This here is my bucket list. A list of all the special things that i wish/plan to accomplish/do before i die. And why post it now? Am i fearing an imminent assassination attempt? (NO) Am i suffering from a terminal heart disease? (NO) Do i owe large sums of money to the mafia without no means of paying it back? (MAYBE, but still not the real reason) Am i bored? (YES!!!)
The list is comprise of many dreams accumulated over the years and i think now is a good time to put them down in ink or databyte seemingly before i lose my memory to meaningless degradation of the cerebral nerves.
p.s. its in no specific order
1. Travel to the north pole and witness the Aurora Borealis
2. Visit the Esa Ala caves and possibly BASE jump
3. Write a comic book/graphic novel
4. Go to watch the world cup in Brazil (2014)
5. Watch a space shuttle launch
6. Backpack through Kashmir
7. Visit Jerusalem
8. Watch football match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Nou Camp
9. Camel ride in the Sahara
10. Learn to horse ride
11. Meet Alan Moore
12. See a whale in the wild
13. Scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef
14. Skydive
remind me any more things that i might have said and have forgotten to add to list
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
revolutions/resolutions
Once again as this third rock from the sun comes full circle (ellipse to be exact), it finds many of its inhabitants in the exact same spot it had left them 365 days ago - thinking where they will be, once again, 365 days from today.
It’s a scary day this. And though on paper it may seem that new year’s is nothing more than another date in the calendar (a new calendar altogether though) and the effect of which is mainly limited to a really convincing hangover, but it’s a day which brings along with it all the ghosts a year gone by. For some they are friendly spirits, reminding them of greener pastures accomplished, for others they are bleak and ghastly reminders of opportunities squandered and time let trickled away. And for some yet, it is but a miracle to be able to see that final digit at the end of the date-line roll over.
This one single day is like an engine hauling behind it an entire barrage of carriages accumulated over the years and no one no matter where they are or who they are can get off the track soon enough. This day hits us all, some more than others, but everyone nonetheless, and for all the partying and revelry, there is always that one question asked –‘ what have I done this year?’ It is a question we all ask ourselves and it is a question we find ourselves answering even without trying, because after all, this is the only answer we can give truthfully.
Have I fulfilled all the things I set out to do this year?
Have I made my life worthwhile?
Have I done some good?
Have I screwed up real bad?
Have I done anything?
Everything answered at once. An entire year of your life dissected in a single go and I don’t know about you, but I usually find myself looking at a system i do not like and wish to change (but seldom do). And as a result I find myself making resolutions, silent promises of change that harbors the hope that things can be better. I find myself promising myself better and brighter things. i find myself believing in things i hadn't dared thought about earlier, and i find myself giving my all to make them true. A whole revolution later i usually find myself back at square one.
but that's not the point, is it?
This day is unlike any other, though in form and structure it may resemble the other 364 days to follow, its spirit is not the same. The simple changing of notation is enough to give us the confidence to dream once again, to set out on new adventures even though their success might be limited. Its like a spark that ignites tonnes of fuel strapped to a rocket, the turn of the starter that throws the engine into gear and sends a car screaming across the asphalt and though disaster is always a strong possibility, life would be meaningless without it.
Welcome to a new year, welcome to a whole new life.
It’s a scary day this. And though on paper it may seem that new year’s is nothing more than another date in the calendar (a new calendar altogether though) and the effect of which is mainly limited to a really convincing hangover, but it’s a day which brings along with it all the ghosts a year gone by. For some they are friendly spirits, reminding them of greener pastures accomplished, for others they are bleak and ghastly reminders of opportunities squandered and time let trickled away. And for some yet, it is but a miracle to be able to see that final digit at the end of the date-line roll over.
This one single day is like an engine hauling behind it an entire barrage of carriages accumulated over the years and no one no matter where they are or who they are can get off the track soon enough. This day hits us all, some more than others, but everyone nonetheless, and for all the partying and revelry, there is always that one question asked –‘ what have I done this year?’ It is a question we all ask ourselves and it is a question we find ourselves answering even without trying, because after all, this is the only answer we can give truthfully.
