Unsaid

He walked back from school
Carrying a heavy bag behind
Kicked a stone across the road
Not a single thought in his mind

He turned round the corner
To the street he knew so well
Where he learnt to ride his bicycle
There was the spot where he first fell

Something was different today
The atmosphere changed abruptly
There were cars parked all across the street
People stood near his house quietly

He walked into the house
His eyes clouded with confusion
Crossing the herd of men and women
Looking at him with compassion

He called for his mother
To ask her what was wrong
She came out of nowhere
To hug him hard and long

He realised she was crying
His heart started beating faster
And that was when he noticed
The lifeless body of his father

Perplexed he entered his room
With his mother close behind
She held his hand in hers
Her eyes with tears did shine

She explained to him
That his father had left ’em all
And that while fixing the antenna
On the roof he had a bad fall

She didn’t say much after that
Words were difficult to come by
Her lips quivered
She couldn’t help but cry

He stood there numb
As his mother left
Alone in the darkness
Feeling betrayed and bereft

That was when he remembered
The moment last night
When his father had entered his room
To tuck him in and wish him good night

‘I love you son’, he had said
Now he wished he had tried
To voice his feelings, but
‘Good night dad’ was all he replied

How he wished he had spoken
Spoken out his mind
But now he had lost his chance
If only he had more time

To let him know how he felt
To tell him what he meant to him
To thank his own Superman
To thank him for every single thing

Memories of his father
Flashed through his mind
Of the evening football games
And the delicious barbecue nights

From helping him with his science project
And baking him his birthday cake
To teaching him how to fish
Down in the nearby lake

His father was always by his side
When he was sick and weak
Remembering that man he loved
Brought a tear down his cheek

Tonight he will say it
Before going to bed
Hoping that his father would hear
What he had left unsaid.

JUSTICE DELAYED IS…WELL, JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE OFFICE OF THE INDIAN JUDICIARY

Even now as you read this post, Warren Anderson, ex-chairman of Union Carbide India Ltd, might be sipping tea in the comfort of his luxurious home in upscale Bridgehampton, New York, while the victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy continue their 25 year long struggle against life. 25 years!! And there is still no justice for these innocent sufferers and their families. And what punishment did Mr. Anderson get…a couple of days in the jail followed by bail and the next day he was flying back to America never to set foot here again. Although it is an unfair comparison, but one cannot help but notice, that the efforts put in by the government of India to extradite Anderson from USA are puny in front of the efforts put in by the government of America on the subject of the oil spill by British Petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico.

Even keeping aside this event (which includes the death of over 20k and continued illness of over 120k people in Bhopal), the judiciary of India has not been very effective in doing its job. Starting from the local panchayats in remote villages to the Supreme Court of India, the only decision a victim hears is "The case is adjourned until… ". Funnily enough, it is as the famous Bollywood actor screamed in one of his movies: "Tareekh pe Tareekh...Tareekh pe tareekh…aur phir milti hai tareekh"!!! The number of cases pending in all the courts in India might have even crossed the total population of the country. And imagine the plight of the one who has appealed, when the accused (rich and influential), walks free due to a certain loophole in the system, cleverly dug out by their lawyer or attorney. Yes. The very same lawyers and attorneys who studied hard and worked all their life to be someone whose responsibility is to uphold the integrity of that very judicial system. Although I must applaud this technique of our system in which the case is postponed time and again. This very ingenious practise results in the case being stretched for so long a period of time that either both or one of the parties involved are dead or one of them loses interest/loses faith/cant afford to carry on. There are times when the system has drained families and individuals of their wealth, health, their trust in the government, and their faith in humanity. Sometimes women empowerment bodies or other such committees join the fight and provide the petitioner with fuel to keep the flame alive, but are otherwise worthless. And sometimes the trauma or humiliation becomes too much for the person to handle and, if not by natural circumstances, he is driven to commit suicide. Take the case of Jessica Lal murder. Although Sabrina Lal kept fighting, her father, who had already lost his one daughter, gave in to a heart attack. So, when along with letting criminals walk free and delaying justice, a judicial system is also responsible for early deaths of innocent people, how safe and satisfied are the people living under that system. Chilling thought, isn't it?

