Seeing Things

This is not an anti-Hindu post. This is not a pro-Muslim post. This is not a BJP vs Congress post. This is about Narendra Modi and Hindutva Please keep that in mind when leaving comments. Now that I have cleared that, I want to ask all you people who are proud to be Hindu’s, are you also proud of the so called ‘protectors’ of Hinduism via 'hindutva'? The Tehelka Exposure has left us in no doubt of the Gujrat Goverment's hand in orchestrating the cold blooded massacre in 2002. There is no room for debate on that front anymore. Members of the VHP, Bajrand Dal and Shiv sena confess with pride their hand in the cold murder of Muslim men, women and children. They raped them, cut their limbs and burnt them. Just an instance: Babu Bajrangi, then VHP leader, current Shiv Sena Leader, brags that he ripped open the stomach of a pregnant woman. I have grown up with an adequate exposure to the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Geeta. The amount any regular Hindu is exposed to in this c...

I remember some of the things I used to think when I was a child. It amazes me that I will never forget some of them. I knew that the date changed everyday but the month continued for many days. I was not sure for how long. So if it’s August today it will still be August tomorrow and it was August yesterday as well. But if it’s Monday today it will change to something else tomorrow and was something else yesterday. I must have been around 3 at the time. When my mother was carrying, I thought it was perfectly logical to assume I would have a baby sister simply because my mother herself had a younger sister. I was quite confused the day my brother was born. I had learnt something that day. I was 4 then. My explanation of the radio was that there were little people inside the box. I don’t remember if I truely believed in the existence of Fairies or Gods or Ghosts though i liked hearing stories about them. But I remember this. One day in school, when I was 8, a girl in my class told me of ...

A few days ago, it dawned on me that I had developed a tendency to indulge in an overdose of self-pity. Sure, my life for the last two years has not been going quite the way I had planned it. Also, living away from your family comes with its own share of hardships. Yet, things are not all that bad. The whether is lovely – I like the rains. I am constantly applauded at work. I am loved and respected. So, I told myself, “Pooja! stop fantasizing that you have reason for immense sorrow… things are just fine…” I decided to believe once again, that life is what you make of it. Well, of late, I had begun to succumb to believing that no matter how hard you try, life just takes the course it wishes to. But this last month I started afresh. I don’t know what caused it. But, it just happened. So, you are now reading the blog of a new Pooja who knows to be positive. It’s often very funny. This morning for instance, I stepped out for work during a steady drizzle. Not exactly good news for my baller...

If I had a little more money, I would : buy myself a red Sony wiyo laptop. buy myself a small car. buy myself a few more ballerina shoes. buy myself a microwave. travel to Chennai on weekends to see my brother. buy expensive hair-care products. get a new portfolio shot. buy a cupboard and a shoe rack. move into a better apartment - one that has a watchman. buy myself the entire set of Calvin and Hobbes, Tin-Tin and Astrix and all Roald Dahl's books for children. buy myself all the cranberries albums and jazz music. But if I had a little more money, would I still have wished for a little more money?

I don't know how many of us follow these but i just want to provide a few tips to minimise wastage and maximise apt disposal of waste. As thinking, aware people, I'm sure we care about both. But, how many of us do our part? I for one, discovered the "print on both sides" option just a year ago thanks to a responsible colleague. Often, we take many copies of a document just to aid a discussion during meetings. post the meeting the hard copies become redundant as everyone is emailed soft copies of the same. All that paper gets junked while they mostly have a blank side, which could be put to use. There is only so much a trash can can take. When it comes to waste disposal, again, how many of us really care? How many of us really think about whether the junk is bio-degradable or not? How many of us use separate dustbins at home for wet and dry garbage? Maintaining separate dustbins for the two is vital for effective waste managment. Do you guys think about these things? I...

I was watching an interview with Javed Akhtar (famous script writer and lyricist in India) yesterday. His views on generation gap left a lasting impression on me. He says "The gap exists because of a lack of respect. Both ways. Parents have to realize and accept that their children (younger people) do know something that they don't. Likewise, children need to understand that their parents know something that they don't. Once you realize this... you will feel the gap disappear." My version of the same would be "Parents, no matter how hard it is, have to realize inspite of their older age that the younger lot may know something that they don't. Children too, as have been rightly told for generations, need to understand that their parents know things that they don't. Once you realize this... you will feel the gap disappear. " Enlightening don't you think?

The Devil is the pseudonym of this gentleman who is solely responsible for making my blog look hugely popular. For those who didn’t notice, check out the 42 comments on my previous entry. (ahem!) Most of the comments are as verbose as the blog entry itself. What’s more interesting is that they are all almost unconnected to the main subject of my entry! And with each comment he seemed to veer my blog entry into a brand-new direction. From ‘the joke in stereotypes’ , he took it to ‘Muslim bashing.’ I still have not understood why. He typed and he typed and he typed to explain why but it made no sense to me atall. While ‘Muslim bashing’ he touched upon ‘my questionable upbringing.’ From there he leapfrogged to ‘India’s struggle for freedom’ I found that amusing. Considering, he is a typical exhibition of the long-lasting effects of the 'divide and rule' strategy adopted by the British Empire in their attempt to keep their hold on India. From there he went on to discuss ‘Gandh...