Long time Gone..

It has been such a long break for my blog. The past few months went by in a fashion that I am not very glad about. No creativity, maximum idling, lack of focus, direction and a complete lack of the jest that usually has me jumping and blabbering at almost everything.

Now I am not very sure if I am back to normal (or abnormal, depends on how you see it) yet but this feeling of writing a post here seems to be a start in the right direction. As they say, when things are really down they can only go up..right??

A lot went by in these past few months.. A quick recap.. I went back home for a leave and spent the most part of it on getting a few formalities completed for a home loan. I am an expert in applying for home loans now. .:P

I decided to start driving a four-wheeler as I desperately want to try my hand on the land-cruisers out here..Met an old school friend who, we both just found out, is also from Dehradun..Ohh…I bought myself a harmonica which I wanted to be a diatonic one but the old uncle at the music shop gave me a tremolo one.  Now I can finally work on playing like Bob Dylan..:) And the cherry is for the last..I finally bid adieu to my Acoustic guitar and bought an Electric one..!! Ibanez Gio for beginners..Anybody in and around Noida who wants to buy one, please contact me..I’ll tell you about a great store..

My vacation went by without much happening so when I came to Noida to complete the formalities for coming out here, I decided that maybe I should treat myself by buying something for myself. I was thinking of moving up a notch and get a semi-acoustic Fender or Gibson. So I went to this store in sec-18, just behind the McDonald’s there. It has a pretty impressive collection of acoustic, semi-acoustic and electric guitars plus of course the accessories. The best thing about them is their service and the guys who sit there for telling you about the instruments. Both of them are from the North-East, which half-implies that they pretty well know their strings. I don’t remember their names but they are well-versed with everything about the guitar.

I was being a little uneasy about it because I wasn’t very sure how much it would cost me. Turned out that a entry level Fender semi-acoustic was for 12K which I didn’t like much. Like it always happens, the things that you like seem to have the highest price tag, the one that I liked was 22K. So while I was mulling over whether or not to buy one, the store guy said, “Why don’t you buy an electric guitar?”

“What, can I get a good one for this much?”

“Of course, you’ll get an entry-level Ibanez or Gibson”

Mannn…I was quite excited on hearing this. He then showed me around the Electric guitars section and while I was going all gaga over the Fender Stratocaster and the Les Pauls (way beyond the budget), he pulled me back to safe grounds by showing me a Gibson and an Ibanez, both entry-level. He even rigged them up with the amplifiers and the processors and asked me to just play a bit to get the feel of it.

Now, you must realize that I am not a very accomplished player, most of my learning has been online which means I am mostly tone-deaf and play whatever I have practiced for a while..So this getting to try it was a big deal for me. I just tried a few riffs I know..”Summer of 69”, “one last breath”..just the usual…

He asked me about the kind of music I like to play. I said country and he said go for Gibson. That was when Miss Shrinkhala came in who had her birthday that day and was coming all the way from Meerut to greet US on HER birthday. Now, I know it should have been the other way around, but c’mon..you know we get busy at times..:P

So she walked in and while I was already inclining towards the Ibanez, she pretty much sealed the judgement. And so it was the Ibanez Gio.

Next came the billing part. It was 14K only..:) Now comes the good part. The store-manager was a young guy named Bhupinder, soft-spoken and someone who knows his trade. He asked me to pick a strap and a good quality cable. I wanted to buy a stand which wasn’t too costly so I took one but decided to give the extra cable and strap a pass.

Say Hellooo..:)

I then went over the billing counter and started filling the customer’s form. As I was filling in my name and place of residence, Bhupinder asked me, “Joshi Ji, Dehradun ke ho aap?”

I said “ Nahi, we live there, Main Almora se hun”

Lo and behold, He says. “Ohho, tab toh haath milao yaar, mera ghar bhi dehradun mein hai aur main bhi Almora se hun”.

Now it just so happens that the ‘Joshi’ surname is a pretty respected one around our place because ages ago, we used to be the Clan priests (read Shaman :P) or something. Even now, in villages, we have our ancestral gods and the temple where the priests are from our, now extended and scattered, family. But I guess, sometime back in the past, they all must have been together.

So Bhupinder tells our NE guy, “Bhaiya ko straps aur cable dikhao”

I went over and hesitatingly took the most cheap looking strap.( wrongly thinking that cheaper meant soberer..is soberer even a word??:P) the NE guy gave me a Fender cable and as I went back to the billing table, Bhupinder started adding the prices from the drop down list.