Even if a decision is made and a person is convicted of the crime he has committed, there is always a chance that he can challenge the decision in a higher court thus delaying justice even longer. Even then the accused might get off with only a life sentence, which contrary to what I believed earlier, is not a prison term for the rest of his life but only a 14 year prison term. How fair is it when a person found guilty of committing a heinous crime is given only 14 years in prison when the victims are left to suffer for the rest of their lifetimes?

One will say that change can be brought in this country. If we attempt to cover the loopholes in the current system, there might be a slight possibility of justice being served to the right people. But who, do you think, has the power, patience, courage and material to bring about such a change? The politicians will dare not mess with this issue, because, if not already, sooner or later this very system will be the one that can save their sorry ass. If they are successful in bringing about the required change, hypothetically speaking that is, how will they ever be able to get out of a tight situation if the need arises in the future? The fact of the matter is that, only the current system is capable of providing these power-hungry netas with loopholes that can help them escape the jaws of law and order. Well, what about certain powerful individuals, who with the right motive, influence and financial power can help revamp the system. But again the question arises…who? The industrialists are too busy trying to improve their profit sheets that they won't care about such matters except, of course, when their or their brand name is at stake. We can expect the celebs to start a motion for change, but that will happen when they get time from shooting for movies as well as ads, posing for page 3, hosting shows, their link-ups, their break-ups, and for a few when they get out of controversies themselves. But I am sure that this thought will have surely crossed the minds of, the likes of Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan.

The truth is that the thought of revamping the system is, not a little, but too far-fetched. And an even bitter truth is that even if the system is reformed, the running of the whole government will take a hit. Half the members of all the bodies will be facing prison term. Empty parliament seats, overflowing prisons, big industries running without their leaders…it will be a very long time before the country can get used to this change. And in the mean time, not just the political, but the financial and social world will stumble like a heap of dominoes. So the conclusion…I would say is to let the system run as it always has and that we continue doing what we do best, carrying out protests, rallies and organising candle-lit processions. And hope that some individuals or groups will try to take on the system by its horns. And that he will bring about change one step, one law at a time.

YOU GAIN SOME, YOU LOSE SOME

There's always a bigger picture!!
Having missed the "bus to heaven", I decided to create my own heaven down here on earth in my 6^th floor flat in Nerul. A few phone calls were the only ingredients required to make my own private heaven. Having invited two of my closest school friends, we started making plans for the next three days. Obviously, none of them quite worked out, because....well...simply because we made them. As it turned out, the-guy-with-the-protruding-belly had to leave on the second day, as he had tests coming up in which he had, like always, vowed to top. While the gold-chain guy also planned to leave early on the third day.
After the initial hi-hello's (which included some hard back-slapping, a few baseless accusations, and random foul words), we sat down to catch up on the latest happenings in each other's lives. You don't really need to join a facebook group to remind you that your school days are the golden days of your lifetime. Within a few minutes we were down on the floor laughing our asses off remembering the "best days of our lives". Now I don't exactly remember the order or the reason for the following events, but something provoked the belly-guy to bring out the bucket and start splashing water all around the place. Within minutes each and every one of us was soaked from head to toe. Our living room turned into a mini-pool and we had trouble walking straight on the water. The pic below will always remind us of our first "holi" together.
Now it was time for some tummy-tucking. This was the time when everyone started digging out each others achievements and other important recent events in their life so that someone would take up the most important task of paying the bill. Birthdays, scholarships, ridiculously good results, new bikes, and many other such events were being taken into consideration. After a long, heated discussion, the BP guy was chosen, whose wallet was to be robbed that night.PARTY!!!!! But the belly-guy very modestly offered to pay for the most important items for the night. At this point of time, we also remebered a bet we made long back. The outcome of the bet resulted in a flash of lightening, the sound of thunder and then a secret was born...a secret that was classified above top secret. By the way, I havent forgotten that I too owe the gold-chain guy a special party for his special achievement. (Dude, though I am still proud of you, you will get the party only if the connection is permanently terminated). His special achievement???...well, lets just say, that I wish I was there at two places at 'that' time: one on his side of the conversation and on other side as well, to look at both their faces.
After dinner, we got back home to finish the rest of the party. This part of the night can be described by only one word: CRAZY. Never before I imagine that one has run races(at inappropriate spots), sung songs(again at inappropriate spots), worked on their verbal skills, and their physical health in just one night...not to mention some commendable experimentation and one wild,wild ride!!!
So, finally, the day ended(at 4 in the morning) and the only thing left to do now is to thank my friends for turning my days of 'hell' into something special...into heaven!!! You guys rock!!!

