2008-01-27T22:19:00.000+05:30

Good conquered evil, and up in the air I rose... saw the world down there... carrying on as usual, unaware, uncaring... the snake was slain, and I was flying in the sky... a white sheet in my hand waving madly in joy... was this going to last? Was I here to stay? Oh, ground me so I could share...

2007-07-17T15:28:00.000+05:30

President Waterman of Yale:
"Do no waste a moment of your time while you are at Yale, or you will regret for the rest of your life not having taken advantage of all this university has to offer. A fool leaves Yale with only a degree, a wise man with enough knowledge to face whatever life throws at him. Seize every opportunity that is offered to you. Do not be frightened of any new challenge, and should you fail, there is no reason to be ashamed. You will learn far from your mistakes than your triumphs. Do not be afraid of your destiny. Be afraid of nothing. Challenge every writ, and let it not be said of you, I walked a path but never left an imprint."

- Excerpt from Jeffrey Archer's book - Sons of Fortune (Chapter 12)

2006-11-09T10:18:00.000+05:30

Manic driver or a real ‘cool’ driver?

This morning on my way to office, I boarded an autorickshaw, as usual. The driver looked like his part time job included auditioning for the role of a 'bad guy' in movies. The only saving grace was that his speech (which somehow belittled the fact that he looked well.. so unapproachable) recalled to mind the adage "appearances can be deceptive." He asked for a little more than I was willing to give, but came down later owing to the fact that I was his first "bonni" for the day, which in local parlance, means that I was his first passenger for the day.

Once on the road, he drove fast. After some time, he drove faster... and then even faster, totally oblivious to the passenger in the backseat who was now sitting stiffly holding the rod dividing the driver and the passenger in the autorickshaw so she wouldn't disgrace herself by falling forward or off the auto at the next bend.

Since it was getting late for office, I, totally rendered incapable of having any sensible thoughts... never thought of asking him to slow down. If worst came to worst, what would happen? We'd have an accident, and I'd land up in a hospital or why... even go straight up to knock on heaven's door (assuming that God is pleased with me and all the self-imposed discipline in my life so far and is willing to welcome me with open arms)--in which case, my fate was bearable and quite acceptable to me (though it goes without saying that I'd give anything to be given the chance to say my goodbyes to everybody who means something to me before I go meet my Creator finally). I even began contemplating whether I should really start saying my final prayers, and if my ID card was with me...

Meanwhile, ddrooom... droom...kshhh Mr. Auto Driver went making one wild turn here and one there. He drove like he owned the road. And, woe betide anybody who tried to race him alongside! The competing rapscallion would have to face exhaust fumes from our auto blowing on his face within a second of his daring to entertain such an audacious thought! Many a biker and auto driver attempted to copy my auto driver’s "I get to own this road... as long as I drive as fast as I can" philosophy. Alas, only to be quickly left behind in the dust (and stagnant water from the recent rains).

Faster and faster we went, auto driver, auto rickshaw and poor me... But, just as I was about to start thinking of all the things that I did in life and all the things I didn't and all the things I said and thought I'd do but didn't and all the things that I said and thought I'd do and actually did in my life before my soul moved out my body, something dawned on me... a strange but comforting realization... that despite the frighteningly fast driving, Mr. Auto Driver was actually doing quite wonderfully well on the road. Why, bless him... good man that he must be, he was in total control of himself and his vehicle. For all his at first glance rash driving, he was driving very very well. Why, he could indeed be the King of the Road. Yippee and he was driving fast for ME! His one and only responsibility in life at the moment looked like it was to get me to office on time!! :-) Well, atleast... that's how it looked to me... so what if he gave a huge scare to all the meek drivers and other vehicles on the way, and the "I like to pretend I am deaf" jaywalkers and the "I'm on a cycle, so I am not obliged to keep a straight course on the road" cyclists!

I instantly calmed down. I let go the rod and sat back elegantly crossing one leg over the other, looking ever bit a worthy passenger for such a good driver. In fact, I relaxed so much... a little too much as you will come to know... that the next time the auto landed in a pit... and me, in my dreamy state, learned the hard way that even a worthy passenger should not hesitate to hold on to the rod whenever the laws of a rain-soaked muddy road with deep pits and a fast driver require it. Out flew my hands again to grab the rod and glare at the offending potholes and mutter at the insensitive municipality with its utter disregard for the woes of the auto using commuters.

