Its not Math! Then why is it so difficult?

Then I realized the problem is I am told what to think, I told what to see. I see a Pakistan and I’m taught to hate it without ever wondering why. For one simple reason: I see with my eyes open but my minds closed.

 John Lennon hummed:

Imagine there's no Heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today

 

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace

 

You may say that I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

 

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world

  

You may say that I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

Everything here sounds so simple; still we call it a dream. But, we so willing believe that a civilian on the other side of the border is an enemy? We believe it when Modi blames Muslims for all social ills. We believe our caste, race, religion is superior then the others!

Maybe be human brain is tuned to complexity :)

A Story to Remember

Once upon a Time

Fairytales – smirk or smile you know they are a dream, a wistful tale of how thing would be if everything went perfect!

 I’m not much of fan of mushy romance and in a library picked a Here is a story Not so long ago but which was certainly a happily ever after…..
 

There was this small girl born into a family of brick makers. No not poor! They were a rich family into construction. The lil girl grew up looking like a stick thin tom boy. 

 

Know this is a fairy tale! The duckling had to turn into a breathtaking swan and she did as she grew up… (yeh tho hona hi tha)

The she moved on to pursue a career in modeling. Then movies followed and soon she was a star in her sphere – The America.

 Far Far Away

On one fateful trip to Europe she was to meet the prince of a small kingdom called Monaco. A kingdom seldom heard of by the rest of the world… a rich kingdom snugly sitting in the stunning locales of the Mediterranean.

On the eve of the meeting the Murphy’s Law was in action… The electricity goes off! Our princess was forced to dress in crumpled clothes looking as miserable as ever. She meets the prince and then! 

The prince soon arrives in America on a official tour meet the starlets family and with in three days… Tish *@*

And what ensued is the a visual that the world would remember for ever a grand fairy tale wedding where the charming prince swept the beautiful bride into the sunset in a kingdom Far Far Away (the entire population of the kingdom was on the streets to welcome the bride as the couple went across the kingdom in an open car) 

The story generally ends here but what is happily ever after …. Ever wondered?

 Happily ever after 

So here is the story of happily ever after:

The princes became a proud mother of three beautiful kids and were among the most gracious royal families.

 

When she turned 53 she died in a fatal car crash. The prince they say never really recovered from the loss. He spent the rest of his days promoting welfare and charity in her name till he passed into the hands of death in 2003 to re unite with his beautiful wife.

 Who said fairytales don’t exist….. This is the memorable love story of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainer of Monaco.

 

How the Wall Street Fell : Bed Time Story

I received a very interesting forward. It was the story of American sub prime crisis simplified like folklore. Maybe if I ever had to tell my grand children how the great Wall Street Fell apart I woud use this:

 A cold winter!

It was autumn, and the Red Indians asked their New Chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a Red Indian chief in a
modern society, he couldn't tell what the weather was going to be.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his Tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village
should collect wood to be prepared.

But also being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked
'Is the coming winter going to be cold?' 'It looks like this winter is Going to be quite cold indeed,' the weather man Responded.

So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more Wood. A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Is it
going to be a very cold winter?' 'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'It's definitely going to be a very cold winter.'

The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of wood they could find. Two weeks later, he called the
National Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?' 'Absolutely,' The Man replied. 'It's going to be one of the coldest winters ever.'

'How can you be so sure?' the Chief asked. The weatherman replied, 'The Red Indians are collecting wood like Crazy.'

This is how stock markets work!!!

This reminds me of a old kannada saying which dad often tells " Kellidu Sulaaga bohudu, Nodiddu sullaga bohudu, Nidaanisi yochisidaaga... nijavu tilvudu " It means you : what you have heard can be wrong, what you have heard can be wrong, when you reason out in patience you see the truth.

 

Eulogy to a Door Knob

Knock! Knock !

Not so long back I was in a middle of a heated debate with a friend on "Door Knob" (of all things is the house). No no! It was not a maintenance row.... 

I wanted to name my dog door knob, and she thought it held n hope. This made me write this Eulogy of sorts for the dear old Door knob.

Practical Benefits 

Imagine our lives without door knobs:

·         Horror/ thriller movies where a mysterious hand does not turn the door knob.

