Things worth fighting for

It is one thing to have a belief system and another to actually fight for it. Now this belief system could be anything - a religion, your job, love, parents, the best friend and so on and so forth.

Here in India, we abide by our parents for the most part of our lives - which is really respectable and important because they have life experiences beyond ours and can provide solutions to problems we can't even fathom at this moment. This is apart from the fact that they are our parents and we are taught from childhood that they are the only pillar we can lean against without having to reconfirm their support.

I myself love my folks to the extent that I can practically do anything for them. But as I am growing - both professionally and personally, I have begun thinking for myself, nurturing my own beliefs on the basis of my own personal experiences and emotions. There are times when differences occur because of these belief systems, times when arguments happen and times when either they or I storm out of the room or cut the long distance call mid way. But these are the exact times when we grow closer as a family. I try to explain things to them and vice versa. We then (try to) come to conclusions which are acceptable by everyone in the family.

Many times, family opinions are based on the societal culture of gasping and frowning at unconventional notions like moving away from engineering or medical sciences as a career choice, being in love, inter-caste marriages etc. It is then when you need to step up and bash this thought process. I am not asking you to leave or engage in a verbal spat - god no!! Rather, sit together, understand what they have to say and put your points forward. Be assured that there will be back firing simply because you can't expect them to change their opinions in one go, you have to make it subtle, warm them up to the idea of what you believe in is actually good for you. Because, in the end, all they care for is your happiness.

There is still a lot to say from my end but I can summarize in this Malcolm X quote:
"If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything".

How to train your (inner) dragon?

In this whole wide quest for social acceptance and self appraisals, how do you think you fare?
Okay, I guess... Good? The best maybe? Ohh, you are definitely better than your aunt's elder son. Have you looked at Brian? If only he would start wearing better clothes, maybe go to the gym, use that product and so on and so forth...

Reality is, we all have a habit of judging. So if your friend says that they don't judge people, be rest assured they do. Just in a different frame set than yours or most other people maybe.

It's in the brain - not only human but brain for every living being. The feeling that you sense something about someone, is judging them. The feeling a dog gets when he barks at a random stranger is because he judges them.

So, how, as humans (most intelligent / social animals on earth? Who's judging now? hehe.) could we be different? We cannot.
What we can do, however, is to change our perspectives. Judge in a better format. Be more logical in reasoning. And see things beyond just visual experience.

Where did we start judging from? Logically, our parents (Whoa!! Did I say something offensive there? Go on and read...). Parents are the first teachers. They tell us what is acceptable and what is not. Not talking about learning to walk / eat / shit properly - those are life skills. What I am coming at is the social acceptability. "Dont write on the walls", "Wear that new dress, relatives are coming home" etc etc. Nothing bad in that, but thats where it all begins. These are the thoughts that plant the seed for what is right and what is wrong. The rest is handled by the society. It shows you ways which are socially acceptable and ways which are socially unacceptable - like dressing improperly/ picking your nose in public/ scratching that itch in the asscrack. And then comes the whole era of media painting a picture of the right/wrong/beautiful/ugly/dirty and almost all the verbs you can associate with a person. This is the final nail in the coffin as this makes sure that either the person becomes so self righteous that they start pushing everyone around to be better that what they are or succumbing into a pitfall of self distruction - thinking that nobody likes you because you look or behave a certain way.
It is this thought that drives us our entire life and makes us take decisions. Decisions which seem perfect at the time but are far from the right choice.

What is the right choice? It may be the logical choice - but logic is also subjective to each individual. The right choice would be, in my perspective (see how I made it entirely MY LOGIC now?), to value the decision against the other side. For example, if you are commenting about someone, do you know the reasons behind their way of living? Getting into their shoes before saying something will actually help you see both sides of the coin - thus giving a better perspective and a newer frame to look through.

Being self destructive surely doesn't help - it takes you into a downward spiral where you cannot look up and find any light. What others say about you or how they see you is entirely their upto their own frame. For an individual, the sense of being should lie in what gives them happiness, things that interest them, intrigue them and maybe stimulate their senses. If you like wearing flipflops, wear 'em! If you love dressing up a certain way, do it! That is exactly how you can bring out the best in you because you are not thinking about social acceptance! The part of your brain which always stays occupied into the "social" thought is now free to be utilised into better things.
Mirrors get clearer when you wipe the grime off of them and you see a better yourself!

Here's an excersize. Fish out the people you are physically attracted to - close friends? college crush? actresses? singers? performers? Now see what you like - all good right? Close your eyes, count to 5 and then see what's wrong with them - you will have a far more realistic picture.
And if you have the guts, try to do this with the people you hate / dislike. Try to see what's good in them... Mind = BLOWN!

"Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open. You're able to benefit from the unique viewpoints of others, without being crippled by your own judgment." - Ralph Marston

Monsoon fiesta

Unki jhurraye haath achanak hi pani k gilaas ki oar badh gaye. Kapkapate hathon se paani k do ghoonth bhar k chacha dheere se bole, "Har saal aatey the yeh saale! Bus bhar bhar ke aatey the aur charon oar naaron ki aawazein goonj uthti thi. Mano vanar sena lanka dehen karne aayi hai. Pehle ke kuchh saal to humne dabaye rakha, hamari tadaat zada thi, par unka josh humse kahin badh chadhkar tha. Hum khud me hi teen hisse karke bane hue the, wo 50 ho ya 500 sab ek sath hote the. Kitni hi galian hui, kitni ladaiyan hui, par saale kabhi toote nahi". 

