I am a disappointed person since yesterday. I couldn’t cast my vote in the General Elections. I did so want to ...in fact I was desperate, but it seems that my form was rejected and my name NOT included in the electoral rolls.
Some one commented..."even if you do get to vote, you have to vote for a buffoon!!!"
That’s not the point. If the politicians realize that it is going to be the urban educated population that goes out to vote they will rethink...they will know that they are going to be taken to task so they will do something for their constituencies.
Now they know, even if they do nothing for 5 years, just before the elections they can lure the unaware poor & uneducated voters by just distributing booze and one sari. They know that it’s not the aware that decide the winners, but the poor and they know how to get the votes from them.
We should not think that its only a single vote...coz if we all think like that, it would an important part of the vote bank that does not vote.
Every vote counts...and I believe (optimistic that I am) that we can bring about a change and that is why I ran with my friend in the blazing heat from one booth to the other to figure out where she can vote!
As Mahatma Gandhi once said "A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history".
24 April 2009
22 April 2009
Almost Single
Recently I was in Alipurdwar, where my friend and her friend insisted that I should read 'Almost Single'. The author is alumni of my school, so loyalty to a fellow Welhamite demanded I read this book.
I was stuck at Siliguri airport due to bad weather and managed to complete the book in a couple of hours. I won’t say anything about the book. The reason being simple...recently a visitor to my house saw the book lying around and wanted to know what I thought about it. And I couldn’t remember for the life of me what I read in the book...and that is so NOT like me at all. If someone asks me what I think of a book like Kite Runner, I can point out the exact sections which I liked the most, what moved me, what I didn’t like etc.
Someone has rightly said "Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
I was stuck at Siliguri airport due to bad weather and managed to complete the book in a couple of hours. I won’t say anything about the book. The reason being simple...recently a visitor to my house saw the book lying around and wanted to know what I thought about it. And I couldn’t remember for the life of me what I read in the book...and that is so NOT like me at all. If someone asks me what I think of a book like Kite Runner, I can point out the exact sections which I liked the most, what moved me, what I didn’t like etc.
Someone has rightly said "Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
21 April 2009
Manic Screaming
The moment I heard the name of the book –"I heard God Laughing" I knew I had to get a copy...
It’s obvious...with a name like that and the fact that it was not readily available at any of the bookstores!!!
It’s a collection of Hafiz’s renderings and each one is a gem... deeply passionate and always very inspirational.
One of my favorites -
God is trying to sell you something today,
But you don’t want to buy,
That is what your suffering is:
Your fantastic haggling,
Your manic screaming over the price!
It’s obvious...with a name like that and the fact that it was not readily available at any of the bookstores!!!
It’s a collection of Hafiz’s renderings and each one is a gem... deeply passionate and always very inspirational.
One of my favorites -
God is trying to sell you something today,
But you don’t want to buy,
That is what your suffering is:
Your fantastic haggling,
Your manic screaming over the price!
14 April 2009
Never buy a car you can’t push
Among some other interesting phrases from a recent forward was the following –"Never buy a car you can’t push"
Have been contemplating changing my car...initially I was damn keen to buy a CRV.
Don’t know what was going on in the mind of the person who designed the underground parking in my building...it has sooooo many pillars. That kinda held me back. It’s not only me, but many of my friends also find it difficult to park the car. So much so that one of them told me...you really do need to rethink the CRV!!!
And now after reading this phrase, I am thinking... I definitely can’t push the CRV...but nor can I push a Honda City or Ford Fiesta (my other preferences)!
So does that mean I should but a REVA...or maybe a NANO? Naaaahhh... I’ll just stick to my beautiful Santro...not that I have ever tried pushing the Santro!!!
Have been contemplating changing my car...initially I was damn keen to buy a CRV.
Don’t know what was going on in the mind of the person who designed the underground parking in my building...it has sooooo many pillars. That kinda held me back. It’s not only me, but many of my friends also find it difficult to park the car. So much so that one of them told me...you really do need to rethink the CRV!!!
