Fate

There are lot of instances when people blame everything on fate. OSHO may be the only person who may agree with what I think about fate .I like Osho because he is the only person who went to a prostitute even before he was ten and he openly admitted it in his books.

Osho wrote in his book "Freedom".

You fail in love. You fail in other matters.It hurts that you have failed.You need some kind of oinment for your wounded heart."Fate" is a beautiful oinment and freely available. - OSHO

Only a small element is needed to make a huge change when people leave things to fate and this is exactly why I like this advertisement in Lead India Campaign .

The advertisement shows people who accept the tree as a road block . A politician who climbs over the tree to a car on the other side like all the politicians you know an I know . Someone who is quarrelling with a policeman because no one else is ready to remove the tree. A policeman who is sleeping in his jeep.A traffic policeman who is sipping chai from a tapari and lot of people who are wasting their time simply because the tree was a road block.No body is ready to remove it and everyone is waiting for something to happen. Suddenly it starts raining which is like an obstacle that we face in any scenario.

Suddenly a small boy walk towards the tree and start pushing it and people start laughing . Slowly some more children and more and more people join in .People jump down from bus and people who were safely cocooned inside the car join in.Finally the tree is pushed aside and people back slap each other . The sun starts shining again and slowly vehicles start moving forward. The boy also moves away from teh crowd as if nothing has happened.


These kinds of advertisements come once in a while waking the patriot in us for hours , minutes or seconds.What is wrong with India is captured perfectly through the politician who climbs over the tree,the policeman who is sleeping, people waiting for someone else to do something and so on . I like this advertisement simply because it shows that the change has to come from people and may be a small element who is not ready to accept fate will cause a big difference.

Hello Bali

" Sir , you have won a one week holiday in Bali"

"What?? Where is Bali?"

"It is in INDONESIA"

"You can also opt for a holiday in Kandy , Goa or Kerala"

"Where is Kandy?"

"It is in Sri Lanka. Sir , you were one of the 50 selected out of 50000 people."

"Are you sure?"

"Sir , You have also won a Kitchen Set and a temporary membership in XYZ Club in Mumbai"

I was "idinjupolinju " down with fever and started laughing and smiling and grinning all at the same time after disconnecting the phone. There is this kick you get when you hear that you are getting some nice things with out spending a paise.

If you are wondering who are those people who win all those umpteen contests / lucky draws , then I am one of those and all those contests where I don't win prizes are plain frauds :).I am regular at winning things and I have a long list of things at home that I have won through lucky draws. First thing was a photo frame . Next was a 700 W 5 in 1 CD Player . There is also a large collection of numerous T shirts with some known and unknown brand names.


In 2006 I had won a football and a T shirt as a part of the world cup football contest of CNN and it has been two years since Matarazzi had head butted Zidane but the prizes has still not been dispatched from CNN headquarters to Kerala. The best contests to participate are the contests that are effortless as simple as writing on a paper with a pen.If you don't win anything there should be no regrets . If you deserve it , it will come to you . Not only things you win but anything and everything that you deserve will come to you provided you make the efforts.

My parents may go to Bali , Sri Lanka , Goa or even Kerala next year sometime between April and September for this one week holiday . It is high time that they leave Kaiser alone and go somewhere for a holiday.

Dada's Century @ Eden Gardens

I wanted to experience one of the "Son of Soil" moments of an Indian Cricketer after reading K L Mohanavarma's Cricket long time back.That novel would have been written when Psycho Sreesanth was in his trousers and was learning to bowl in one of those vast green fields in Muvattupuzha .

I have watched Sachin taking 5 wickets for the first time in his career on an April Fools day and India chasing 300+ successfully aided by Jadeja's century.There were a lot of moments like this which I have enjoyed while watching cricket in stadiums all across India and I love watching cricket in a stadium sharing the excitement of the crowd rather than in a cosy sofa in living room.

Whatever I have seen pale in comparison to the excitement on seeing Sourav Ganguly's maiden test century at Eden Gardens .It was fun to see a lush green Eden Gardens which seemed so different from that pale green patch seen on the TV screen and we were at Eden Gardens only for three hours .It was exciting to be a part of the crowd who were chanting Dada , dada all along . When Sourav Ganguly pushed Danish Kaneria just wide of mid-off and ran a single, hands aloft in the air, as a part of the 50,000-strong crowd at Eden Gardens we had finally witnessed something more than a decade in the making. It was amusing to watch the crowd which had cheering so lustily every time Ganguly's face flashed on the giant screen and erupted when he jumped up in the air after scoring his century.

It was hot and we had to stand in a serpentine queue to get in and had to walk three kilometers to the stadium and we were in stadium only for four hours. But who cares! We saw Dada's century at his home ground and that is what matters.

Kolkata

I love cities and I love marriage ceremonies.

I am having a crush on Kolkata after reading the tips on a mail from a friend about Kolkata.

He wrote as a reply to a one line mail on what to see in CAL-CUTTA.


If you really wanna enjoy the city do the following...

If you are a book lover... go to College Street and spend a lazy afternoon just going through the bookstores... talk to the guys... you ll be amazed at their knowledge...finish it off with a visit to the Coffee House... that was where the erstwhile intelligentia of Cal met... thats where the Naxal movement was planned... even today u ll find people talking about more than their careers. mobiles and girls


If its a rainy day... wear your floaters and go to the Victoria Memorial... then walk all through the maidan... watch the people play football... walk along the tram tracks

In the late evening go and take a boat ride in the Hoogly...
On a weekend travel a bit and go to a place called Belur Math... thats where Ramakrishna Mission was founded... watch the evening Arati and then sit by the river... trust me you ll find peace and realize heaven...

If possible sometime in the future do go to watch a Test match at Eden or an East Bengal- Mohun Bagan match at Salt Lake Stadium

If you drink... go to Oly Pub or Mags or Someplace Else

If you are in love go to the Lake Area and watch the oarsmen from the Calcutta Rowing Club and Lake Club take their sleek boats out in the evening... don't miss the hanging bridge there

Once through with all of this tell me I ll tell you more... Do see the VIctorias, Alipore Zoo, Indian Museum etc but do the above to experience Cal in the truly Bong way

"Wild feet stirring up the dust in my home in Malabar and I so far away"- Kamala Das

Amen.

Here I come , Kolkata

At the rate at which I am attending weddings , soon I will be able to write an encyclopedia on "Rituals and Customs of Indian Weddings from Kashmir to Kanyakumari".