Have I fulfilled all the things I set out to do this year?
Have I made my life worthwhile?
Have I done some good?
Have I screwed up real bad?
Have I done anything?
Everything answered at once. An entire year of your life dissected in a single go and I don’t know about you, but I usually find myself looking at a system i do not like and wish to change (but seldom do). And as a result I find myself making resolutions, silent promises of change that harbors the hope that things can be better. I find myself promising myself better and brighter things. i find myself believing in things i hadn't dared thought about earlier, and i find myself giving my all to make them true. A whole revolution later i usually find myself back at square one.
but that's not the point, is it?
This day is unlike any other, though in form and structure it may resemble the other 364 days to follow, its spirit is not the same. The simple changing of notation is enough to give us the confidence to dream once again, to set out on new adventures even though their success might be limited. Its like a spark that ignites tonnes of fuel strapped to a rocket, the turn of the starter that throws the engine into gear and sends a car screaming across the asphalt and though disaster is always a strong possibility, life would be meaningless without it.
Welcome to a new year, welcome to a whole new life.
Friday, December 3, 2010
speak free, my friend
This is a slightly modified version of a speech I gave at a recent debate. The topic was ‘Is the government right in controlling freedom of speech?’. The following is a copy of what I spoke with a few additions now that I don’t have any time restrictions.
‘For man has learnt no greater weapon than the use of his tongue’
Good afternoon,
What we have here today is a very sensitive topic. Sensitive because the extent of the freedom of speech, like every other freedom, is a debatable one. It cannot be boundless; it cannot be limitless, because such freedom for any person is bound to tread upon the freedom of another at one point or another. But is this reason enough to have our fundamental rights governed by a third party? Or should we take the responsibility on our own shoulders?
I support the latter but one has to understand that responsibility of speech is one that varies from person to person. Speech, words are unlike anything else in this world. It has the power to incite the mind and lead people to do great things and more often than not, it is used to provoke unreasonable and violent actions. This reaffirms my call for a personal responsibility, and this accountability is one that increases with one’s standing in society because each person’s words carries with it also the weight of the level of his social ladder standing. Everyone, especially people higher up, need to realize this because even a few misplaced words by them could have violent fallouts. We in India are all too aware of that fact.
Though most people do exercise caution it would be fair to say that there will always be a fair share of idiots in this world. People who are either too naïve to realize the consequences or those so blinded by their vested interests that they refuse to see anything beyond their own nose. Rakhi Sawant and Varun Gandhi are sparkling examples of the two types. (you decide which is which)
If so, don’t we need someone to keep tabs on such people, you may argue. To make sure that no one creates a nuisance for society on a whole? To keep the rest of us safe from the inevitable consequences? True, but does this mean our fundamental rights should be stepped upon. Should the government constantly look over our shoulder to tell us what to say and when to say? And more importantly, is the government the right institution for the job? Does it not have its own agenda to further? Is it too not comprised of individuals just like us, with self-interests and ambitions? Then how can its judgment be above suspect? And if not the government, who then has the right and the balanced sense of propriety to draw the line for us? Surely no one. Because if we go down this path of controlled and regulated speech, there is no going back. History has shown us time and again that speech restrictions are more often than not misused by those in power. The fallen German empire and the present day scenarios in China and Myanmar should serve as stark reminders to us of why we this road is not to be tread. You may argue in favor of economic and national growth but at what cost? Should democracy be sacrificed? Because the roots of democracy lie in free speech and opinion. To stifle those is to kill democracy itself.
Then what about the blatant misuse of this freedom? Surely there needs to be a check to that?
The answer to these questions lies in John Stuart Mill’s work ‘On Justice’. He stated that there are two types of negative speeches. The first is the HARM inducing and the second is the OFFENCE inducing. If someone by his words is directly provoking others to violence then he/she should be dutifully punished by the law but if someone is just stating an opinion, no matter how opposable or immoral it may seem to others (eg. The Khusboo case), no one has the right to stop them because they are personal opinions and we are all entitled to our own. It is here the government has to play watchdog and ensure that the guilty and severely punished and the opinion makers protected from the so called moral police.
