Books : Worthwhile Addictions

In the past 2 yrs I picked up a new habbit/hobby/timepass.
Books.
I used to read Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Sherlock Homes etc, when I was young. Although I really liked reading books(Unfortunately the same is not true abt my Academic reading Habit :D ), I stopped reading them when it occured to me that I was too old for them. I never picked up any book again except for film magazines and an occasional peep into my TextBooks.

It was sometime around April and June of 2007 that I got reacquainted with my old Love , Courtesy Ajay .V who gave me his copy of "The Afghan - by Frederick Forsyth" . Here I have to mention one thing. This was during the time my Intership in HP was abt to get over and I had to start preparing for my Final Placements. But Confirming My Discovery that I have already mentioned in my previous post (see Strange- Phenomenon ) , instead of preparing for the placements I was looking for some refreshment, which this particular book gave me in abundance.

I instantly liked the book and made Ajay my Official_Book_Buddy. I kept on reading many books after that. My initial thought was that, this habit will fade away after I get placed. But to my own surprise , I haven't stopped yet and I am thoroughly enjoying my fling with books.

I donno how to describe this feeling but there is something magical about books. I simply cannot stop myself from going on a book-propagation-spree , when I find someone who is even remotely interested in books. I have changed and also filled few Vaccant spaces in my brain with credible info through various books. The last 3 Books that I have read (The Odessa File , To Kill a Mocking Bird , Anne Frank : The Diary of A Young Girl) are all different, yet thought provoking. If only people realize the essence of such books, this world would have been a much better place to live.

More abt these books in my later posts ...

Lets Change to see the Change

26 November 2008.


It started out just as any other day. I felt nothing different about the day. India had taken a 4-0 lead in the on-going One day series with England. The Fifth match was sheduled on 26th November. Like any other average Indian I was praying for a 5-0 result. The match started and except for a few tense movements India has managed to get the desired result with considerable ease. We were all elated and where watching the highlights. We were having a great time blissfully ignorant of the fact that Terrorists have striked in Mumbai to rake a 10-0 * victory against India(ns) in 2008 alone, which became evident while I was channel surfing during a break. It was all overs the news. But I didnot realize the gravity of the situation till the next day. Actually I didnot pay much attention to the News. And that was the case with many people. Everyone got so used to blasts in India... it was like.... "ee sab tho roj ki cheez hein.. whats new?". It is sick on our part but it is true. It took something of this magnitude for the people to openly protest against the so-called leaders. NDTV was right when it flashed the words " Enough Is Enough" across the screen. Nobody liked what happened and everyone condemed it in their own little way. But the big question is-- Why did we wait till such a thing happened? It is not the first time that we got an evidence against Pakisthan during a Terror attack. Then why didn't the Indian government demand Pakisthan to hand-over the LeT(Lashkar-e-Toiba) leaders before ? .





There are few other things also that disturbed me during this period.


1) The inability of the Local law-enforcement officers to stop the Terrorists on their tracks.


I am not blaming the Officers or their Courage, but the Administration. It would be plain stupid of us to even imagine that our officers , equipped with rifles left out by the British in 1947 to be a match against a Gang equipped with AK-47s and 56s. I may be exaggerating it a bit but it is not entirely false.


Why aren't our Local Law-Enforcement officers better equipped ?


2) The InSensitive Media.


I was shocked to see the Media personnels pounce on the hostages who have just escaped. The Hostages looked so terrified and out of breath, but none from the media offered them atleast water. Instead , all they wanted was a bloody interview. Do they at times forget that they are Humans first.


In there quest to be ahead of their competitors , they have given live feeds from the rescue Operation sites. Did they forget that these terrorists are equipped with satellite phones and a group sitting somewhere away from this commotion cud be watching the feed and warn their terrorist colleagues abt the NSG motives? Or did they simply choose to Ignore ?

3) Where was Raj Thackeray ? Where was his party (MNS) ? What is his say on Non-Maharastrian commandos risking their lives to save Mumbai ? How does he react to Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan's and Gajendra Singh's sacrifice ?

