Bombay in the Blood

This saturday I flew down to Bombay. As usual the flight was delayed. Actually, it was delayed, delayed, cancelled, then delayed, delayed, circling around Bombay. Ok, you get the picture... On the way to Colaba, I crossed the Sidhi Vinayak temple and then came to the Bajaj showroom where my bike was 'born'... the rest of the journey was one of the most nostalgic ones I've ever had. Almost every signal (which we didnt stop at coz it was 2:45 AM) and corner brought back a memory. Am not normally a nostalgic person, but it was quite freaky seeing these places and thinking of the people & events that will always stay with me.
South Bombay. I love the place. Guess no matter where I go and what I do, I'll always think of South Bombay as the place I grew up in. Mentioned this to A, though I wonder if she understood the impact of what it meant to me. Salaam Bombay. May you always rise above the squallor and filth. And remain the city where dreams can come true.

Hello There

Guess who's back... back again... ??? Yeah baby !!!! Feels good to be back. All those hours of introspection and self evaluation were worth it. Am more in touch with who I am and what I believe in. And I believe in one thing more than anything else - the happiness of Viren!

In these politically correct times, I run the risk of sounding like a hedonist. But there is more to the statement that I just made. What I mean by my happiness is not just me, but also the people who I care about. The people & dogs who mean something to me. Their happiness is directly correlated to my happiness. The rest of the world can go take a jump. I dont have the time or the interest to give a damn of whats happening to the rest of the world. Yawn. Boring. Change the channel. Who cares.

I used to not be like this earlier. I was foolish enough to believe that it was my duty to do something for others. What a laugh!!! Others? Please dude, have enough on my plate as it is. One crisis at a time. Let me get my own life in order. The world is big enough and smart enough to look after itself. Another thing I really dont care about is lost friendships. When I mean 'lost' I mean people who I thought I shared something with. People who I was wrong about. You see, am an eternal optimist. I always like to believe that people are good and that they'll reciprocate your genuine affection. Balls. Most people are selfish, self-centered and only care about themselves. Which is why I wont waste time on people who aint worth it. No one is indispensable. Am tired of standing at the end of the line. Have other things to do.

Its the 80-20 principle that ISB has taught me. Lol... So am gonna just concentrate on people & dogs who matter. The rest... see you around. :-)

Down Periscope

Am tuning off for a while. Need a break from myself. Dunno when I'll post my next message. Take care till then.

"He says son can you play me a memory...
Am not really sure how it goes.
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete..
When I wore a younger man's clothes."

.............................................. Billy Joel

Israel.. Here I Come

Dont ask me why, but for some reason I opted for an exchange programme to go to Israel. People, especially some quant gifted folk (who cant see beyond the next equation) asked me WHY? Lol.. what do you tell people? Well, you tell them what they want to hear. To some you say that you want to develop business contacts with the Israeli hi-tech industry, to others you say its coz of their sexy women and finally to some nuts you say that its coz you 'dream' of becoming a sniper.

Man, who gives a rats ass why I want to go to Israel!! I just want to. Like Shiv said, 'it'll be a trip I'll tell my grandchildren about'. But most people wont understand it. So rather than waste time justifying my decision, I give them one of the spins and if that doesnt convince them, they can go take a jump.

I had a couple of days to decide whether I really wanted to go or not. Initially, was in two minds coz I would be missing graduation, term 8 & (maybe) welcoming the new batch in. But the other day, we had this bhangra party and though i wasnt in the greatest of moods, I really didnt feel any sense of belonging to this place. To these people. Dunno why I've become such a cynic, its just that I dont buy all this hugging and air kisses. Give me a break man. We hardly know each other, we'll readily step over each other in the name of competition and yet we pretend that we're all great friends. La crap !!

Anyways, as long as people are happy.... Maybe this is part of the learning. Smile at someone, while you plot about how to undercut them.

Living by a Code

Teach Your Children by Graham Nash

You, Who Are On The Road....
Must Have A Code....
That You Can Live By.
And So Become Yourself....
Because The Past Is Just A Goodbye.