At that second, the curvy road stopped curving to reveal him!!!

Yet another King of the Road!

Either that or he was blind. He drove one of those SUVs… and, he was aiming straight for us! My brave Mr. Auto Driver didn’t defer, I didn’t bat an eyelid, and we also went straight. Just when the monster was about to slam into us, my driver with a flash of useful insight--that sometimes, you can stoop to conquer--did exactly that. He swerved to the left, giving way to the road monster for a second. But, just when the monster was alongside, parallel to us, my dear Mr. Auto Driver moved his right hand to permit our auto horn to cry out an ear-splitting sound! It worked! Just when the blind SUV driver passed us, he was forced to bend and accede to my auto driver’s superiority by braking and letting go his steering wheel for a moment to protect his eardrums… in the process allowing a poor little puppy to safely cross the road behind us. Of course, we didn’t wait to watch what he did next. We didn’t want to waste time, you see… I believe in the maxim “Time is precious” and apparently, so did Mr. Auto Driver… ;-)

After that, it was once again back to speed driving. Made me wonder how well he would have done on a Formula 1 race course. He never took his eyes off the road and for all his fast passenger-sitting-on-the-edge-of-the-seat driving, he never applied a single sudden brake, and instead glided to a smooth halt every time he was required to stop, including when he let me off at my office royally and smiled at me and superstitiously kissed the money I gave him as his first income for the day.

Now, while I wouldn’t like to repeat the experience, unless I am in a terrible and really justifiable rush myself someday, I can't help but think about him and the thoughts running in his mind, and in the minds of the other drivers/riders that I saw on the road today. How many of them are good drivers and how many are truly in a hurry! How many are considerate enough to let an old gentleman or lady cross the road slowly instead of in subdued panic and how many apply a warning not-so-loud-that-I'll-jump-out-of-my-skin horn when crossing intersections! How many of these would be better suited to driving only ambulance vans and how many... just how many would live to peacefully continue driving all their lives?

Some sad day, God really forbid, but even somebody who's a good driver could be faced with the sad reality of a broken foot or a smashed head thanks to the stupidity of a driver recklessly out on the roads to menace innocent lives and create news society could do without. Either unintentionally or due to road rage. And, some sad day, a son, father, or husband, or a daughter, mother, or wife would have to leave our world just because somebody senselessly sent them away! Is there anything we can do? Yes, we can! If every parent, sister, brother and friend talked to another and consciously decided to discipline their driving on the roads, and to be considerate to other drivers always (no matter what mood they are in), it would make a difference!

2006-11-07T16:37:00.000+05:30

A promise...

Starting today, I've decided to put down my thoughts in words whenever I can. Maintaining a journal or a blog will definitely ensure that these thoughts are thoroughly analyzed... before they are recognized as great indeed or allowed to disappear into oblivion.

Thought for the day:

If every individual decides to do something about making a difference to the world--in a positive way--very soon we will have no boundaries to what humanity can achieve. From increasing each other's knowledge/awareness levels to gratifying every human's need for social recognition... the possibilities are endless.

What can I do to start making a difference?

Let's see... for starters, I can become more "alive."

Keep myself well informed of what is happening around in the world.
Stop being a person who is squandering her life away doing nothing now (though entrenched in the belief that she can still move the world someday... when? Uh, please don't ask!).
Stop being such a bookworm gnawing into fiction all the time and nothing else.
Stop watching the world from behind apathetic eyes that are becoming terribly short sighted with the passage of more time and start living again... from today!
START WRITING AGAIN! After all, our day-to-day thoughts on the oh-so-many topics under the sun and experiences are definitely worth recording on more than just the canvas of our fading-with-time memories, right?

Now, wish me good luck, will you? :-)

2006-11-07T11:29:00.000+05:30

A new beginning!

After reading blogs, blogs and more blogs... I've decided I want to get back to blogging.

I'm starting today.

I declare this entry to be my first post... ;-)

My Blog