State first, Country second?

I was reading this article in the newspaper today about how a bus driver steered his bus to safety despite getting a heart attack while driving. Sadly, he didn't survive. And the concluding line was a comment, "This son of Gujrat has done us proud." And this coming just a day after the whole Raj Thackeray ordeal got me thinking. Why is it son of Gujrat? Why are we Maharashtrians, Gujratis, and Bengalis before we are Indians?

The MNS is of the viewpoint that North Indians should not be allowed to take up jobs in Mumbai. Does that mean that just because someone was born in some rural location, that person should be denied an opportunity to make it big. But then how is it different from someone taking up a job in the US after completing his Masters? Mumbai is the financial capital of the country. Obviously it'll attract people from all over. Mumbai is not run by people belonging to one religion, or one caste, or speaking one language. Over the years, all the influences have given rise to the "Mumbaikar". And if there we no North Indians in the city we'd have to imagine a scenario with almost no ricks or cabs on the road. Hell even my bed, my wardrobe, and even this table on which my screen sits as letters pop up on it was made by North Indians. My whole house was painted by North Indians, even constructed for that matter. And I guess this will be the case with most of us.

I agree with the ideology of the MNS no doubt. That you should respect the culture of the place where you reside. But doesn't necessarily mean you have to force it upon yourself. I think the implementation of the whole ideology is just a farce. A protest generally means destruction of public property, BEST buses being burnt, cars being smashed, trains being halted. And most importantly ricks and cabs being smashed. And who suffers because of this? The common man. The Mumbaikar. Its he who can't reach his office. Its his family who is worried till he returns home. Cars of Maharashtrians get smashed. The most tense area is always Shivaji Park in Dadar. The residents there have to stay tucked inside their houses. And funny enough most of the residents at Shivaji Park are Maharashtrians. The loss is Mumbai's. Crores lost because an entire day was wasted. Lives are lost. If the MNS cared so much for Mumbai, they'd never let these things happen.

Diwali and Navratri being celebrated in Cananda by NRIs makes for news in leading dailies. But Chatt Pooja being celebrated here by North Indians, in their own country causes an uproar. If you were to settle in the US now, would you feel the same enthusiasm for Christmas that you feel for Diwali? Would Thanksgiving suddenly be significant to you? The customs we grew up with always hold secial significance for us. Nothing can ever take their place. If tomorrow a Maharashtrian was to settle in Delhi, would he stop celelbrating Ganesh Chathurthi? Of course not. What would be wrong is if he went out saying that Mumbai's culture is better than Delhi's. And I'm sure many will nod in agreement to the previous statement. Why? Only because Mumbai is close to your heart.

And how do we decide who is allowed in and who is not? When Dhirubhai Ambani came to Mumbai he was a nobody. But he built an empire here. Who would dare to say that Mukesh and Anil Ambani leave the city? Do we throw out the Gujrati and Parsi businessen responsible for the flourishing bussiness as well?? Do we throw out the numerous South Indians who run various udipi hotels throughout the city? The poor workers and drivers are victimised everytime, crushed in this cruel machinery. They are mere scapegoats, for their voices can be easily suppresesed.

The British divided us to rule us. The British may have left but the division has stayed. In fact we are more divided now then we were back then. The root of the problem is not todays politics. The seeds were sown 60 years ago when states were formed on the basis of language. It brought our differences forward. It led to groupism. To win elections in a state, the political parties use these differences, prioritising interests of the major sect. And the process goes on and on. For a few people's selfish motives, the majority suffers.

We have to remember that we have no identity in the world as Maharashtrians or Gujratis or Rajashthanis. When a person tells the world he's a North Indian, the only word that registers is the latter. We are Indians before we are anything else. We may be residents of different places, but all of us are citizens of India. I proudly say that I belong to India and the only relgion I believe in is humanity. And in case you might be wondering, I am a Maharashtrian. ;)

Internet Irritation

Recently orkut introduced this feature of "updates" which shows at the bottom of your screen. Now the most common updates I have noticed are "Added new photos", and "Changed name". Now while the former is quite interesting, to look at new pics of your mates, the latter one gets on my nerves.

