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The brighter side of the attack

2009-01-01T12:28:00.000-08:00

A lot has been said about the 26/11 attacks, some of them very sincere, some jingoistic and some outright evil. But very little has been spoken about what it has done other than leaving behind horrific effects. One might be surprised but there are quite a few positives to be taken out of it. It has resulted in a number of reforms and ultimately united the people of India.

Starting with some of the most obvious and apparent ones are the Intelligence reforms. Agreed it is difficult to get a whiff of such attacks considering all the secrecy with which they are planned but Intelligence is the most important aspect of prevention and could save a lot of lives if such agencies are strong. Then there are the much needed police and NSG reforms. The attack has shown that the lathi wielding pot bellied pandu is no good to fight terrorists having AK-47 and now hopefully he would be at least better equipped and would not have to run away from the attackers. Same goes for the NSG, our elites are located only in delhi and don’t even have a dedicated airplanes to reach other cities, that would change with the creation of NSG hubs across major cities with special charter planes for transport if needed. Then we have the high profile political reforms, with a home minister more concerned about his hair than the attacks all over india and chief minister acting as tourism minister while visiting the terror site, we could hardly complain about something being done. Other changes include better coast guard patrolling, better security checks at the premier hotels and public places and yada yada changes.

But, what these attacks have really done is, they have united the people of India against a common enemy. Mumbai is not burning with marathis v/s north Indians any more, there are no references made about hindu terrorists or muslim terrorists, there is no bashing of one community or another, no political party has tried to cash in on the situation. It seems that we all forgotten our differences and have risen above the petty issues, the whole nation is speaking in one voice and there are no two opinions about it. The young, the old, women, children all have come together and shown solidarity, be it with candle light vigils or peaceful protests, they have shown that the people of India are together in this war. A kid in new Delhi writes a letter to santa that he wants all the terrorists to leave India, in the east the ever so violent Naxals and Maoists have distanced themselves from such terrorism saying that they are against the government and would never kill innocent people like done in Mumbai.

These attacks have given us a common enemy and unified India if at least for the time being. It has created a rare spectacle of parties supporting each other to counter such acts. I see one India, irrespective of religion, geography, age and sex, standing up and voicing their opinions and at times it seems utopian that Indians are capable of showing such unity. I sincerely hope that we don’t need such terrorist attacks to keep us united and may better sense prevail.

ps: I will expand this idea of universal enemy in my next post, will try and take it to the next level.

Superheroes - A Lost Idea

2008-07-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

Don’t we all love it when our favorite superhero, clad in red and blue with underwear worn inside out or in a ridiculous spider suit or even naked-large & green, comes and saves the world? Yes we do, but that is not the question, the real question is why? Actually lots of whys.

Why do superheroes always win? Why have we not seen any evil superhero? Why do we really need superheroes?

Lets take a hypothetical example, lets say one fine day you wake up and you find yourself endowed with superpowers. What is the first thing that comes to your mind? Definitely not saving people from a burning train or stopping a bank robbery. Let me tell you what will come to my mind, getting things that I have not had earlier, it may be material or otherwise, and I will use all my powers to get it.

So how come the superheroes that we are accustomed to see are not like that, not like us? Why are they the epitome of kindness and responsibility? We all know power corrupts, then why don’t these superheroes try to rule the world and resort to evil? Why does good always triumph over evil, which is not the case in real life?

The answer is in the origin of the concept of superheroes. Whenever the society is under a tremendous depression and there is no chance of getting out of it, they need someone to give them hope, to give them courage and strength to fight the odds. The last major depression was in the US around 1920s and the people got their hopes in the form of fictional characters which saw the creation of modern superheroes.

This works as the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle called superheroes. The superhero is always someone very ordinary like you and me or even a loser before getting superpowers, so that you-the people connects with the character. They are kind and very responsible human beings, that is to imbibe values like kindness and responsibility in the people watching. And they always win no matter how powerful the adversary, that is the final push to the hopes of people that they can fight against all the difficulties in life no matter how huge.

But wait a minute, how does this fit into today’s context, we don’t have a great depression, we don’t need hope and other things mentioned, our life is not that bad.

But the truth is we still have wars, terrorism, earthquakes, floods, famines and various other adversaries that we have been fighting since long all by ourselves, so do we really need a superhero?

I would say yes, we do need a superhero but as an idea – a concept that shows undying human will and perpetual human spirit, as a never ending source of inspiration that gives us strength to keep on fighting till eternity.

So next time if a kid asks you to get his favorite superhero toy, go ahead and buy him but also tell him the significance of superheroes and how even he can be a superhero in his very own way.

Quote un Quote

2006-05-18T02:47:00.000-07:00

...however, the trouble with life is there is no background music.

I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.

I am free of all prejudices. I hate everyone equally.

Three Rings fer the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Some feel the rain; Others just get wet..

Dont speak , unless u can improve the silence.

"No point being a pessimist, it wouldnt work anyways"

"Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.

Source: Francis Thompson (1859-1907), from "The Hound of Heaven"

Winning is not everything, its the only thing.

The fountain of DEATH makes the still water of LIFE play.
- Tagore

Not hammer-strokes, but dance of the water sings the pebbles into perfection."
- Tagore

Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.

Death is hereditary..

"speaking comes by nature...silence by understandin!"

"refrain frm uttering today what u may regret tomorrow!"

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the
right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
-- Dorothy Nevill

I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.

In the depth of my soul there is a wordless song

I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.