Strap : 1200, Cable: 900..

I was like, “Kya yaar, pyaar pyaar mein saaman de diya inhone mujhe”.

And then he pressed a button and there the figures went..Poof…zero zero..

I said..” ?? “ (more like an expression)

And Bhupinder bro said, “ Yeah, a gift for being a first time customer”. 

Call it regionalism or whatever but I think it was my good nature..:P

When I came back here and tried to play it, something entirely different happened, about which maybe I’ll tell you in the form of a tutorial someday when I get good at it.

I was here to tell you a story about a dream but ended up writing this. Of course, this is just meaningless talk about something entirely about me but just maybe if you stick around I have a very funny story to tell you the next time around. Maybe tomorrow..maybe a day after that..Till then, Adieu…

Have been thinking for ages that I need a good camera.

Ohh yes, I thought of an interesting thing to do over the internet. I am going to find a Spanish girl somehow and ask her to tell me the Spanish lyrics of the  song “Senorita” from ZNMD..good idea right..you may try it too if you are a guy, or find yourself a Spanish guy if you are a girl..All the best..I may end up not ACTUALLY trying this, but if you do, do let me know..

PS: If you are reading this blog for the first time, Please ignore my views on Anna and India and corruption and all that in older posts...Lets just keep this civil..I HAVE realized the futility of such uncontrolled expressions..

THE RIGHT AND WRONG OF SUPPORTING ANNA

THE REFRAIN OF THE ELITE

I consider myself a patient guy but I am starting to get sick and tired of the tirade aginst Anna Hazare not just from the government but also from some common people on Facebook or news channels. The most common refrain you are going to hear consists of high sounding phrases like:

"Anna is trying to threaten and jeopardize the Democratic foundations of our country by subverting the constitutional authority and supremacy of the Parliament and its elected representatives"...

To this I say, WHAT THE HECK...Will you just shut up...I mean...can these people even hear what they sound like..?

I believe that most of the people who are towing this line are the kind who derive pleasure from sounding elitist or the ones whose beliefs have been deeply affected by the first few lines of 'If' by Rudyard Kipling..Awesome poem though..The first few lines go:

If you can keep your head when all about you 

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; 

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, 

But make allowance for their doubting too; 

The poem then goes on to list a lot of If, If, and If and finally says that "Then You'll be a Man My son". I would highly recommend this if you haven't read it.

But yeah, some of these opposers of Anna Hazare are almost as smug in their knowledge of the 'constitutional discourse' and the 'purview of law' and they are drawn to think that :

a.) All about them people are losing their head but they gotta keep calm.

b.) They have to trust themselves but make allowance for our doubting...ahh...we the lesser mortals...

I bet that at times, they recall the poem under their breaths repeatedly when Anna supporters go from saying "You are anti-Indian" to "Screw you moron". Someone please tell them that guys, give us all a break. 

Stop behaving like you are a Public administrator or a responsible spokesman and thinking that your words are too precious to be the same as what everyone is saying. Stop deriving pleasure in the knowledge of being different and "Having my own viewpoint which the constitutional democracy of the Republic of India, founded in the year AD 1950, of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, entitles me too."

In short, Guys, Cut the crap....!!!

THE REAL PROBLEM: THE MONSTER THAT GOES ALL THE WAY DOWN

I don't think it has been sufficiently explained to some people that now this problem is not just about the Lokpal bill. The point that is to be put across are:

1. People will not tolerate a government which is openly trying to condone corruption and behave in a dictatorial way in face of public opinion.

2. They will not accept the tarnishing of image of any person or organizatiosn which seems to be protesting against it.

3.They will not tolerate the way it is trying to influence public opinion and suppress voices by the use of state machinery.

We are sick of always feeling helpless and drained at the thought of corruption and what it will take to change this situation.I have seen conditions first hand when many a times local politicians and their goons try to influence the work that our organisation is performing at Project sites. If you have to work in 'their area' then you have to award them the work contract, they will then promptly collect the bills but will not deploy required manpower or machinery for the job. Either our management has to somehow accommodate these 'contingency expenses' or bear the brunt for delaying the project due to their 'un-accommodating attitude'.

This same situation can be exactly replicated in every single corruption scenario by merely replacing the characters and situations. 

Nothing happens against the corrupt and people just pile money for God-Knows-What..