It is a thin line but one that needs to be tread if democracy is truly to be protected or else it will be like what George Washington said,
‘our freedom to speech taken away, dumb and silent we may be led like lambs to slaughter’.
‘For man has learnt no greater weapon than the use of his tongue’
Good afternoon,
What we have here today is a very sensitive topic. Sensitive because the extent of the freedom of speech, like every other freedom, is a debatable one. It cannot be boundless; it cannot be limitless, because such freedom for any person is bound to tread upon the freedom of another at one point or another. But is this reason enough to have our fundamental rights governed by a third party? Or should we take the responsibility on our own shoulders?
I support the latter but one has to understand that responsibility of speech is one that varies from person to person. Speech, words are unlike anything else in this world. It has the power to incite the mind and lead people to do great things and more often than not, it is used to provoke unreasonable and violent actions. This reaffirms my call for a personal responsibility, and this accountability is one that increases with one’s standing in society because each person’s words carries with it also the weight of the level of his social ladder standing. Everyone, especially people higher up, need to realize this because even a few misplaced words by them could have violent fallouts. We in India are all too aware of that fact.
Though most people do exercise caution it would be fair to say that there will always be a fair share of idiots in this world. People who are either too naïve to realize the consequences or those so blinded by their vested interests that they refuse to see anything beyond their own nose. Rakhi Sawant and Varun Gandhi are sparkling examples of the two types. (you decide which is which)
If so, don’t we need someone to keep tabs on such people, you may argue. To make sure that no one creates a nuisance for society on a whole? To keep the rest of us safe from the inevitable consequences? True, but does this mean our fundamental rights should be stepped upon. Should the government constantly look over our shoulder to tell us what to say and when to say? And more importantly, is the government the right institution for the job? Does it not have its own agenda to further? Is it too not comprised of individuals just like us, with self-interests and ambitions? Then how can its judgment be above suspect? And if not the government, who then has the right and the balanced sense of propriety to draw the line for us? Surely no one. Because if we go down this path of controlled and regulated speech, there is no going back. History has shown us time and again that speech restrictions are more often than not misused by those in power. The fallen German empire and the present day scenarios in China and Myanmar should serve as stark reminders to us of why we this road is not to be tread. You may argue in favor of economic and national growth but at what cost? Should democracy be sacrificed? Because the roots of democracy lie in free speech and opinion. To stifle those is to kill democracy itself.
Then what about the blatant misuse of this freedom? Surely there needs to be a check to that?
The answer to these questions lies in John Stuart Mill’s work ‘On Justice’. He stated that there are two types of negative speeches. The first is the HARM inducing and the second is the OFFENCE inducing. If someone by his words is directly provoking others to violence then he/she should be dutifully punished by the law but if someone is just stating an opinion, no matter how opposable or immoral it may seem to others (eg. The Khusboo case), no one has the right to stop them because they are personal opinions and we are all entitled to our own. It is here the government has to play watchdog and ensure that the guilty and severely punished and the opinion makers protected from the so called moral police.
It is a thin line but one that needs to be tread if democracy is truly to be protected or else it will be like what George Washington said,
‘our freedom to speech taken away, dumb and silent we may be led like lambs to slaughter’.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
“all men are created equal, some more so”
We live in a dream. A dream made of our ideals, our desires, our quest to be perfect in an imperfect world. We put on rose tinted glasses and refuse to see the grey clouds that have rolled over our homes. We walk in the shade and hope to feel the sun beat down on our faces but it never will. For the sun has been lost in the storm that brews over our head and the direction of the wind has begun to change but we are still too lost in this world of make believe to realize what is happening.
Eight decades ago a man with a an ideal picked up a staff and marched across our nation to prove a point as simple as salt – that man was made free, he is still free and if he has the courage to preserve it, he will die free. Seventeen later he won his war, the following year he was shot. His enemies were forced to concede defeat, they left and they left behind a nation who’s very first act was to break in two on the grounds of who worshiped Allah and who followed Ram. So was born our country, an independent secular nation, tolerant of all castes and creed, but home to only one.