And now after reading this phrase, I am thinking... I definitely can’t push the CRV...but nor can I push a Honda City or Ford Fiesta (my other preferences)!
So does that mean I should but a REVA...or maybe a NANO? Naaaahhh... I’ll just stick to my beautiful Santro...not that I have ever tried pushing the Santro!!!
13 April 2009
Getting around in Egypt – Nov 2008
One of the things that is worth mentioning about my recent trip to Egypt was the various kinds of mode of transport / moving vehicles that we got to experience.
Starting with the flight from Delhi to Cairo followed by a mini bus ride to our hotel and then dinner on a floating restaurant on the River Nile.
At the pyramids the next day we enjoyed Camel rides and later in the evening we took a train from Cairo to Aswan.
Next we boarded the ship for the Nile River cruise.
To visit the Philea temple, we used motor boats from Aswan.
Another mini bus ride…but this was different. To visit Abu Simple one has to join a policy convoy at 3:30 AM (!!!!!) and hundreds of buses interspersed with police vehicles move across the dessert.
Tonga Ride at Edfu to visit the Edfu Temple.
Hot Air Balloon ride was next on the cards at Luxor from which we got to see the Valley of the Kings, the two colossus of Memnon, the East Bank etc.
Later in the evening we went for a Felucca ride. Felucca is a traditional wooden sailing boat used along the Nile. It was a really beautiful evening - the sun was setting and a cool breeze was blowing…
At Hurghada the first day we went for Glass Bottom boat ride in red sea where we managed a few glimpses of the many varieties of rare fish and coral reefs.
So 2 of us decided to go snorkeling the next day so that we could get up close to the rainbow colored fishes and Coral reefs in the Red Sea. The safari boat that took us to the sites was bigger than the glass bottom boat, but smaller than the ship and so qualifies for a separate mention in this write up.
And all this in 9 days!!!!
Starting with the flight from Delhi to Cairo followed by a mini bus ride to our hotel and then dinner on a floating restaurant on the River Nile.
At the pyramids the next day we enjoyed Camel rides and later in the evening we took a train from Cairo to Aswan.
Next we boarded the ship for the Nile River cruise.
To visit the Philea temple, we used motor boats from Aswan.
Another mini bus ride…but this was different. To visit Abu Simple one has to join a policy convoy at 3:30 AM (!!!!!) and hundreds of buses interspersed with police vehicles move across the dessert.
Tonga Ride at Edfu to visit the Edfu Temple.
Hot Air Balloon ride was next on the cards at Luxor from which we got to see the Valley of the Kings, the two colossus of Memnon, the East Bank etc.
Later in the evening we went for a Felucca ride. Felucca is a traditional wooden sailing boat used along the Nile. It was a really beautiful evening - the sun was setting and a cool breeze was blowing…
At Hurghada the first day we went for Glass Bottom boat ride in red sea where we managed a few glimpses of the many varieties of rare fish and coral reefs.
So 2 of us decided to go snorkeling the next day so that we could get up close to the rainbow colored fishes and Coral reefs in the Red Sea. The safari boat that took us to the sites was bigger than the glass bottom boat, but smaller than the ship and so qualifies for a separate mention in this write up.
And all this in 9 days!!!!
07 April 2009
Calvin and Me!
Hobbes: "Shouldn't we read the instructions?"
Calvin: "Do I look like a sissy?"
As I read this Calvin snippet I couldn't help but smiling as I remembered some recent incidents.
Very sweetly I had asked a friend to help me set up my cuckoo clock...even as he read the instructions I had already ripped open the box and was several steps ahead of him.
As he said...now do this...I was like...ohhhhh already done that, what next? But before he could finish reading the next step, I had already experimented and completed some other steps...not necessarily all executed in the correct order.
A few days later we were setting up the Wii. Remembering the look I got when the cuckoo clock hadn't worked I decided to sit patiently and wait for his instructions...
Honestly I tried, but several steps later I realized...there I was on my own trip, not waiting for his instructions but optimistically just trying to plug all the wires and accessories and hoping it'll work!
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