is just a medium to sell whats hot! Open up the middle page of the very famous TOI and there wont be a day when you wont see a bikini clad model there.There may not be anything wrong with that, but do you have to go to that level to increase your circulation. And we were the ones who screamed when FTV was launched in India.
Headlines Today is more about whats happening in reality shows. They seem to be more bothered about Shweta Tiwari wore in "Mujhe Jungle se bachao" or how "Rakhi ka swayamvar" is shaping up. Aaj Tak holds its own survey and always rates itself as the no.1 news channel. They seem to have taken a lesson from a very famous "management guru" who also runs a business school which also rates itself as better than the IIMs :-)
There was this incident when one of the very famous lady journalists in the present day, ventured into Kargil to show the world what women are capable of ! And she did show what she was capable of. Two jawans lost their life, when she flashed her camera at Pakistani forces, disclosing their position and making them a clean sitting duck. And God, did we see any remorse from her.
More surprisingly, this issue was never given due importance by the media.Did we see a discussion on "Big Fight" or "We, the people" whether journalists should be allowed on war front or not?
You spare nobody, but when its cases of lapses on your own side,you play it down! How easy!
Quite recently, i saw this program 'Being a Muslim' on one of the premier news channels. They showed how they are the only ones in the entire country who treat muslims as our fellow brothers and the rest all of us working for their annihilation.I feel that particular feature would have done more good for to the terror recruiters than to anyone else.
There is no denying the fact that muslims do at times get subjected to stringent security checks. But we need to be aware of the fact that this is more required to in national interest and not aimed at creating a divide. In fact this is eliminate those who are hellbent on creating a divide. If we want to get away with stringent checks, we should make it a point that we don't blame the security agencies with terms "Intelligence failure" which is first thing the common man in the street speaks of, should he hears about a bomb blast. How easily we ignore how many of 26/11 s were avoided and nipped in the bud by our good guys. But that never seem to excite the media nor the general public. .
'Tehelka tapes' were undoubtedly an important chapter in the history of Indian journalism. It showed the difference the media can make when it comes to exposing corruption to the public. Since then numerous sting operations have been undertaken, some genuine and some not so genuine ones. One good thing about the sting operation is that it brings about instant response. Today sting operations have also turned spicy! No am not referring to "Emotional Atyachar"!! Out of the 10 sting operations carried today, 6 are to expose sex scandals. Not that these guys feel a lot for morality, its just it adds up more masala, more audience and hence a better TRP rating. Mission accomplished!!
The latest figure to be caught with his pants down was none other 'Baba Nithayananda'! Unlike all other times when the feeling was more of outrage, i felt rather amused by this episode. I mean the people who trusted this Godman or any other Godman for that reason, didn't deserve anything better. I feel pity for the "bhakts" but you asked for it, and so you got it! Nobody to blame.
A veteran journalist and a self proclaimed "Mr.Right" tweets about professional ethics of a journalist when he sees Shoaib Sania saga in the front pages of all major newspapers. And what does his channel do, they show live pictures of NSG commandos landing on the Nariman house.In his defense,he asserts that Govt. must have restricted them. There is no denying the fact the govt. and the army should have cordoned off the area, but does it take anything more than pure common sense to understand that showing live pictures of military operation can end up in a disaster? Its so obvious,that you have to be Rajdeep Sardesai not to have foreseen that!! Did he forget the term 'collective responsibility' which he uses so often while he grills the top notch politicians of the country.No intentions of finger pointing at the gentleman, just wanted to say , if you cant do things right, go easy on preaching!
The media, in the present day, is just a medium to sell whats hot! Open up the middle page of the very famous TOI and there wont be a day when you wont see a bikini clad model there.There may not be anything wrong with that, but do you have to go to that level to increase your circulation. And we were the ones who screamed when FTV was launched in India.
Headlines Today is more about whats happening in reality shows. They seem to be more bothered about Shweta Tiwari wore in "Mujhe Jungle se bachao" or how "Rakhi ka swayamvar" is shaping up. Aaj Tak holds its own survey and always rates itself as the no.1 news channel. They seem to have taken a lesson from a very famous "management guru" who also runs a business school which also rates itself as better than the IIMs :-)
There was this incident when one of the very famous lady journalists in the present day, ventured into Kargil to show the world what women are capable of ! And she did show what she was capable of. Two jawans lost their life, when she flashed her camera at Pakistani forces, disclosing their position and making them a clean sitting duck. And God, did we see any remorse from her.
More surprisingly, this issue was never given due importance by the media.Did we see a discussion on "Big Fight" or "We, the people" whether journalists should be allowed on war front or not?
You spare nobody, but when its cases of lapses on your own side,you play it down! How easy!
Quite recently, i saw this program 'Being a Muslim' on one of the premier news channels. They showed how they are the only ones in the entire country who treat muslims as our fellow brothers and the rest all of us working for their annihilation.I feel that particular feature would have done more good for to the terror recruiters than to anyone else.
There is no denying the fact that muslims do at times get subjected to stringent security checks. But we need to be aware of the fact that this is more required to in national interest and not aimed at creating a divide. In fact this is eliminate those who are hellbent on creating a divide. If we want to get away with stringent checks, we should make it a point that we don't blame the security agencies with terms "Intelligence failure" which is first thing the common man in the street speaks of, should he hears about a bomb blast. How easily we ignore how many of 26/11 s were avoided and nipped in the bud by our good guys. But that never seem to excite the media nor the general public. .
'Tehelka tapes' were undoubtedly an important chapter in the history of Indian journalism. It showed the difference the media can make when it comes to exposing corruption to the public. Since then numerous sting operations have been undertaken, some genuine and some not so genuine ones. One good thing about the sting operation is that it brings about instant response. Today sting operations have also turned spicy! No am not referring to "Emotional Atyachar"!! Out of the 10 sting operations carried today, 6 are to expose sex scandals. Not that these guys feel a lot for morality, its just it adds up more masala, more audience and hence a better TRP rating. Mission accomplished!!
The latest figure to be caught with his pants down was none other 'Baba Nithayananda'! Unlike all other times when the feeling was more of outrage, i felt rather amused by this episode. I mean the people who trusted this Godman or any other Godman for that reason, didn't deserve anything better. I feel pity for the "bhakts" but you asked for it, and so you got it! Nobody to blame.
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