We have come a long way since then. We have spilled enough blood to overflow oceans. We have passed laws and decrees by the truckload to ensure freedom, equality and a sense of belonging to all those who dare call this land their mother. We have aired more news and shows citing tolerance than any other nation in history. We still have a long way to go.
Independence is not a one time victory, it is a constant struggle against the odds, against the perennial instinct of man to dominate the other, against our overwhelming need to be recognized over our peers. Sure, there are innumerable troubles that ail this country today. The ruling classes of the politicians and the industrialists who pave the way to their personal successes by grinding the bones of the weak and unarmed with the mortar of their spirit. The unsympathetic media who’s ever-growing lust for TRP’s and their total lack of respect for the truth and individual privacy which is moulding the minds of this generation into some sort of noir-sycophantic state. The common man, you and me, who have washed our hands of all responsibility. The general sense of apathy that prevails. These problems are numerous and I could go on endlessly, but that is not the issue at hand. For though all this malevolence threatens to tear apart our country, there still is a graver concern, like an ace in a dark hand, that even after all these many years of so called independence, not everyone feels at home in their own nation.
Like a malignant cancer that has wrapped itself around the very heart of this country, threatening to choke its very core, this growing sense of alienisation amongst the so-called fringe communities has done nothing but grow over the decades. Kashmir, the north-east, they are all jarring examples of this fact. We might like to believe that these are just secluded incidents, that the rest of the country is united as one but one only need to look at the numerous signs in our day to day life. We label people instantly on the basis of their religion and region and long before we even know who the person is, we already have him profiled as one thing or another. Don’t think you are above suspicion of such charges, none of us are. I see a bearded man in a kurta and I cant help but think terrorist. I see a marwadi shopkeeper, I think cheapskate. I see someone from the northeast, I think chink. See someone from the south, and there’s a unanimous ‘aaiyo rama!’. I see someone from the Jharkhand or Bihar and I can’t help thinking illiterate and unkempt. I see anyone and I think something or the other. I’ll have to step out of this country to be able to see them as my countrymen, for in here it is just me and them.
A person will always feel at ease amongst people of like mind and in this case, people who belong to the same region, speak the same language and pray to the same god. This is inevitable, for these traits are deeply embedded in us as is our need for survival. But in giving into our natural instincts so freely we are causing a chasm to open up amongst ourselves. Our nation is no longer truly independent (but it never was to begin with). Independence exists but at different levels and to different degrees for everyone. Based on our community, beliefs and language, we are offered varying extents of leeway. There is a kind of hierarchical structure being set up based on the above, a structure that is seemingly becoming more evident as the days progress. If this continues, it won’t be surprising to see more uprisings like the ones taking place right now.
This is not child of politics or vicious vote-bank polices, it is not born of ill-will, just the ever consuming need to belong. And it surely will not be solved by ‘unity speeches’ by our leaders. If change must be brought about, it must first be instilled in our hearts. The differential coating over our eyes need to be removed. We need to see each other as individuals and not offspring of common moulds. A tree is only as strong as its roots and we are the roots of this India. Roots who have long refused to grow together though we all lie in the same mud. It is time we realized this.
We are a single nation. I know we have our differences. I know we will never always share the same beliefs or rituals. I know the way you speak may sound funny to me and mine to you. I know that at times we will be at loggerheads over some issue or the other. I know this because it is inevitable. I do not ask you to like everything I do, or believe everything I do. I do not ask you to understand everything about me. But I only ask you to respect me. To acknowledge me your equal. To give me my space to grow as I should give you yours. We might not look alike, talk alike or dress alike but you will not find a truer brother than me. It will not be easy to accept me for who I am but as long as you accept that there is this gap that needs to bridged I believe that there is a future. We are a single nation. We are India. We are one.
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY.