·         Imagine the clothing clutter in the room without this convertible hanger

·         How would you slam the door after a furious row! ( Just as I did after this conversation)

 

Derived Benefits

 It’s more than the showpiece unlike the ear on a human faces we so adore. It is no less than a piece of art in itself. If seeing is believing have a look:

 They are a li’l mechanic marvel too imagine those tiny knobs being fully equipped security checks safeguarding your room thanklessly

 Knobs are the line which demarcate your personal space

 Symbolic Benefits 

Its more symbolic standing on your door like and angel guarding the heavens gate , like the controllers at the doors of knowledge ( may be like our good ol’ media)

 

If nothing at all .It simply makes life easy silently!

Bless You

Hey you know why some one mumbles bless you when you sneeze there are two explanations that I have heard of :

1. Then u sneeze your soul jumps out of your body, an this point of time in a jiffy a wicked devil can get into your empty body. SO the bless you is a protection, a charm to prevent your body from being hijacked by the devil! ( Heavens!)

2. The other boring one is that the heart actually skips a beat every time you sneeze. So technically it oi possible to sneeze yourself to death! So every time you survive a sneeze you are blessed!

Acheeew! Excuse Me...

Iraq: From Glory to Gory!

 Mesopotamia 

  This is a story, story of a proud civilization fighting a losing battle to hold their head high. Iraq, we shudder at the name! Every time we mention Iraq in the same breath we speak of war, of destruction, of chaos or uncivilized barbarians running loose! 

  Tigris and Euphrates the rivers whose banks have been the genesis of the ancient world often termed the cradle of civilization. It has been the seat of power for several empires like Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian and Abbasid empires (I hope to write about each of these empires in future – in case you are wondering)   

 Now the glory of past and the gory of the present are something which we are familiar with. But there is a question we conveniently forget. A culprit we let free. So, let’s trace the modern Iraqi history.  

Villains: Dictators and Monarchs 

  Iraq was under the Turkish rule till Britain took over the state by the time of 1st world war that is 1920 the state of Iraq was recognized as a kingdom.  In 1939 at the age of 3 King Faisal II succeeded his father after an accident. The Faisal II on the other hand was assassinated and overthrown in a revolutionary coup by the military headed by Abdul Kassem he tried reversing the kings pro western policies which communist leanings.          

 In 1963  Kassim had a déjà vu like coup experience with the socialist Baath party overthrowing him.The Batth party was headed by Gen. Abdel Rahman Arif  and unleashed a bloody authoritarian regime till 1968  when Maj. Gen. Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr ousted him and Bakr subordinate was the know infamous Saddam .

 Blood on our hands 

 The lost page I was speaking of was the fact that through out all these regimes, authoritarian, barbaric, reformist or revolutionary the state has always been remarkably secular, unfamiliar with the sectarian strife so openly abused after the west interfered to bring in civility to the state.

  Now if you are thinking that the Sunni dominant minority oppressed and Shia majority and cleansed the ethnic minority Kurds, I agree that the abuse was ghastly! But every society deals with its own problems. If solution was to make the problem ubiquitous then I wonder!

  The UN sanctions and the US intervention to help together destroyed the country and killed far more people then these dictators put together. The civilized world intervened to cleanse the barbarians from Iraq to let loose the demons of religion, sect, terror, poverty, fear. This has been the tragedy of Iraq. The organized civil society has clinically destroyed a proud civilization much more than all the rulers put together ever hoped to do. 

  And at last if you are thinking the UN and US did it damn them, but why do we have blood on our hands? The stains are of silence, abetting the crime by not raising a feeble voice.  Lastly, what happened to them may happen to us… Today India is marred by sectarian violence. Do we need US to come and clean it up for us?  

Paul Krugman win Nobel in Economics 2008

I have been following Paul Krugman for ages on Hindu oped page where this write ups from the New York times are published. Today he won the Nobel in Economics and it was a pleasant news to wake up to.

Krugman has predominantly written about US politics and Economy but that doesn't make it any less interesting for an Indian reader. His writing on the Financial crisis and the third world economy and International Trade are a treat to read.

Not everyone may agree with this hard core liberal but i confess to be a adherent supporter. 

Attached is the link to his web page http://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/ where he has documented all this work from the time he began in Slate to New York Times .

Let There Be Light

I have been  searching in the dark about where my heart lies. I thought I should pen down the hundred thoughts that run across my mind ( some are worth sharing others are rant). I was in the dark about what to write : write to impress or simply express. That's when Illuminati lit an flicker in my mind, setting me on the path treading the fine line between the two.

I see the light in the end of the tunnel.