CHASING LIBERTY

You don't realise the importance of freedom till it is snatched away from you.

Staying away from home, me and my freedom took to new heights and soared high for a year and a half till an incident occurred that brought us both crashing down to the earth(read as reality). As a result a few tough decisions, a few much-needed restrictions and a few agonising sacrifices were made.

During this time I realised, that when you are in the deepest of the troubles, your friends come up with the most desirable and mouth-watering plans, which you have to pass by rather unwillingly. Having hit the reality head-on, my friends put forward one such plan...a plan of which I had heard a lot...a plan which I had visualised a hundred times in my mind....a plan which I would give anything to take part in. I just knew I had to join the party...but my mind told me that I didn't deserve this break given the previous events. Hours of thinking and assessment led me to the decision that going along with this plan wasn't in my best interests right now. My decision was met by angry glares, a few foul words, and some successful attempts to change my mind. Over the next few weeks, I kept dangling between a 'yes' and a 'no'. But alas! Tough times called for tough decisions. Carrying the weight of all the troubles I was in, I finally refused, knowing very well that I was going to regret this decision for the rest of my life.

Following the afore-mentioned crash, my parents tried very hard to force some sense into me and in the process also took away from me a few things which were very dear to me. But it wasn't necessary, as, for me, this was one of those phases in life when you know what is right and what is wrong without anyone having to tell you that. It was one of those phases when your priorities align themselves in the right order and the path which you should be taking opens up automatically in front of you blocking all other wrong paths you could have taken. During this time, you yourself know what is right for you and the wise words of everyone else around you don't really matter anymore. Thus, along with the loss and sacrifice came sense and a will to turn the tables around. And then the much-needed restrictions were imposed by me upon myself. A very important lesson I learned at this time is that change is necessary for a person to evolve. Although I am missing out on a few of the precious things in life, I am sure things will turn out in a better way than they are right now. I am sure that these decisions, restrictions, and sacrifices will have a positive long-term effect for me.

Walking down empty roads, late in the night, with my faithful companion in my hands, I realise that there is a very thin line between the use and misuse of the freedom given to you...the same line that divides success and failure....the same line that divides good and bad. Someone very rightly told me that liberty is not given to you on a platter, it has to be earned. Having finally understood the meaning of this statement, I have now decided to earn my liberties back. One more chance is all I need.

THE DREAM...

I had a dream

Not again they said

But they wouldn't understand

The feelings of my heart,

The thoughts in my head

 

I was back on the beach

The silent spectator

And there she stood

As glorious as ever

 

Under the moon light

Eclipsing the stars

A grand symphony

A masterpiece of art

 

She moved elegantly

As would an angel

Her face radiant with light

And her eyes did twinkle

 

I took my place beside her

And she smiled at me

But it didn't reach her eyes

They were filled with grief

 

I remember her smile

And the laugh on her face

When the time stood still

And she held my gaze

 

But today 'twas different

The brilliance was gone

The sky changed colour

Darkness gave way to dawn

 

The clouds came in

And it started to rain

Water splashed across her face

Hiding the tears of pain

 

I reached out for her

Knowing that time was short

I knew why she was down

I too had given it some thought

 

Cos every morning I woke

My eyes blinded by her face

And I went about my day

As if running a lost race

 

I wondered where she was

I wondered who she was

Will we ever meet?