" Do not stand at my grave and weep...
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints in the snow.
I am the gentle Autumn rain.

When you awake in the morning's hush
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft star-shine at night,
Do not stand at my grave and cry...
I am not there, I did not die."

"Be what u are and say what u feel, coz those who MIND dont MATTER and those who MATTER dont MIND"

Love is like writing your name on a foggy window then watching it slowly fade away.

"I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here; and I shall exist till the end of time, for my being has no end."

"I have no regrets. I wouldn't have lived my life the way I did if I was going to worry about what people were going to say."
Ingrid Bergman

By the time a man thinks that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he is wrong

Seek the wisdom of the ages, but look at the world through the eyes of a child.

He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.
-Johnson, Samuel

"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like;
and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

feel the silence between the words that i speak

Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet

"Life is like a vicious cycle, we keep on following those who dont care and keep running away frm those who care"

Nobody in this world is worth going after

It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it

Beauty is an ecstasy; it is as simple as hunger. There is really nothing to be said about it. It is like the perfume of a rose: you can smell it and that is all

Riding off in the sunset, like a long ago film;
sailing away like a drifter would do;
unplug the phone, let the lamplight grow dim;
and just fade away in the blue.

"live it up before you gotta give it up"!!!!

There are some things you can't escape. And other things you just don't want to know.

The question in life is not whether you get knocked down. You will.
The question is, are you ready to get up and fight for what you believe in.

I have my faults, but being wrong is not one.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
--Mahatma Gandhi

The more i meet people the more i love my dog.

Brevity is the soul of lingerie.

Trust in God but lock ur car.

I may be fat but ur ugly, and i can loose weight.

Mothers are biological necessity, fathers are social inventions.

There are women i could spend eternity with, but not this life.

I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by

I'm tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That's deep enough. What do you want an adorable pancreas?

Lead, follow or get out of the way..."

Behind every successful man there is a woman..and behind every unsuccessful man there are two .

Love conquers everything except poverty and tooth ache.

Love thy neighbor.
But don't get caught.

Sex is a bad thing afterall it rumples the clothes.

Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggie" . . . 'till you can find a rock!

Join the army.Travel to exotic distant lands. meet exciting unsusual persons...........and KILL them.

The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame
it on.

Time is natures way of making sure that all the shit doesn't happen at
once.

Most people are only alive because it is illegal to shoot them

If it is tourist season, why can't we shoot them?

Smile and the world smiles with you. Fart and you stand alone

There are no stupid questions, just stupid people

You'll never get rid of a bad temper by losing it!

Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense

I came , I saw , I did a little shopping.

There 10 types of people in the world .. those who understand binary .. and the others who dont.

An apple a day keeps a doctor away .. a raw onion a day keeps every1 away

Make love not war. Condoms are cheaper than guns.

An unfortunate person is one tries to fart but shits instead.

Whoever said nothing's impossible never tried to slam a revolving door.

"I chased a girl for two years only to discover that her tastes were exactly like mine: We were both crazy about girls."

"If you can piss that high .........Join the FIRE Department!"

"Surprise me!...say something smart!"

Life is one of those things that most of us find very difficult to avoid

Take my advice, I don't use it anyway
Honesty is the key to a relationship. If you can fake that, you're in

It is said that alchohal does not solve any problem, than again neither do milk..

Just when u think u have won the rat race along comes faster rats.

I say no to drugs they just don't listen. !!!

Its not the fall that kills you.
Its the sudden stop at the end.

Hardwork has never killed anyone
But why take risks.

Outside of a dog a book is a mans best friend, inside of a dog, its too dark to read.

Opinions are like armpits ; everyone has two of them , and most of the time they stink !!!

I want to die in my sleep like my grandfather ... Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car ...

Having the critics praise you is like having the hangman say you've got a pretty neck.

Alcohol and calculus don't mix. Never drink and derive.

They keep saying the right person will come along, I think mine got hit by a truck!

Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time - I think I've forgotten this before!

God loves stupid people. That's why he made so many.

I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.

I'm not as think as you drunk i am.

It has recently been discovered that research causes cancer in rats.

Always remember to pillage BEFORE you burn.

It may be that the sole purpose in your life is simply to serve as a warning.

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.

when a door is open it's ajar, but when a jar is open, it's not a door

Growing old is mandatory, Growing up is an option

Tell a man that there are 400 billion stars and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint and he has to touch it.

Just when I got all the answers of LIFE
they changed the question...'

In the other hand ... there are fingers!!!!

I'm not smiling at you, I'm just trying not to laugh. :)

ther r 3 sides to every discussion ....the right side , wrong side and My side

Dont worry that the world ends today, its already
tomorrow in Australia!

"The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left."

"I know karate, kung fu, and 47 other dangerous words."

The worst thing abt the rat race is even if u win u r still a RAT.

I am an Angel , honest! The horns are just to keep the halo straight

WAR FOR PEACE SOUNDS LIKE FUCKING FOR VIRGINITY

Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.

Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.

A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered desk drawer.

I am not afraid of death.....
i just dont want to be there when it happens......

Get a life man!

For mathematicians:
2+2=5 for large values of 2

Never argue with Me!! I'll reduce you to my level and then beat you with experience.

The Need for Serenity

2006-05-16T02:14:00.000-07:00

The Auspicious Beginning

2006-03-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

To,

The Almighty,

Subject: Prayer..

"Grant me the strength to change the things that I can, serenity to accept the things that I cannot and wisdom to know the difference between them..."