Now, Corruption not only leads to loss of money or a few inconveniences when you pay your bills or challans. Sample this:

Corruption at the root level and rural areas has ensured that despite the sanctioning of crores and crores of Rupees, we still have parts in this country which are completely inaccessible.Funds are sanctioned for opening up of primary schools, digging of tube wells, harvesting of rain water, repair of roads, setting up of healthcare centers and myriad such schemes...

A village somewhere deep in India's tribal belt

BUT, Our hierarchically corrupt system meant for disbursement ensures that there is siphoning off of the funds at every level with the shares neatly divided on the basis of designations. The money never reaches there where it is intended to.. 

The result is that a huge percentage of our population remains illiterate, malnourished, without healthcare, without civilization and without the hope of ever having a better life.

The result is that the lands of our farmers remain parched, the meagre production they manage rots in godowns, prices come down and so do their hopes of seeing another spring. The farmer kills his little kids, his wife and hangs himself. Or quite simply, just hangs himself and leaves behind a wife who would probably sell her 12 year old daughter to the highest bidder...for a 100 Rupee note perhaps.

Naxalite training camp in Chattisgarh

The result is that this forgotten and lost race of people loses all faith in the government and the system and rises in arms against it and we get another suave point of discussion to count as a threat to our country, We call it 'internal strife' and feel good that Mr. P Chidambaram also thinks so.

The result is that the hopeless youth from these forgotten lands deserts its rural areas and head for the urban areas where, unable to cope with their surroundings, these people take to petty crimes or survive by indulging in the most menial of jobs.  They become what we, the common people would call the "filth of the city".

It doesn't stop here. A filthy and unimaginable amount of money flows into the wrong hands, the hands of people who are ready to kill their conscience. They are the same people who are ready to kill and destroy a family if an upright person tries to become the whistle-blower.

They are the same people who are ready to deal in things like drugs and human trafficking because our weak and corrupt system allows for it.

They are the same people who wield enough power to commit unimaginable crimes and get away with it,  Buy their way out of 'Accidental' genocides,( Read Bhopal Gas tragedy), Shoot a model who refuses to be accomodating, Burn a woman's body inside a tandoor, sell and buy little girls for money. Rape, loot and kill with a free will...

All because if you got money and power, the system will support you.

I know I may have gone a little too far into portraying this last paragraph but whatever, call me unreasonable, but I feel like suffocating everytime I think about the agony of those hundreds and thousands of little children, girls, women and men who have suffered directly or indirectly because of corruption...because "Iss desh mein aisa hi hota hai".

This disease of corruption, this invincibility of the rich, this disconnect of the high and mighty, this is what has brought us to this level.

Don't you see that "democratic discourse and constitutional framework" holds no value to these people  who were probably among the first to rally on the call of Mahatma Gandhi and the leaders of freedom struggle.

Peasants, tribals, lower castes, poor artisans, the lowest of the low who gave their hearts and hands for the independence of this country. These peasant farmers and tribals of this country have a long history of uprisings and revolt against the British.

I frankly don't care if I have to bribe my way out of a condition that is a problem or even a little inconvenience to my family or a loved one.

But I do care, and I say so with the utmost sincerity, I do care when the same corruption becomes the reason that so many of my countrymen still have to live like worms and maggots.

And I will stand with whoever becomes a voice against it, I don't give a damn if its extra-constitutional or subverts the Parliament. I don't care if he is being intransigent by demanding complete fulfillment of his demands. I don't care if it turns out to be right in the end or wrong.

All I know is that, here's this chance, one that will probably not come in another lifetime, to stand in our own little ways for pressurizing the government to pass a bill, that will finally strike fear of law in the hearts of every single individual who is a part of this chain of madness.

And if all you care for is to discuss the rights and wrongs and the clauses of the constitution that this goes against, then please take a bow and spare us the non-believer talk for the moment. I fear for the world and my country if it has people like you.I have nothing to say to you.

Baba Ramdev and the tragedy of Indian Democracy.

In a short span of two months we have seen two high-pitched protests against corruption in our country. The first one with its leader Anna Hazare and the second one by Baba Ramdev.
While the two had the same core motive, there has been a huge difference in the way it finally turned out.