Or will I forever be at a loss

 

How long I thought

Will this go on,

Will these mesmerizing dreams

Torture me on

 

I held her close

As close as could be

Cos more than anywhere else

This was where I wanted to be

 

It was then that I decided

That no matter what brings the future

This dream is and shall

Forever remain my greatest treasure

 

Looking into her eyes

I made her this promise

Held her smiling face in my hands

And sealed it with a kiss.

 

 

IDIOCY OF THE IDIOT BOX!!!

Hi everyone!!

So I am sitting at home in Baroda having nothing worthwhile to do. Believe me there's not much to do when you are living on the outskirts of the city, with no transport facilities, near a railway crossing on which a train screams by every 20 minutes. One would say that with your laptop, your mobile, some music and the television to give you company how can one feel like the world is coming to an end. But that's how it is!

Living away from home has its advantages and disadvantages. So while studying in Mumbai, I always thought that not having a television in your room is a big disadvantage. That was before I came here for my holidays and realised how wrong I was. Here I start my day at 10.30 by dragging myself out of bed (by 10.45 I am wondering why DID I drag myself out of bed.) After having my breakfast at 12 and going through the day's newspaper, I relax myself on the couch and turn on the television.

Here's how my next hour goes by...

Click.

An "entertainment" channel which my mother was watching last night turns up on the screen. And the next thing I am feeling is a sense of déjà-vu. Dint I see this girl crying in a similar manner just yesterday and even the previous night during dinner. What on earth could have happened that could make this girl cry for 2 days in a row? I ask my mother about this and she compassionately replies that there has been a misunderstanding between her and her husband. I wait for the girl to go and speak to her husband about it, but she remains sitting there in that position for the next 15 minutes while the camera alternates between showing her crying and her husband staring out of the window with a very thoughtful look on his face. Confused myself, I change the channel.

Click.

Up comes a Hindi news channel. And it has a breaking news flashing at the bottom of the screen. I read it and am shocked. "Osama captured". On the screen you see the most unlikely image of Osama bin laden. The image shows a man with a beard shorter than that of Osama wearing a white turban but with no resemblance to the most wanted man whatsoever. In the background you hear the news reader saying that this image was captured somewhere in a remote corner of some middle east country and then she goes on about how Osama would look exactly like the man in this picture if he trimmed his beard. For the next half an hour, the news reader is heard repeating the same thing again and again, while the images on the screen too are being played in a loop. In between, there present in the studio is an "expert" who is giving his views on "the breaking news" whole heartedly. Not bothering to listen to what the expert has to say I switch the channel.

Click.

Another news channel. If a particular news is considered as breaking news....you would expect it to be shown on all the channels, but this time there is a special show going on about some special day in the Hindu calendar(according to these channels the Hindu calendar keeps throwing such days every now and then). Here too is an expert going on about what precautions should be taken to save yourself from "rahu ka prabhav". The expert very dramatically explains how the position of 'rahu' in the 'kundali' of all people with a particular sun sign can have serious consequences if these precautions are not taken. The channel also uses a lot of graphics to show the kundali and the planetary movements in that kundali. The solution goes something like this...firstly bathe yourself with some sacred water. Then offer some more of this sacred water to the sun. After that light a diya and place it in the southwest corner of your house while the flame should be towards the north. Offer a coconut, some fruits and other eatables to a cow and then take three rounds of a very old banyan tree after lighting another diya and placing it in the south...no...Northwest....hell...some direction with respect to the tree. Listening to this I wonder whether it would be easier to face the problems caused by the almighty 'rahu'. Now I am really not into this astrological stuff....but can someone explain to me what has the sun, the diya, the banyan tree, and the poor old cow got to do with my being born on a certain date and at a certain time!!! Throw in some puppets and a fire-place and you have your own centre of black-magic to be performed and experimented with. So feeling scared that we are one step away from turning ourselves into madmen I again reach out for the remote.