A few days earlier I saw a protest by Sivsena party against Pakisthani Artists performing in India. I want to ask them(Raj and Bal Thackerays of India) a simple question. Why is that you show all your might against innocent and defenseless people. Can you do anything except provoking people with your useless speeches ? India has enough differences... Plz donot divide us further on basis of Region. We had Enough. Religion, caste, creed,sex, colour, North- South, rich - poor, literates- illiterates. In how many more ways do you want us to be divided?

4) Politicians

The Less we speak abt these guys , the better it is for our Senses and Heart. The way our PM and LK Advani couldnot stick to their word -- "we will be united at this hour of grief " was heart-breaking.

5) I appreciate the pressure that is been laid on Pakisthan from various International fronts, but I donot understand 1 thing, and I donot want to sound like a heartless Idiot , but Why is it that Only This Attack got so much International Attention. We have seen more number of ppl die in the 11th July 2006 Mumbai Train blasts(200 dead and 700 Injured). But all we recieved till date were Condolences from various Country Heads but never did they openly say that Pakisthan has to mend its ways. Never was their any pressure on Pakisthan to curb ISI funded Terrorism. Then why is it happening now? Is it because all previous victims were not-so-important-common-Indians but this attack was on the Foreign Nationals and High society ppl? In 2008 alone excluding the recent Incident, 267 ppl were killed and around 1240 Injured in the serial bombs blasting around in India. Why was there no action before ?

It makes my soul cry whenever I think abt all these factors and the present phase that we Indians are going through. I hope, atleast now there will some corrective measures in making this country safe. And it should start from us. We the common- man should start making things happen for us. Lets use our valuable vote judiciously. There is no use playing the blame -game and saying that our Leaders are responsible for it. We are the ones who have choosen them. We are the ones who allowed them the luxury to be corrupt. And when they shove away from their responsibilities we simply took it as our fate. Lets CHANGE to see the CHANGE

My Salute to all the people who have laid down their lives for the human-kind. You are the real Heros and India shall never forget your sacrifice.

Jai Hind

* -- List of bomb blast in the recent past.

11 July 2006 -- Mumbai Train Blasts. More than 200 dead and 700 Injured.


18 May 2007 -- Hyderabad Blast (Mecca Masjid) 14 dead more than 50 Injured.


25 August 2007 -- Hyderabad Twin Blasts , 42 dead and 54 Injured.


23 Novemeber 2007 -- UttarPradesh , 15 Killed and 57 Injured.


13 May 2008 -- Jaipur ,9 blasts 63 dead 216 Injured.


25 July 2008 -- Bangalore, 2 Killed, 20 Injured.


26 July 2008 -- Ahmedabad ,21 bombs , 56 Killed and over 200 Injured.


13 Sep 2008 -- Delhi Blasts, 30 killed and over 100 Injured.


27 Sep 2008 -- Delhi Blasts, 3 killed and 23 Injured.


29 Sep 2008 -- Malegaon Blast, 8 killed and 80 Injured (Bomb near a Mosque)


1 Oct 2008 -- Agartala Blasts, 4 killed and over 100 Injured.


21 Oct 2008 -- Imphal Blasts, 17 Killed and over 30 Injured.


30 Oct 2008 -- Assam Blasts, 84 dead and 470 Injured.


26 November 2008 -- 188 killed and around 300 Injured.

After A Long Time....

2 years is pretty much a long time...
Many things have happened in these two years and there were many times I wanted to start blogging again and write abt few things and how I felt abt them... But every time I deferred the task .

But somehow I gathered myself together to write something here today. But as I start, my procrastinating nature (which by the way seems to be magically embedded into me from birth) says "Let Us Start tomorrow". I am trying to fight against my Nature.

Aaarrgghhh ...... I Think I lost the fight. No... I don't THINK . It is officially confirmed. I Lost the Fight. I WILL START TOMORROW.

Hope I don't repeat this tomorrow. I seriously want to voice my opinion abt the "Mumbai Attacks". Lets see...