THE COOLNESS FACTOR: ENGLISH & KHADI vs HINDI & SAFFRON 

The initial supporters of Anna Hazare were mostly the well- educated, urban youngsters who did a great job of perpetrating it to the normal masses too. This movement was fought as much on the streets as on Facebook and e-mails. It was clearly well-planned, well-explained and had a feel of the educated protest in defiance of a government. It gained its followers in thousands as soon as it became viral on facebook. Online petitions were signed and most imprtantly, the media was out with full coverage taking in the words of its very credible backers. It not only had a Khadi clad Gandhian worker as its leader but also IPS and IAS officers in its wake.


It appealed to the easily mouldable intellect of the young generation that is in colleges and schools around the world. There were candle protests, peaceful marches, petitions and it became hugely 'Cool' to follow Anna.


The difference in the Ramdev movement was quite simply, the base of its supporters. Its main support was mainly the lower middle class which lives in rural and semi urban towns of this country. It is made up of those people who chiefly read Hindi newspapers, write in broken english wrought with grammatical mistakes and of course, would not understand any rhetoric or implied logic.


If you were to make them read this description of their movement, they would cringe on the supposed violation of their dignity..."How can he say that I don't know English"??


What was unfortunate was that Baba Ramdev couldn't cover much ground with the youth as well as the urban middle class. There was mockery and plain ridicule hurled at the intentions of the Godman leader, the basis for which was the cliched afterthoughts that we have come to associate with anyone going on a political stage.


"He has 1100 crores of property, or is it 11000 crores"
"He has political interests and is guided by the saffron brigade"
"He should stick to his yoga and not try to enter politics"


That is where this movement lost its battle with the media. It was shunned by most of the big English newspapers with the coverage taking the colors of a high drama. This was accompanied by the careful sowing of doubts regarding his intentions. As soon as the movement started, Digvijay Singh had the job of maligning him and give fodder for the debate on the "Real intentions of Baba Ramdev".
This further alienated the youth and the urban middle classes who will especially not attach themselves with something that is not 'Cool' to follow.

THE INTRANSIGENCE AND BETRAYAL

What has happened in the evening of 05/06/2011 between Baba Ramdev and Kapil Sibal is quite clearly stated by 'The Hindu' in this story
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2077392.ece

He was clearly out played by Kapil Sibal when after giving him the assurance for written action, he judged it wise to show off the hand written letter which stated that he would break the fast on Saturday itself. This because of the assurance that the Govt. will accept his demands.


This story was allowed to be propagated while Baba Ramdev fumed over the 'betrayal'.
Now...Had the protest continued this morning, Baba Ramdev would have continued his fast alongwith loud protest on the betrayal by the government. There would have been media coverage and more support from the supporters because of the alleged duping of their Godman leader.




Instead, A Rapid Action Force swept down on the Ramlila Maidan in the middle of the night at 01:00 A.M. and the central point of the protest was quickly dismantled and broken.
What is surprising this morning that none of the wide circulation English newspapers carry this story as of much importance. There is no talk about how this incident is appalling to the sense of every Indian as the resident of a democratic country. There isn't any talk about the alleged betrayal of the Baba. Instead he was flown down from New Delhi to Dehradun where he was received at the Jolly Grant airport alone, by Uttaranchal officials.


He must be a confused and defeated man at present. The morning has already started with renewal of the tirade against him by Digvijay Singh and Kail Sibal as they have alleged once again that he is a 'face of RSS'. This to ensure that there is no sympathy going his way.
What has happened in the night will forever remain a sad blot on the face of our democracy. We as Indians have always been easy to rule because of our divisions. Division have been on the basis of religion, language and regions. It may well now be on the basis of the "haves" and the "have-nots".


It remains to be seen if anyone comes forward to use this now clear distinction between "Our India" and "Their India". 
What we can expect is loud protest against govt's dictatorial style and complete absence of any statement by the PM, Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi. More allegations against Baba Ramdev and probably an Income Tax enquiry into his assets and endless replays of scenes from last night.

In the meanwhile, the people who came to support him; the farmer, the small shopkeeper, the small time clerk and his wife, they will  return back to the daily grind of their lives as there isn't a leader anymore to take their suppressed protests on to the limelight. This is a meek class of people who will not register its protest by waxing eloquent but will only be interested in getting back to the normal life which now, will seem disturbed by the high pitched activity of last few days. 


Its a sad day for our democracy.

Heartbreaks and a Sad Song

We all have our sad, heart breaking moments in life. I too have had a few. The only problem is that whenever I look at them in retrospect and try to narrate them, they come out a little funny..
They have never been funny to me, but strangely, the moment I start narrating them or putting them in words, It turns into a Raj Kapoor style tragic comedy..(Did I just make a self-congratulatory gesture here..?)