Who Needs the Pakis?

A friend of mine from Pune, lets call her AP, wrote (she actually wrote it) me a mail in response to the famous "Letter to a Terrorist" mail that I had fwd. She pointed out a lot of things. One was the pathetic way in which we treat our own people. Be it the Nagas, the tribals or the dalits. The other thing she mentioned was the apathy of our Govt. to the real security problems in India.

At that point I shrugged it off, possibly due to the wave of nationalism that surges through you after such tragedies. But going through the papers today, I've realized that AP is spot on! When cops with the ATS were investigating a terrorist link, and it lead to a leading MLA from the Maharashtra govt., they were transferred to Hyderabad. Woah, talk about priorities here. The vigilance on the SIMI has been relaxed off late because there are assembly elections in UP. What is our govt. up to?

Do we really need the Pakis to come & blow up our trains when we have such kind of leaders? These jokers are capable of screwing this country on their own. All the Pakis need do is sit back and watch these people fall over themselves to build vote banks and fight over the next panchayat or munciple elections. We dont have any strategic planning. We dont have any crises planning. In fact, I dont think we have any planning at all. We lurch from one disaster to another. And if somehow, we manage to avoid complete humiliation (read Kargil) its because of the brave men & women, common people mind you, who put their lives on the line for India. For all of us, the stupid, silent, cynical and eventually ungrateful masses. What a waste.

Boom Boom

Blasts in Bombay. More communal tension. "When it rains it pours". Guess some people have nothing better to do than murder & maim innocents, who have no personal quarrel with them. Call it jehad, call it the crusades. Its our old friend politics at its worst. The Eagle's Song "The Last Resort" comes to mind..

"Who will provide the grand design,
Of what is yours and what is mine?
For there is no more "new frontier"..
We have got to make it here.
Satisfy our endless needs,
and justify our bloody deeds.
In the destiny. In the name of God."

At no point am I questioning the existence of God or of the validity of his/her message. It is we and our blind faith in men of the cloth who have corrupted things. "Religion is the opium of the masses", "Beware of the black man"..... You name it, we've screwed it up. But there is hope. There is always hope, though we may lose sight of it momentarily. Like when your dog gets lost for a couple of days. Or when you dont get into the B school you really wanted. I firmly believe that things are never as bad as they might seem. Its just matter of holding ur nerve, gritting your teeth & holding on.

Cheater Champs

The Azzuri have won. Its a victory for tight shirts, oscar winning acting, diving, and yeah.. great defending. Oh well, its better than Argentina winning I guess. And Piero's thrilled beyond words. :-)
Had a long chat with A. Niether of us were rooting for Italy. But it was nice to "spend some time" with her. Think the last time we did was when I was watching "City of Angels". Lol.. Made her a promise, which someday may turn out to be frightfully expensive. But since its only happened once EVER, I guess its ok. The idea is great though.
A brings out something in me that I havent felt in a long long time. The desire to be good. To be stable. She's so mature & cool. Makes me feel like a adolescent. Lol.. All my blow hot-blow cold antics, and she's still A. With that smile and that voice. Hmmm....

Havent heard from A in some while. Guess she's busy. Wonder if sometimes, its better not to expect anything in return. You know, that old Indian funda. Do your stuff, and dont give a shit about what the world gives you back. Kinda altruistic. Kinda unrealistic. Especially when it comes to relationships.
I think that while it's very noble & chivalrous, you're just setting yourself up for a big fall. Lol, guess this is why you should hedge your risks. Hmmm, good old fin fundas. Never thought I'd see them applied in real life. Maybe I can find an application for all that Classical Vs Keynesian crap we've been fighting over. Probably win the Noble prize then. Haha...

Testing

Testing..1..2...3... hmm.. seems to be working... Now i gotta figure out something to post. Been through a few blogs. Sonal's (he's a guy) and Ali's. They all have something to talk about. Maybe I'll find my niche too. Not just in the bloggers world, but in general. Lets see what happens. Cheerio!!