The Indian Dream

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 3; the third edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-A-Ton

I have lived outside the country for most of my childhood years. While I spent my precious little adolescent years in the big bang city of Mumbai. In what little life I have lived I have been able to do what few people of my age have done, look at India from perspective of an outsider.

My Indian dream has shifted shape and changed colours over the years as I have grown from an innocent kid to a silently rebellious adolescent and now a more mature young adult.

Here I try to trace and chronicle that overcharging dream.

An Innocent Dream:

Being away from the real India and with little knowledge that I had about it from my yearly vacations to Mumbai, History and Geography textbooks and Rudyard Kipling’s stories, everything was just a passing dream a month long respite from daily routine, no school and freedom to do whatever I wished.

It was where I loved getting pampered by my grandparents, listening to the older children narrate ghost stories sitting in the society garden, being awed by the magnitude of devotees at the temple and watching the world go by from the window of a local train.

Innocence of childhood allowed me to experience the people, places, aromas and colours around me without any inhibitions.

A Shattered Dream:

I moved to Mumbai in my early teens. That’s when I got to experience the real thing. It was no more just a vacation, it was real life.

As I grew up in the big bad city, I realised a few things I hadn’t noticed before. Time and chhutta (change) were precious commodities and nobody was generous enough to lend you either. “All Indians are my brothers and sisters” was just another line from a long forgotten pledge, in reality the state boundaries not only separated the states but also they also alienated you from the Haryanvi vendor who sold you veggies, South Indian coconut seller whose coconut water quenched your parched throat and Maharashtrian dabbawallah who brought your daily tiffin. The adolescents like me, considered to be either rote-learning machines or temperamental hooligans, were never to be taken seriously.

I was enraged and frustrated at what I saw, heard and felt. I was an outcast not belonging to any community or region or even age group. I couldn’t do anything about the wrongs nor could I find the rights.

A Reawakening:

As life moved on many events occurred, which forced me to change my perspective. The Jessica Lall murder case made me understand that the masses still understood the difference between right and wrong, justice and prejudice and did not want to remain mere bystanders. The 26/11 taught me that humanity could be found among the very people, who I thought to be indifferent, in the darkest of times. Youngsters who work for charity, spreading environmental awareness and many other issues in NGOs made me realize that we, the youth, could bring about a change and gain the respect we deserved from the society. Such and many more lessons I have learnt and am still to learn in coming years.

In a way I have awakened to the one thing that drives us all – Hope. I have hope that India will turn out better than what it was and is with the efforts of all those who have a vision for India, of their own, their own Indian dream.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following

Blog-a-Ton.

Fully Faaltoo Flu...

Yesterday morning, as usual, I was heading to catch the train to go to college and the railway station was a sight to behold. All the people awaiting the train could easily be divided into three distinct types,

1. The Surgeons: These are the ones who just have buy anything that's just been introduced in the market, hence the green surgical masks. Moreover, they think, using a hanky is soooo...down market. These types do things the way they have to be done - correctly (or the way they think is correct).
2. The Dacoits: This category of people detest 'fizool kharch' (unnecessary expenses) and hence prefer a more subtle way of avoiding unhygienic elements. These types hate show-shining and prefer to be an inconspicuous part of the crowd.
3. The Unmentionables: These people vehemently refuse to believe all kinds of media hype. They have complete trust in their immune system, preferring to breathe in air (and everything that comes with it) rather than suffocating their vital organs by covering their face. Strangely they feel, it's the ears that need protection and choose to plug 'em with their handy mobile earpieces!

By now you must have realised what I'm talking about. For those who haven't (get yourself checked, your brain is missing the receptors that detect sarcasm and dry humour), I'm talking about the measures that people are taking to avoid swine flu, while some use physical barriers, others prefer mental ignorance!

by ARJuna

But wait there's more...

College...now that was a completely different scenario.

Guys who didn't want to lose their macho status refused to wear any kind of protection. The overcautious ones tied handkerchiefs around their necks cleverly, so that it served dual purpose - One, they could quickly cover their mouths and noses if any one were to sneeze or cough in their midst. Two, otherwise it just looked cool hanging around their necks!

The girls, who did not want to look un-ladylike, just covered their petite little faces with their petite little hankies. While the petite little thing (the hanky that is...) failed to cover their mouths and noses at the same time, I was left wondering if these girls were really avoiding the flu or just trying to hide a newly sprouted pimple?!?!

This was just to bring comic relief to those otherwise worried minds. In no way am I taking the present situation lightly nor would I advise you to do so, do take the necessary precautions (masks, hankies et al). But please avoid heeding to or spreading rumours, do not panic unnecessarily (you may end up suffering from hypertension or blood pressure rather than the flu) as Swine Flu is completely curable, just keep a lookout for the symptoms (for yourself and dear ones) and get a check up if in doubt.

The Cream And Scum Of Blogging…

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 1, the first edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Now in my complete one year blog stint I have never blogged about ‘blogging’ as such so this is a first.

The reason I began blogging is to create a space, a channel to express my feelings.

The cream, the absolute icing on the cake is that first you get to express your opinions and have them read by the netizens, second you get to read such great posts by people all over the world and interact with them as well.

The scum would be the uncontrolled and rampant misuse of blogs by people who do not understand the actual purpose behind the creation of a blog. These people use their blogs without adhering to a basic set of ethics and hence post plagiarised or objectionable content (written and otherwise).