Talking of heart breaks, there are many sorts of heart breaks. They happen to you as a kid, as a little boy, as a teenager, as a grown up, as a student, as a friend, as a friend-turned-lover.
I don't think they hurt or feel so bad to everybody but there must be a lot of people out there who recognize what I mean. They are the kind of heart breaks that keep happening if you have an Over-active and Pseudo-real imagination like mine..


How each one of them can happen to you or happened to me could well be a story unto itself but its still in draft mode besides a lot else..(I just figured it out, thats the problem, just too many things remain in draft mode for me...ohh...the trials and tribulations of a thoughtful human...)


I think the 'bed of pain' part got inspired by 'Always' of Bon Jovi..I haven't done much editing with this but I think this could be a song if I had a band or something..:P
But anyways, for now, we have the lyrics..
I know commenting on Blogspot is a pain but you can use your Gmail ID for that and well...let me know if this is any good..:

WHAT I NEVER SAID

Did i say i dint need you
Did i say i am strong
Did i say i dont waana talk
Did i say i am not alone.


Ages passed and now i'm lying down here 
On this cold flat bed of pain
Feel i was trapped for too long
In memories and that cold rain


When you went away i had no choice
but to let it slip and stop this noise
This voice in my head,this pain in my heart
that says i still need you
Still love you and will never stop.


I had to stop being weak
I had to stop showing these scars
I had to cover these wounds
and tell me that i don't care
and tell me that it'll pass


When I cried I hid behind these smiles
and the little jokes only I could see
When I cried I faced the mirror
and let that reflection laugh back on me




Did i say i dint need you
Did i say i am strong
Did i say i don waana talk
Did i say i am not alone.




This may sound more painful than one can ever feel in retrospect, but I guess this was the immediate aftermath, so not much help there in keeping it sobered..


I would love to explain the feelings behind those lines and put some more work into it.. Suggestions at modifications are welcome..Please feel free to help me out..

The story was never perfect

Today I have been feeling a bit sad..

Sad for things that I haven't ever talked about..

I have been trying..trying really hard...right since the time I remember..

Most things haven't come easy to me. I have struggled and still struggle at times with gnawing Self-doubt. I have overcome it at times and always, always blamed things that went wrong on 'This is how it was meant to happen'.

I don't know if all that I perceive as being wrong is really wrong...No its not...

But this feeling doesn't go away tonight..I wish I could just wish it away...

The story was never perfect...

Splasssshhhh....Water...Cold...Very cold...He could almost feel it on his numb face...

Distant voices...

"Wake him up...get him to speak...WAKE HIM UP"

He had always loved the feel of cold water on his face..So cold that it stopped the breath midway to his lungs...choking him....but never enough to take him the whole way...

That was what he loved about water..

A glimpse into another world, just a glimpse...

It would engulf his face for that one flowing instant and take him into another dimension, devoid of all thought, and then leave him gasping..

Distant voices again...closer to his head now...

A crackling sound..coming closer...Electric clamps...He feels it...

Sounds like those leaves under his feet...But it was in another world..in another time..

"This should jolt him back"

"We don't have much time. He is the only one who knows it"

Then it hits..A shock to every living tissue in his body..His body resists but it shakes him like a dead leaf...

"Is he back......Is he awake..??"

Flashback... 

Beginnings in a New Land

ALL SET FOR CONNECTING TO THE MATRIX

To most of my friends, this will come as news that I am writing this post from BHEL's housing colony at Rabak, Sudan.
Just yesterday I finally got everything ready for setting up my own net connection. The Telecommunication network here is running 3.75G which means the speeds are not annoying...:)

MY LOCATION ON THE MAP

SUDAN- CONFLICTS AND HOPE

Sudan is a country in Northern Africa just south to Egypt. Its recent history in the 20th century has been scarred by the differences between the North and South. 
These are the differences which if left to their own, would only have been diversities but were aggravated by the policies of the British rule which has given the world some of the worst and most enduring conflicts of modern history.
The Israel-Palestine conflict, India-Pakistan partition are just a few examples of that legacy. There policies must have been adopted as a part of administering the diverse territories that the British held and its cannot be said with certainty that the English administrators could have foreseen these conflicts.