People put up just any stupid name, hell sometimes its even an entire sentence. And in my opinion its just a cheap attempt at seeking attention. Putting up names related to personal life, "She left me", "XYZ - Heartbroken", "Missing her" etc. etc. Now what I wanna point out here is how vague all these names are. Who's this "she" or "her"? And often when you ask the person you'll get a reply "Its personal". If its so fucking personal, why do you wanna put it up on a social networking site you cunt? Is it beyond your thinking abilities to interpret the fact that "social" is the other end of "personal". I remember this incident, where this guy had changed his name thrice within a day. The names being, "She left me, she came back to me, she was a flirt". Ok dude, fuck you, and fuck her! I'm not interested. If you're so depressed go call your best friend.

Then there are those who like to use names to satisfy their inflated egos. "The king", "The lord", "The best'. Reality check. Your orkut name doesn't make you any of these. Then there will be those who are depressed for being who they are. "I hate myself", "My life sucks". How is declaring it to the public gonna make it better? And there are those who don't have their name anywhere in the display name. Imagine checking your scrapbook and getting a scrap from "In the end" with a Linkin Park display pic. Another common fad is using the "registered" and "trademark" symbols at the end of the name. Let me clarify though that I'm not saying that everyone who changes their display names is a wannabe. Its just the bunch of those who know that nobody will understand what they intend to say. All they want, is the attention.

Another thing that gets on my nerves is typing styles. People using sms lingo on the net. You're not charged for any number of characters and there's a dedicated key for each character. Yet people will be lazy. 2 instead of to, @ instead of at. Either way it requires you to press two keys. In fact holding shift and reaching for the 2 key is more tedious. And sometimes it just becomes too difficult to understand. Now how am I supposed to know that "wz" is "was"? Also take "wnt" for example. It can be "won't", or "want". I'm not saying type with perfect punctuation. But at least spell words correctly. Had no one ever heard of "internet etiquette"? And here too there's the bunch of wannabes. WoRdS wItH aLtErNaTe CaSe LeTtErS. Doesn't make for pleasant viewing does it? God save my eyes. Spelling words in weird ways, or repeating letters countless times - kewl, okkkkkkkkkkkkkkk, studiezzzzzzzzzzzz. What, you're finger got stuck to the keyboard?
And there's the worst of the lot. Those who use every single character in the character map. |-|0/V\3 - that's supposed to be home. Now its difficult to understand four letters, imagine reading sentences like that.

I can go on giving countless examples. About me's saying, I am cool, I am hot, I'm a dude. The list of wannabe shit is endless. So all you dumbfucks out there, realise that people can see through you. What you are reflects in everything you do. Quit trying so hard.

Rant Over!



P.S. A special thanks to Pranali for helping me find my lost passion for writing again.

Gone Forever

Another song. This one is quite obvious to figure out though. So here is

Gone Forever

On a sunny September afternoon
I met her for the first time
I didn't see anything special in her
She thought I was a total bore
But then as we gotta know each other
We realised how wrong we were
I never realised when I fell for her
Didn't say it, just waited my turn

But now she's gone forever
Now I know I'll never ever have her
I feel like I'm such a vain
No drug can ever ease this pain
Ripping through me like daggers and swords
Missed my chance to say those words
Seeing him by her side
is killing me from inside

Yeah we had that bitter fight
Both of us had sleepless nights
I said sorry, a fucking million times
She said she never meant to hurt my feelings
I thought that now it won't be long
Before I would have her in my arms
Never saw when she slipped away from me
Like hot sand running through my fingers

But now she's gone forever
Now I know I'll never ever have her
I feel like I'm such a vain
No drug can ever ease this pain
Ripping through me like daggers and swords
Missed my chance to say those words
Seeing him by her side
is killing me from inside

I guess that she's made her choice
Gotta move on with my life
There's nothing else I can do
Wish I had said, " I love you!"

But now she's gone forever
Now I know I'll never ever have her
I feel like I'm such a vain
No drug can ever ease this pain
Ripping through me like daggers and swords
Missed my chance to say those words
Seeing him by her side
is killing me from inside

Didn't tell her
That I love her
Now she's gone forever

Didn't tell her
That I love her
Now she's gone forever

Forever
Forever

And I know I'll never have her...........

-Anurag

Believe

Here's a little something that I wrote down. Won't do any explaining here. Its upto you as to what you make of it.... I like to call it.....