Eight decades ago a man with a an ideal picked up a staff and marched across our nation to prove a point as simple as salt – that man was made free, he is still free and if he has the courage to preserve it, he will die free. Seventeen later he won his war, the following year he was shot. His enemies were forced to concede defeat, they left and they left behind a nation who’s very first act was to break in two on the grounds of who worshiped Allah and who followed Ram. So was born our country, an independent secular nation, tolerant of all castes and creed, but home to only one.
We have come a long way since then. We have spilled enough blood to overflow oceans. We have passed laws and decrees by the truckload to ensure freedom, equality and a sense of belonging to all those who dare call this land their mother. We have aired more news and shows citing tolerance than any other nation in history. We still have a long way to go.
Independence is not a one time victory, it is a constant struggle against the odds, against the perennial instinct of man to dominate the other, against our overwhelming need to be recognized over our peers. Sure, there are innumerable troubles that ail this country today. The ruling classes of the politicians and the industrialists who pave the way to their personal successes by grinding the bones of the weak and unarmed with the mortar of their spirit. The unsympathetic media who’s ever-growing lust for TRP’s and their total lack of respect for the truth and individual privacy which is moulding the minds of this generation into some sort of noir-sycophantic state. The common man, you and me, who have washed our hands of all responsibility. The general sense of apathy that prevails. These problems are numerous and I could go on endlessly, but that is not the issue at hand. For though all this malevolence threatens to tear apart our country, there still is a graver concern, like an ace in a dark hand, that even after all these many years of so called independence, not everyone feels at home in their own nation.
Like a malignant cancer that has wrapped itself around the very heart of this country, threatening to choke its very core, this growing sense of alienisation amongst the so-called fringe communities has done nothing but grow over the decades. Kashmir, the north-east, they are all jarring examples of this fact. We might like to believe that these are just secluded incidents, that the rest of the country is united as one but one only need to look at the numerous signs in our day to day life. We label people instantly on the basis of their religion and region and long before we even know who the person is, we already have him profiled as one thing or another. Don’t think you are above suspicion of such charges, none of us are. I see a bearded man in a kurta and I cant help but think terrorist. I see a marwadi shopkeeper, I think cheapskate. I see someone from the northeast, I think chink. See someone from the south, and there’s a unanimous ‘aaiyo rama!’. I see someone from the Jharkhand or Bihar and I can’t help thinking illiterate and unkempt. I see anyone and I think something or the other. I’ll have to step out of this country to be able to see them as my countrymen, for in here it is just me and them.
A person will always feel at ease amongst people of like mind and in this case, people who belong to the same region, speak the same language and pray to the same god. This is inevitable, for these traits are deeply embedded in us as is our need for survival. But in giving into our natural instincts so freely we are causing a chasm to open up amongst ourselves. Our nation is no longer truly independent (but it never was to begin with). Independence exists but at different levels and to different degrees for everyone. Based on our community, beliefs and language, we are offered varying extents of leeway. There is a kind of hierarchical structure being set up based on the above, a structure that is seemingly becoming more evident as the days progress. If this continues, it won’t be surprising to see more uprisings like the ones taking place right now.
This is not child of politics or vicious vote-bank polices, it is not born of ill-will, just the ever consuming need to belong. And it surely will not be solved by ‘unity speeches’ by our leaders. If change must be brought about, it must first be instilled in our hearts. The differential coating over our eyes need to be removed. We need to see each other as individuals and not offspring of common moulds. A tree is only as strong as its roots and we are the roots of this India. Roots who have long refused to grow together though we all lie in the same mud. It is time we realized this.
We are a single nation. I know we have our differences. I know we will never always share the same beliefs or rituals. I know the way you speak may sound funny to me and mine to you. I know that at times we will be at loggerheads over some issue or the other. I know this because it is inevitable. I do not ask you to like everything I do, or believe everything I do. I do not ask you to understand everything about me. But I only ask you to respect me. To acknowledge me your equal. To give me my space to grow as I should give you yours. We might not look alike, talk alike or dress alike but you will not find a truer brother than me. It will not be easy to accept me for who I am but as long as you accept that there is this gap that needs to bridged I believe that there is a future. We are a single nation. We are India. We are one.
