Big Eyed Fish

Story of a man,
Who decided not to breathe.
Turned red, purple, then blue.
Colorful indeed.
No matter how his friends begged,
Well, he would not concede,
And now hes dead.
You see, cause everybody knows,
You got to breathe.

But, oh god,
Under the weight of life,
Things seem brighter on the other side...
Lighter on the other side...

Another one: see this monkey sitting on a tree,
One day, decided to climb down,
And run off to the city.
Look at him now, tired and drunk
And living on the street.
As good as dead.
You see, a monkey should know,
Stay up your tree.

But, oh god,
Under the weight of life,
Things seem brighter on the other side.
Oh, god,
But under the weight of life,
Things seem much brighter on the other side.

No way, no way, no way.... out... of here...

Another one: a big eyed fish,
Yeah, swimming in the sea,
Oh, how he dreamed.
He wants to be a bird,
Swooping, diving through the breeze.
One day, he caught a big blue wave,
Up onto the beach,
And now hes dead.
You see, a fishs dream,
Should stay in the sea.

But, oh god,
Under the weight of life,
Things seem brighter on the other side.

No way... no way...no way...out... of here...

No way out of life.

Friends and Perception

Times change..

Priorities change..

People come into your life and drift away. Some just drift away, others move away as if on purpose. Sometimes it hurts though... Other times you don't give a dime... And thats in relation to the same person!

You change opinions about people, in fact you even question your right to have an opinion about others. Does it really matter?

About 'second winds' and public urinals...

Have you ever noticed how we generally feel sleepy after dinner. Say around 10 30. Then once you get thru that drowsiness, you can stay awake till 2am effortlessly.

If you feel hungry and not eat, the hunger dies down. Then you feel hungry for a second time. This time its for real. This is when even Atish food is lovely!

Marathon runners are supposed to get a high while running. This is what pulls them through the whole race. This is the ‘runner’s high’

I wonder whether, when you are working, and feel very tired and still continue, do you get a second wind? I think so…

Why do we have this? Why aren't we biologically programmed to do whatever we are till it is no longer REALLY possible?

On a random note, is it totally pointless to wonder whether the distribution of people at public urinals is spatially Gaussian? :P

Indian Railways

I fail to understand how the man who fell on the tracks had such a bad experience. Right in the middle of the cuty, you fall and it takes you 1 hour to get treatment for a severed leg, its just too disturbing.

If Mumbai aims to be a global city, basic amenties like an ambulance at railway stations is a must.

Laloo, are you listening? Or just busy dolling out sops with the elections at hand...

Whats wrong with Maharashtra?

This post comes more out of worry than anything else.

What is with Maharashtra? We are supposed to be one of the more forward states in the country, one of the more industrialized places, somewhere for the rest of India to look up to. Maharashtra has a very rich culture, the people a very strong sense of identity and are very tolerant traditionally.

My watchman left for Bihar frightened by the MNS voilence. Thats when I decided to write this post. He was a nice guy. What is he was from Bihar? What gives anyone the right to generalize rowdyness with Biharis? And so what if they are? Pushing them out of Maharashtra is no way to get back. Its more logical to try and make them more civilized. Improve implementation of law and order so that only the ones not follwing it are punished.

25,000 migrant workers leaving Pune isn't good for the economy. You simply can't let one person hold the state to ransom.

Think about Maharashtrians outside the state. What if Deve Gowda says something similar and pushes all the IT people out of Bangalore?

Its important for Maharashtrians to understand that the so called 'Bhaiyyas' who flock to Bombay, Pune, Nashik come here only because of the opportunities that exist here. They are mostly doing jobs which localities find to be too low-statured. Instead of killing them, its more important that the government makes it mandatory for their employers to better living conditions for them.

The youth of Maharashtra had such great expectations from Raj. Turns out that all politicians are as stupid as the other...

I still believe that the Marathis are a very tolerant breed of people, and the MNS behavior is nothing but a blip on the radar.

Baba Amte

Since decades, people have just been bent and exploited. We have been given hands to lift them up, not to strangle them.

These were the words of the noted social reformer Baba Amte, a man also known as the Messiah of the poor.

Born Murlidhar Devidas Amte, on December 24, 1914, Baba Amte, hailing from a family of Brahmin jagirdars defied rigid caste hierarchy and often shared meals with servants and played with children of lower castes.

A qualified lawyer, Amte's tryst with social activism began early in life. While a lucrative practice at Wardha was ready for him, his heart beat for the poor and the destitute.

His motto "Charity destroys, work builds" finally culminated in the building of Anandwan, a sprawling rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra.

Even in his last days, Baba's thoughts were thought-provoking and challenging.

"One 's hands should be used for help and for reforms. Not for killing others. This is the only message to the present generation," he said.

Although he won several awards - the Padma Shri in 1971, the Padma Vibhushan in 1986 and the Magsaysay Award in 1988 - he continued to rendered service diligently and selflessly.

It is no wonder that even the Prime Minister was touched by this immense loss.

"An era in India comes to an end. He was a great son of our country who devoted all his life to Gandhian values and the service of the poor and the down- trodden," PM Manmohan Singh said.

Baba was also a strong supporter of the Narmada Bachao andolan and fought relentlessly against displacement of the tribals. His constant refrain was that compassion has no party or ideology. His message of love for the poorest of the poor will be forever remembered and worthy to be emulated.

My tribute to the great man. May his tribe increase...

God...

Recently had some thoughts about God (again!), and now I am wondering whether I am an atheist or not… The thought of someone being up there, willing to take the burden of your shoulders, is so comforting. That the weight of the world isn’t on your shoulders. Maybe that someone is luck, chance, probability, but it is still there. And putting your trust in that leaves you free to work carefree. Isn’t that the most important thing?

It isn't a conventional god, its my own, for my happiness!