Click.

Well I am sure you guys would be expecting this one. A reality show!!! Please pray to god that none of the guys writing the script for the reality shows get to write one for a feature film...or else my last hope for entertainment will also be destroyed. In this reality show you see one of the music directors (who is a horrible actor) locking his horns with one of the singers (who is a horrible... person). You can't mistake the anger in his voice and his words even though he tries his best to keep a straight face. The singer, having cried during the previous episode of the show for still-undetected-reasons, seems pretty cocky today and is intent on indirectly antagonizing the music director by passing acrid comments on his candidate. This reminds me of one of my friends getting excited about this reality show and declaring that "this is not a competition to select the best singer but a war between the egos of the judges". Earlier the battle was only between the judges of the show or the family of the contestants, but now I see that the contestants too are engaged in an epic battle and are attacking each other with hostile words and comments. Tired of listening to all the beeps I go again...

Click.

Ah! A detective series!!! There has been a murder in a closed room with the victim and another person inside it. Earlier the victim had received a withered human hand for a birthday gift. The team solving the case is divided into groups and sent to perform different tasks. One team goes to the house of a suspect and finds it empty.

Fredrick: Sir, saara ghar chaan mara par kuch nahi mila!!!Bas ek room bacha hai jo locked hai.

ACP Pradyumn: Hmmm!!!Jaroor is kamare ke andar koi raaz chupa hai. Daya, darwaza tod dalo.

Obviously the remaining dead body is found buried inside the room. After revelations by the dedicated scientist, an unknown shopkeeper, and other family members of the victim, the criminal is identified.

But the criminal still has guts remaining to try and escape. This calls for some running about. Thought in the end the criminal is caught, he is still not ready to take the blame. The burden again falls on the guy named 'Daya' to silence the screaming guy with a whip of his hand...and in the next scene you see the guy crying his heart out to the team.

"Main kya karta sir...woh mujhe chod ke jaa chuki this...main use bohot pyaar karta tha sir..."

After noticing for a few days I realise that the episode always ends with ACP Pradyumn having the last laugh...in this case the last dialogue

"Tumne 2-2 khoon kiye hai. Tumhe phaasi to ho kar rahegi!!!"

Ok I admit...this was a little entertaining!!!

Click.

Katrina is dancing under a waterfall in a saree....phew!!! Why has this winter season turned suddenly hot? Can't stop staring...damn it. Ok maybe I'll go through all other channels and then come back to this one.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Going through all the channels, you will observe a general trend. The soaps are all centred around the idea of a helpless woman. Nowadays, the woman is shown to have different drawbacks....she maybe discriminated because of her colour or maybe because she is poor. But the central idea is that none of them have the courage to stand up and speak up for themselves or to clear out the misunderstandings created...which is definitely not the case in the real world!!! Whereas the news channel have taken a pledge to sensationalise the tiniest and most insignificant bit of information to increase the TRPs. Where else would a 24 hr news channel use all the 24 hrs to broadcast one single debate between an astrologer and a scientist that takes place inside their own studio. What started out as a general discussion before the solar eclipse this year, turned into "the biggest debate of all times"!!! On the other hand the reality shows are crafted out in such a way that not one episode is shot without a good entertaining fight in it. That's all there is to it. You create some sensation, blow some action and display some emotion(in this case it is just about crying though) and you are a hit in the telly world of India.

Switching off the television I am thinking whether the television fraternity assumes we like this kind of stuff or do we really like this kind of stuff!!! Well I, for one, definitely hate this kind of stuff.....what about you???

So then I grab a kite and run up the stairs, just to have something better to do. In Baroda, staying inside during Uttarayan is not a very good idea. Even then, after trying for 1 hr when I failed to get my kite even a few metres above the ground...I had to get back. Better to sit and play some games...oh I did have some races to finish in NFS!!!

*