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton are,
Saimanohar, Dhiman, Vipul Grover, Avdi, Daisy Blue, Sid 'Ravan' Kabe, Shankar, Shilpa Garg, Bharathi, Ranee, Ranee again and Pawan.Click on their respective names to read their posts on The Cream and Scum of Blogging.To be part of the next edition of this online marathon, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

The Big 3

Top three things on the 'Hottest News' list right now,

1. Qasab has confessed and people are still guessing if he is a great actor or just a criminal under pressure!
2. The 11th std. admission system online is a seriously messed up affair
3. My college started on Monday. (Believe me, that is big news!)

So it's back to the same ol' routine. The long vacation has messed up with my body clock so I still have to get used to the 'waking up early' part

Sigh! What can I say, wish me luck people.

Why We Don’t Have Nobel Laureates...

I read this small article in the Times Of India a few days ago titled ‘Life After IIT’ which stated that the IIT faculty have finally found out why they aren’t producing the Nobel laureates and innovators of the future. When asked by the faculty at the admission desk what their big dream was, most of the students gave the same answer “To get into IIT” only one guy answered that he dreamt of someday building a starship!

The first and most obvious reason for this lack in any kind of diversity in the answers is very simple, these students are pretty anxious about their admissions, hence any kind of ‘trick questions’ like the one asked by the IIT faculty tends to make the students cautious about their answers hence they end up sticking to ’safe options’ like the one given by the students in this case.

Another obvious reason that, I am sure, any under graduate who has given his viva (or oral question-answer tests as they are called in layman’s language) would tell you is the ‘Ape Syndrome’. It is a subtle process that can be described as such - when the first student comes out of the room (in which the viva is being conducted) all the students waiting eagerly outside grill him or her about what he/she was asked and how he answered it, in the end the other students end up answering similar questions in the same exact manner as that of the first guy or gal. I am sure that is exactly what has happened in the case of IIT students.

There may be several other reasons but I think the major one of ‘em is that parents and our primary education system fail to instill the creativity that is a essential quality to be an innovator. Children are born with an inherent sense of creativity; however the education system tends to suppress it and instead push the child into a dull world of rote-based learning, they even encourage the parents to do the same by labeling the child mediocre and forcing them to enroll their wards in tuitions or extra classes.

Our higher education system does nothing to help. Although, I must agree, that they support much better concept based learning, however this does nothing to enhance the practical problem solving ability and creativity of the student. Concepts are seldom accompanied by real life examples. Practical, real-life situations are not utilized in the curriculum which again limits the student to book based learning.

Now that this case has set the IIT faculty thinking I hope they do something about it!

I mean it’s time educationists understood that excelling at entrance exam makes the student a good learner and not exactly a great engineer, doctor or researcher. A student who performance is mediocre in the exams but possesses a vision and ability to work hard can also be equally eligible for the course.

So what these people should do now is look for an appropriate way to gauge a student’s creativity and vision along with his academic performance and then judge his eligibility for admission to the institute.

90:10 Quota War Ends

To read about my views on the 90:10 Quota System click here.

Finally the court has given it’s judgement. It has declared the 90:10 quota system to be illegal.

It is such moments that make me believe that all is not yet lost, my country still cares for it’s youth and our judicial system still has people, like Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice S C Dharmadhikari, with a proper sense of justice.

P.S. I know I am a little late with this post however my internet connection at home has stopped cooperating and refuses to let me access the world wide web, hence the delay!!!

Proud To Be Gay

Till now they were criminals, today they are lawfully, free citizens of India, or rather a new India.

Yes, with the reforms in the 149 year old law laid down by the British (Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code), India has entered a new era of freedom. Now people from all over the world will look at India in new light.

Now social acceptance, that is a completely different story, ‘cause it will take more time for the Indian society to accept LGBTs (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender) but if a law can be reformed then so can the society right?

Also there’s a long way to go till our judicial system legalizes gay marriages and adoption by gay couples. But, with all the hard work that gay rights activists are putting in I am sure that will also be a reality pretty soon.

Ignorant people like Baba Ramdev and others, belonging to the numerous religious groups, who oppose and mock the Delhi HC ruling are, I think, stuck between the ages (both modern and ancient). They are unaware of both;

• The rich history of our ancient culture wherein homosexuality was not new and was not scorned at.
• Social changes in the modern age wherein homosexuality has again garnered much acceptance around the world.

I conclude this post with a confession;

I have never met or interacted with a gay person. I do not how I would have reacted if I had met one before this. But I make a solemn promise that in case I become or am made aware of a gay person around me in a social gathering/public place, I will not;

1. Stare at him/her.
2. Act repulsive or try to shirk away from him/her.
3. Act in any such way which may emotionally hurt or insult him/her.

P.S. The title is not intended to be pun. With all due respect, the title is not meant to indicate that I am gay.

Remembering The King Of Pop…

…Michael Jackson. Frankly, I do not deserve to write an obituary because I have never met him nor have I ever experienced his music like the rest of his diehard fans. But yes, I have listened to a few of his songs and watched a few videos which remain my favourites to date.

But moving on with my other posts before remembering him would be an insult to the pop star and his countless fans.

So this post is a tribute to the artiste and his unforgettable voice, music and dance moves.