Believe


I wish I didn't have to
I swear I don't want to
But its something I must do
And if you doubt me
You're wrong

I never had any self-doubt
I know what I'm made of
You challenge me, I won't back down
I'll stand up, be counted and prove
You're wrong

You tell me I can't do it
Oh you're wrong
You tell me I'm knocked down
Oh you're wrong
You tell me my fire's gone
You're oh so wrong
Oh so wrong
Oh so wrong

You just wait and watch
I'll show what I'm capable of
You'll see the hunger in my heart
You'll see that the fire
Of my desire still burns strong
You lost you're faith in me
You don't believe me now
But I'm gonna win your trust back
I'll settle this once and for all
And when the dust settles on this all
You'll realise.......
You're were wrong
All along
All along
You were wrong
All along
All along
You were wrong
All along.......
You....were.....wrong.....

-Anurag

Green Day i.e. Life

I love music. Can't imagine life without it. Whenever I feel that things aren't going right I just plug in the headphones and play some music. Or even when I am happy I do the same. It drifts me to some new world. My favourite band is Green Day. I just love their music. Can't get enough of it. Its because I can relate to it so much. So often I find myself unknowingly singing a Green Day song about a particular situation. And then I wonder to myself how perfectly it suits the ocassion. So I thought why not share with everyone the different Green Day songs which I feel convey my feelings.

Well first of all, the song that I feel describes myself. I have always felt that I am a bit of a thinker. I think a lot - about life, about people, about me......So much so that I freak myself out. There's a song which perfectly describes it.

Sometimes I give myself the creeps,
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me,
It all keeps adding up,
I think I'm cracking up!
Am I just paranoid.
I'm just stoned.
(Basketcase)

Whenever I feel lonely, I always prefer to listen to music. There are two great Green Day songs which I listen to whenever I feel alone. Somehow it makes me feel at least a little bit better.

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of broken dreams
When the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk alone

I walk alone
I walk alone

I walk alone
I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone up there will find me
Till then I walk alone
(Boulevard Of Broken Dreams)

So when you think you're all alone,
No one's left to come around,
Drop like flies and empathize,
Cause I know that I will someday,
And I know that I will suffocate,
Suffocate, suffocate, suffocate.
(Suffocate)

There are times when you wish you just weren't at the place you are. Anywhere else would do. I help myself in such times by singing-

Somebody get me out of here,
Anybody get me out of here,
Somebody get me out of here,
Get me the fuck right out of here
(Homecoming - East 12th Street)


The lines that I sing most often are to say that I don't care about something. Because its "I don't care" in a lyrical manner.

Land of make believe
That don't believe in me
Land of make believe
And I don't believe
And I don't care!
And I don't care!
And I don't care!
And I don't care!
And I don't care!
(Jesus Of Suburbia-I don't care)

Well and sometimes I sing just to get the anger within me out. The song don't really describe my state of mind but they are full of anger and hatred. I just shout them out loud, real loud to get the frustrations out.

Ha ha you're dead
The joke is over
You were an asshole
And now you're gone
As your ship is going down
I'll stand by and watch you drown

Ha Ha, you're dead
Ha Ha, you're dead
Ha Ha, you're dead
(Ha Ha, You're Dead)

I heard your sick
Sucked on that cancer stick
A throbbing tumor and a radiation high
Shit out of luck
And now your time is up
It brings me pleasure just to know your gonna to die

No one loves you and you know it
Don't pretend that you enjoy it or you don't care
Cause now I wouldn't lie or tell you all the things you want
to hear.
CUZ I HATE YOU,
CUZ I HATE YOU,
CUZ I HATE YOU,
CUZ I HATE YOUUUUUU
(Platypus(I Hate You))

Being a science student I am often studying late into the night. There's a song which perfectly describes my state of mind-

My eyes feel like they're gonna bleed
Dried up and bulging out my skull
My mouth is dry
My face is numb
Fucked up and spun out in my room
On my own... here we go
(Brain Stew)

But this doesn't mean that Green Day can't sing about love. I dedicate these to my special someone-

If you should fall
You know I’ll be there
To catch the call
You know I’ll be there
I’ll go anywhere
So I’ll see you there

I don’t care if you don’t mind
I’ll be there not far behind
I will dare
Keep in mind
I don’t care
I’ll be there for you
(Poprocks And Coke)

Now I cannot speak, I lost my voice
I'm speechless and redundant
'Cause I love you's not enough
I'm lost for words.
(Redundant)

And this one is for moving on--

And in the darkest night,
If my memory serves me right,
I'll never turn back time!
Forgetting you, but not the time!
(Whatsername)

Huff!! Thats about it. So you can see there's so much of Green Day that relates to my life. Hence the title. And like any good fan I'll conclude by saying GREEN DAY RULES!!!