Chacha kamar seedhi kar ke baith gaye. Unki aakhon me gussa bhi tha aur kahin na kahin ab darr sa dikh raha tha. "Darr lagta tha jab naye the tab, par seniors ke saath hum bhi sher hote the. Kaise koi itni duur se aake, hamare campus me ghus ke, hamein hi thappad maar k nikal jata tha, pata nahi. Tareeke hazar the, aur humne use bhi kiye, par ye to sale angad ke pair ki tarah ade hi rahe!"

"Fir wo din aya jiska humein dar tha. Uss din humne apni haar maan li thi. Wo amooman 30-35 honge, aur hum 150. Fir bhi bhaari pad rahe the! Unke naron ki aawaz kaan chhed ke dil dehla rahi thi... Humse aur 'YO GN!!' nahi suna ja rha tha. Anayas hi hum bhi foot pade. 'YO PALDI' ki aawaz humne bhi lehra di. Fir bhi saalo ne peechha nahi chhoda. Us din hamein pata laga ke ek hone ka matlab kya hota hai." 

"Poster wars to ek tareeka tha. Salon ki beizzati ka badla unhone ek raat me le lia. Hum sath hote hue bhi alag lag rahe the. Aur wo hum pe haste hue, 'YO GN' ke naare lagate hue, usi hari bus mein baith ke chale gaye."  

A one sided rant

I still cant understand where to start off and what to say. In the recent light of events surrounding split of Andhra Pradesh into Telangana, there is so much to express yet so less to say. It seems that a handful of people are controlling the whole big society and the rest are mute and deaf people who just dont seem to care.  Even if they do, they are too busy with their own shit to come out and actually do something about it. Looking at the way states are being partitioned one by one - from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh to now Andhra Pradesh and rumours about Maharashtra, there is chaos everywhere, every sect, every person wants his own state which he/she can rule over, make their own fucking rules and command the people around. 

I dont like taking names of the parties or people involved simply for the reason that you cant sling more mud on an already dirty pig! And besides, its not just one or two people doing this. This is everyone. Right from the people who govern us to ourselves for letting them do it. Its a nightmare and I am sure that the great Sardar Patel would be shedding tears over this from heaven - his efforts to unite India into one single democracy have been washed away all in vain - we are going back to the medieval times and the dark ages - I am just waiting eagerly for the black plague to come over and destroy us alltogether in one strong sweep. Burn this whole jugaad of the system down to make a new one. 

We watch movies like Rang De Basanti and Swadesh and are pumped to do something about the wrongs in the society but till when? Only till about 2 days after watching the movie? Its a shame. These poltical parties never come to the mainstream cities to propagate and ask for votes - they know that nobody would turn up simply for the fact that people are too educated to know about who did what. They have another strategy up their sleeves to control us - media. From newspapers to channels to blog posts, these good for nothing blood sucking dementors are everywhere and they feed us wrong information about whats going on. They give us the picture that THEY want us to see not what is the truth in this whole thing. Its only human nature to believe something if you hear the same story numerous times even if its fake and it seems that they are bloody good at it. These unruly group of power abusers go to colleges - mind you not schools - but colleges, where the child has just entered teenage, where their blood is too hot and hormoes at their peak, where judgement is clouded by just plain sight and not thought or logic. It is there that these futures of our society are abducted by giving them a fals sense of power and might by joining a youth party. Its a one way ticket to hell and youve made the deal with the devil! You cant just get up and leave - no sir, you will be made to do things which are against your values but still have to stand for the party. 

I am not educated enough to give examples of other governments which are corruption free or of a society thats flawless. I am just another common man who does nothing apart from getting frustrated looking at the state of affairs.

The British just divided India once - in India and Pakistan, it is we who divide ourselves each day. Separating ourselves from our own souls.

you shall be blamed

now that i think of it
were you mine for real or just the heck of it?

betrayed, stranded, lost and aloofed
I guess I was too blind to see myself being fooled

i backed u up forever, in pain, problem or fear
never did i expect, always kept u sheltered, near...

for all the reasons u gave,
i tried to sort it out, trying to be brave

I shall take this to my heart, through my life, to my grave
and ask the devil what made me evil why i turned the cursed way...

and you shall be blamed...

Revenge?

There's something inside me thats bursting
Like a zombie for blood, I'm thirsting

I'm pushing my limits hard and strong
I know what m doing so don't tell me m wrong

There's no love, no hatred, i can't feel no pain
I'll emerge like the everest from this rocky terrain

Dont say nothing, coz all said and done
I was still left out as the outcasted one

won't take a moment to destroy what we built
and trust me on this, I will have no guilt

New Yeah Wishes

As the traces go by of the last year,
of all the moments, good, bad or in tear,

i dust off my shoulder,
grinning, as i cross another boulder,

for it has been a treat,
watching myself crash, burn and beat,

coz now the life's wheels are turning,
i could see the light as a million lamps are burning,

the road is clear, the sky is blue
the sun is shining, welcoming with vigor and spirit anew...