BOOM !

Loud enuff blasts have rung thru several cities in the last few months - Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur... Are we deaf, or do we just roll over n put it on snooze thinking i will wake up the next time it rings ?

I know a lot has been written, spoken, read and heard in the media. Frankly, I dont follow politics as much to understand half the things .. But chucking aside whether India should look Nuke out those bastards from Pakistan or the leaders resign. I dnt believe in the top down approach, as in ofcourse the leaders have a lot of influence over such happenings, but what hits me first always is what is the picture on the ground, what is it that we can do differently to make India a better n safer place to live?

Now b4 u start thinking that this is another blog to form a forum or light candles, then stop! I aint suggesting any of that. Frankly i am not suggesting something that is ground breaking. What i feel amiss here is that ppl dnt take a city or a country here as one community (not gng into regionalism or religion). For ex, ppl dnt consider Delhi as their own city. For most ppl, their lives is limited, like in a silo - restricted to their ofc, car or home. Walled. Noone looks beyond that. Its surprising when ppl open their window of a BMW and throw an empty packet of chips on the road ?! I just dnt get it. Why ppl bribe the cops for a jumping a red light, dont you think you did something wrong thr? Why ppl dnt give their seat to an elderly lady standing in a bus?

Another example i find baffling is, when the metro stops .. everyone looks to exit and enter the metro at the same time ! y cant u stop for 10 secs let the ppl come out first and then enter !! Its these small things, wat i term as 'social consciousness' is something that is abso-bloody-lutely absent. I know there are plenty of ppl who fight for their daily survival, so dnt expect them to be socially conscious , but there so many other well educated and aptly well off ppl and even they dont realize it !!

Its these small things that makes you conscious of your surroundings and you accept it as part of your living and thats when you start taking care of it. Then probably one wouldnt sell a mobile SIM card without proper proof or wudnt give an aptt on rent without checking all credentials. Call the police without reluctance when one sees something fishy.

Moreover, hopefully next time apologize and give a smile when one bumps into someone accidentally rather than giving a scorn and walking off.

My lil dream world ..

This was one evening in hostel in the final yr. Vicky had just got his placement, and we were all celebrating the occassion, sitting outside kari's room n drinking silly. It was vicky, kari, birla, shady, n me. As always one topic came up where we all had a strong point to put forward ..

Me: " Life has got more stuff than just being in a job man .. I mean one definitely needs to do a job but then should not loose focus on other things that he or she loves doing."
Vicky: "its all a bloody rat race, you just keep getting sucked into the system, slowly n steadily even b4 u realize, you have lost touch of all those things that you thot u wud do in life"
Me: " Na, i beg to differ ! i think one definitely can go ahead n manage things, and always still pursue his dreams hobbies .. watever makes him happy"
Vicky: " Its easier said then done. You are saying this coz u aint part of the system yet."

Its been 3 years since that discussion.

Now i look back at myself, all naive and living in this dreamworld of doing wat not with life. Dont get me wrong, i love my life and am enjoying every bit of it. I still manage to do everything i feel like .. as dolphin puts it, i live in my own dream world. But frankly, i say wats wrong with living in one, i end up staying happy and not get bogged down by realities.

Now, most probably i wud be doing my mba next yr. Now a course like that has tremendous potential to get one right in the center of the rat race, more salaries, quicker life with all the ringin blackberry's and flying across to attend x number of meetings across the globe. Life shifts gears, and the dreams then just seem like dreams.

But here again, i think there is a lot more to it then just that. Its upto one to pick his battles and resist to lead one's own life. Dont get me wrong, i am not saying i dnt want success or specifically professional success. But that's just a part of the big picture, there is so much more .. As someone wrote 'Be more than what you do' .. I think here the 'more' is defined by the way you lead your life.

I'll give my view again on my lil dream world 3 yrs hence to see whether reality caught up with me or not ..