Cruisin' Away.......

I am very much a person who likes to stay at home. So it takes something really special to make me feel not wanna come back home. And I had one of those experiences just last week. I can't think of any better way of unwinding. Especially considering the amount of studying that I hav been doing of late, it was something well deserved. Okay no more suspense. I had been for a cruise last week - on the SuperStar Libra. rust me it was FUN. I wanted to share my experience with everyone, when I remembered that I had a blog so here I am.

It started with a mad dash to catch the 4.27 fast to C.S.T. Our ship was docked at the Indira Ganhi Port. So we (me, my parents and my sis) reached Indira Gandhi Port at around5.30 p.m. The check in time was from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. There was a bus to carry the visitors to the ship. Considerin that the the ship was just five mins walking distance, I knew I was in for a royal treatment. And as soon as I got on the ship it felt like another world. The ambiebence was just brilliant. We had a an oceanview cabin. And what you see below is the view we had.


But the best view was definitely from the top deck. I got some really great shots from up there. It felt like heaven up there. The view was so good it could make you forget all your problems in life. It was serene and and I felt a sort of unadultarated joy jus standing there, feelin the wind in my face and lookin at the endless sea all around. And it was windy as hell up there. Just see my hair in the pics below.


And this is the wind i was talking about....

























Soon it was night and it was time to eat. And boy did i eat!! It was a really wide range of delicacies to choose from. I hogged on barbequed chicken and lamb. The chicken biryani was brilliant too. It was an embarassment of riches to choose from. And then there were the deserts...... a whole 20 feet long table of them. I lovd the food so much I actually had dinner twice!!


Then we had some entertainment programmes. There was a show called 'Sorpresa'. It was simply sensational. It had fine blend of dance and acrobatics. A visual treat really. Unfortunately I don't hav any pics to show you because they are copyrighted. After all the shows I went back to the top deck and lay on a one of those resting chairs just gazing at the sky above. It seemed to me for a moment that all my probems had disappeared. The highlight of the next day too was food. I had the best chocolate muffins for breakfast and delightful cheese cake after lunch.

Unfortunately it was just a one night trip. By 2 p.m. we were back at the Indira Ganhi Port. I didn't wanna go home. You might feel that all I did was eat. But that's because its the only thng I can describe in words. I can't describe the joy of being there, the contentment you feel. I felt really sad to be going home again. They say nobody's seen heaven. But I guess this is what it must be like.........

Indian English

I don't undertstand why we Indians have to add a bit of our influence to everything around us. And one of the worst sufferers has been the English language.

Like sum of the stuff we say is pure translation from our own language. For example consider the Hindi sentence, "Tu ayega na?". So in english this becomes, "You wil come,no?" Now where did that 'no' pop up from? But the best one definitely is for confirmation. I can't help but smile when people say "Yes, no?" There's so many funny translations like this. "The rain is falling" is another good one. Or even the free usage of 'only'. Like "Wahi to" instead of being "Thats what" ends up being "That only".

But the best ones I feel are over the phone. Wen you talk in hindi or marathi u tend to say, "Haan bol". Now to tel someone who calls you, "Ya say"........well its more like an order isn't it. Like go on, I have given you the permission to speak now. Even baffles me what to say after the usual 'hi'. And then the proper way to end a conversation would be by sayin, "I'll hang up now." But then if everyone did that you would never get to hear the best dialogue of them all...."I'll keep the phone." Ya sure, I mean its ur own phone. You can keep it for a lifetime. Or are you talking about keeping the phone in some specific place. But there are people who better this. They say, "I'll keep the phone down." Hey c'mon give them some credit, at least they are being specific!!!

I think I'll conclude now. I am not able to think of anything else only!!!!