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
An Idea
I BELIEVE IN YOU.
Is there an idea more sublime? Anyone who has ever felt down, lost or disheartened; anyone who has ever lost all hope and found themselves staring at a future devoid of even a single ray of light knows what I’m talking about. To find oneself on the edge, standing there, waiting for the wind to tip the balance in favour of an endless drop; to have closed your eyes and expelling the last gusts of wind from your lungs as you wait for the ground to punch your face and to hear those four words whispered in your ear.
SILENCE.
GASP.
AAARGH!
Like a new spirit born within you, a fire rekindled, you come alive once again. Like a drowning man who manages to just break the surface before the putrid air breaks his lungs. Its ecstasy. Its power. Its love. Its anger. And most of all its you as you were meant to be.
You scream as wings begin to erupt from your body, tearing you apart and pulling you out of a dive so low that you can taste the stony ground grazing you by, and with piercing cries and gushing tears you feel the last of your fears washing away.
You have been defeated and yet victory is yours. Your qualms and apprehensions that you so closely guarded, protected and used as shields against every failure have suddenly been crushed asunder and as its fragments fly past you and your vision opens up, you see the shadow of a giant of hulking mass and irrepressible energy.
It scares you at first, you don’t know what it is but as you follow the dark vision, hesitantly at first and surely towards the end, you find its source at your feet. With a chill down your spine you feel it now, of who you are and what you can be. You are no longer simply human, you are an idea, a vision and the thought that made it all possible does not belong to you. The whisperer is the dreamer and you are the dream and it is their strength that weaves through you, thread by thread transforming you from mere vision to solid reality.
That is the strength of belief, like the presence of an updraft below a failing kite that not only stops its descent but at the same time throws it back up into the blue, stretching its tensile string and eventually snapping it. Their faith makes you free and restores to you an identity you never knew existed. Who is to say then it ever did, maybe it is just you trying to live up to the vision but it does not matter. All that matters is what you have become, a symbol and beacon for someone else’s dreams. A responsibility to be shouldered without fail, to fulfill a hope and become better than you can ever be.
Is there an idea more sublime? Anyone who has ever felt down, lost or disheartened; anyone who has ever lost all hope and found themselves staring at a future devoid of even a single ray of light knows what I’m talking about. To find oneself on the edge, standing there, waiting for the wind to tip the balance in favour of an endless drop; to have closed your eyes and expelling the last gusts of wind from your lungs as you wait for the ground to punch your face and to hear those four words whispered in your ear.
SILENCE.
GASP.
AAARGH!
Like a new spirit born within you, a fire rekindled, you come alive once again. Like a drowning man who manages to just break the surface before the putrid air breaks his lungs. Its ecstasy. Its power. Its love. Its anger. And most of all its you as you were meant to be.
You scream as wings begin to erupt from your body, tearing you apart and pulling you out of a dive so low that you can taste the stony ground grazing you by, and with piercing cries and gushing tears you feel the last of your fears washing away.
You have been defeated and yet victory is yours. Your qualms and apprehensions that you so closely guarded, protected and used as shields against every failure have suddenly been crushed asunder and as its fragments fly past you and your vision opens up, you see the shadow of a giant of hulking mass and irrepressible energy.
It scares you at first, you don’t know what it is but as you follow the dark vision, hesitantly at first and surely towards the end, you find its source at your feet. With a chill down your spine you feel it now, of who you are and what you can be. You are no longer simply human, you are an idea, a vision and the thought that made it all possible does not belong to you. The whisperer is the dreamer and you are the dream and it is their strength that weaves through you, thread by thread transforming you from mere vision to solid reality.
That is the strength of belief, like the presence of an updraft below a failing kite that not only stops its descent but at the same time throws it back up into the blue, stretching its tensile string and eventually snapping it. Their faith makes you free and restores to you an identity you never knew existed. Who is to say then it ever did, maybe it is just you trying to live up to the vision but it does not matter. All that matters is what you have become, a symbol and beacon for someone else’s dreams. A responsibility to be shouldered without fail, to fulfill a hope and become better than you can ever be.
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