Coming back to Sudan, North Sudan came to embrace Islam following the Turkish Ottoman occupation in the 19th century. South Sudan, on the other hand, retained most of its indigenous semi-nomadic tribal identity. Both parts were administerd as separate provinces under the Anglo-Egyptian rule until its independence in 1956.
After independence, the country has undegone two bloody civil wars over the North-South conflict arising out of the desire to 'Arabize' the south. While Northerners favor the introduction of Islamic Sharia law in the country, it is stubbornly opposed by the Southerners.
The modern history of Sudan can be viewed as a classic case study of conflicts in the 20th century with the communist-capitalist divide, religion based divides, regional divides and parliamentarian vs dictatorial divide, all having played some role over the years.
You can find more information on the internet and is highly recommended.


Inspite of its bloody history that also involved the genocidal Darfur conflict, the country has been taken on a right path under the millitary based leadership. The referendum held in January 2011 showed that an overwhelming majority wants South Sudan as a separate country. It has been declared that July 9th, 2011 may well be the formation date for the world's newest country.
Already, migration has started between the two regions which, fortunately, has been bloodless unlike the 1947 partition of Indian subcontinent. Maybe, there is only as much bloodshed that a generation can take. But it is a hugely positive development.


While North Sudan will be a quite self sufficient country with dependable infrastructure, the South on the other hand, will be an impoverished nation with challenges similar to the ones faced by Nehru- Gandhi's India after independence. We atleast, had the physical and political infrastructure left by the British while the new country will have a plenty of work at its hand to ensure respectable lives for its citizens.
It is history in the making, and I wish that both nations will tread their separate path towards development.

THE DESIGNS THAT BROUGHT ME HERE

 THIS IS WHY I AM HERE....

Now coming to my presence in Sudan, I am posted here alongside 40 other BHEL employees who are bulding a 125 X 4 MW Oil based power plant. The major portion of the cost of this project is being shared by the Govt. of India. BHEL is the EPC (Enginnering, Procurement, Construction) contractor for the project. 

This basically means that the National Electricity Corporation of Sudan has provided us with a piece of land and all the other work for the project from Civil construction to Final commissioning is in our scope. A German consultant, Fichtner Stuggart Gmbh is providing know how to the Sudanese authorities.
The above shot of the power plant shows that its in a pretty skeletal condition at this time. It will take at least a few more months before my work can start in the earnest. Till then, I will be kept busy by other nuisances like planning, documentation etc. I haven't started enjoying this MANAGEMENT part of things yet, but this project will surely give me a taste of that.

A MAVERICK'S LIFE

I will update this blog with my experiences gradually. Today is a friday, and as this is an Islamic country, its a weekend here. My mind and body still has to work around the tedious job of not assuming Sunday as a weekend.
But I am doing most of my cleaning today.
There are local products available in the market here. The workforce mainly comprises of BHEL's Indian and Chinese sub-contractors. Shopkeepers are especially happy to recognize you as Indians here because they insist on Indian products which are sold a little costlier.

TIDE SAFEDI and CINTHOL..:)

Here you can see the good old tide and Cinthol Fresh that i  bought from the market. Tide for 4 Sudani Dirham..thats 76 INR and Cinthol for 2.50 SDG..thats around 40 INR.
A little extra cost I guess.

MY ROOM

Here's a shot of my room. We have office hours from 8 to 8 with a 2 hr lunch break. We come back and play a few games of volleyball in the evenings and at times basketball in the weekends. Basketball can only be played in the weekends as the court is at a distance from our campus. Me and a few other friends are planning to persuade our people to construct one right here..:) Life is pretty simple here. People around are simple minded and good to talk to. Maybe i can learn Arabic. Its not easy to learn but I so much want to. Lets see, maybe a year down the line I can speak some.

BHEL HOUSING...They're all meant to be temporary structures..:P

Life takes you to places and experiences you never imagined. Sitting with my college friends on the hostel roof at nights, back in 2008, I had never thought i would be in someplace like this. But as i say, I have had the privilege of living in some of the most non-descript places back in my country and i guess the pattern continues outside the border too..:)

But i am happy with things that have been happening around. Upheavals, traumas, travels, feelings, friends and goodbyes.
More on this sometime later. 
Till then....Goodbye.
Be well and healthy all of you..
Look for each and every opportunity of Peace, Adventure, Romance and Love. Pursue them with all your passion as best as you can..Life would be so much more exciting then.