A Grand Show, Full Stop.

This year’s 26^th November in Mumbai was akin to 26^th January in New Delhi. Parades were held on the streets of Mumbai showing the city’s courage, solidarity, spirit and things like that. (Wait, I am not out to demean anything or anyone here!) The first anniversary of the Battle for Bombay was celebrated with pomp and glory. It was a very solemn-yet-feel-good show for the city. While corporate banners hogged their share of the limelight, TV prime time was also apparently bought out by them. Not bad for the economy. Not bad at all.

But the question remains, what did we intend to achieve by doing this? Merely pass on a message to the perpetrators of terrorism to invade us time and again without any retaliation from us except for a show of solidarity here and a candle march there? I mean, do we seriously believe that they care about all this! Where is the action taken to prevent such attacks? Ah, how can I forget the brand new commando team, laden with the latest of armour and provided world-class training to protect this city! But behold, lest we fool ourselves into thinking that a commando team can prevent such attacks in the future. No, it cannot ‘prevent’ an attack. It can only ‘react’ to an attack ‘after’ it has been launched. This means that by the time they react, a few more of this city’s sons and daughters will have to face the bullets from across the border. So how do we ‘prevent’ such attacks from across the border?

This is exactly where the problem lies: ‘from across the border’. Now this is interesting:
We know who did it.
We know where they hide.
We know where they train and prepare.
We have enough bombs to bury them into their graves.
We know their government is making fun of us.
We know they ought to be scared shit of our military might.
BUT WE DON’T KNOW HOW TO DEFEND OURSELVES EVEN AFTER PROVISIONING SUCH A HUGE DEFENCE BUDGET!

And this is the sad thing about the whole thing. Our government simply lacks the guts to hunt down criminals who continue to kill for no justified reason. Recently, I discovered from a news portal that our government then never had the intention of bombing the training camps spread all over PoK. Why? Because it feared that the offensive might turn into a full-fledged war with Pakistan.

My questions:
Have we not claimed since time immemorial that PoK is our territory?
Have we not built a military for the very purpose of tackling such enemies?
Is our military not raring to go and bury the enemy in its own soil?
So why this fear?!
And if the fear of a war with Pakistan is stopping us from raiding our own territory in search of our enemies, we should rather withdraw our claims over PoK and accept the hard fact that the LoC is indeed the border between India and Pakistan. And even if we do this, we will still have to defend our ‘remaining’ territories against all sorts of offensives. If our government is afraid of war, why do we have a military in the first place? Of course, we undoubtedly have a military force capable of protecting us. But the point is, we feed it, we pay it, we fund the lives of our soldiers, their children, their families, and we do appreciate their bravery with all our hearts. So, if we can stupidly decide to send this very military to Sri Lanka to gun down her enemies, why can we not take the wise decision to use it to gun down our enemies? Time and again, our political leadership renews its threats to Pakistan to ‘behave or face the consequences’. What consequences? Have we ever shown them a sample of the so-called consequences? By now, such statements have become the laughing stock of not only our enemies but even our own citizens who just smile at such headlines and shake their heads in disagreement. I wonder why our media accords any importance to such statements which are no more than mere political stunts.

Agreed, that war is not a desirable situation for anyone in his or her right mind. But here, no-war is becoming more dangerous than war itself. A quick look at the statistics in Kashmir reveals that we have lost more heads during ‘peace time’ than during ‘war time’. Have learnt our lessons from this?

Agreed, that once we bomb these training camps in PoK, China will probably open up a new front and become an immediate threat. Fine. So we choose to hold back and let these camps flourish without fear. And what is the final outcome?
1. China continues to remain a threat;
2. The terrorists continue to kill our innocents;
3. We continue our show of solidarity; and
4. We continue to feel helpless.

Let me tell you something:

If a powerful enemy wages a war on a country of a billion and that country falls short of men to hit back because its citizens refuse to put their lives on the line to protect their freedom, then such citizens do not deserve their freedom in the first place. They deserve to be the slaves of those who fight and win for their country. Sooner or later, this is bound to happen lest we all wake up and show our enemies what stuff we’re made up of. And if we ain’t made up of such stuff, why should our soldiers, who’re made up of it, waste their lives for our sake?

For whom do we work?

(This one isn't exactly for the self-employed)

It came up in a discussion with someone yesterday. I think it changes with time.

When we get our first job, we work for the excitement of doing a new job, of exploring a new world, learning the tricks of the trade. And, of course, to boast about working for a famous organisation, if it is so.

Then enters the money matters scenario (unless your Dad's rich enough to not let you bother about it). We start comparing ourselves with peers or ex-classmates and ex-colleagues and decide that we deserve more. So we start working for the money.

Over a period of time comes the realisation that if the boss remains happy, money is guaranteed. So we start working for the boss. This is where most of us lose control over our careers and gladly hand over the charge to the boss.

And when we develop experience and expertise, with it comes the confidence that ultimately it is we who matter. At this stage, we start working for ourselves, for OUR satisfaction, for OUR delights, for taking up newer challenges that excite US, for giving OURSELVES a sense of achievement. This is what I believe the stage of self-motivation.

I think I am at this stage now and cannot guess what lies beyond. So let me enjoy it while it lasts. I shall let you know when I will realise that I have enetred the next stage.

Life seems to be looking up...

On the work front, life seems to be looking up. New roles. New responsibilities. New opportunities to grow. Feels real good after a looooong time! I was starting to feel like taking a short break from the daily routine. But then, as I said earlier, man proposes, boss disposes. Suddenly I have been involved in a good project that I'm loving working on. Maybe because its a friend's dream project and I seem to sneaking into a significant role in it. I am really thirsting some real challenge in this one. Let's see how it turns out.

On the home front, it ain't life as usual. Mom's off to a wedding in Jodhpur and from there she plans to go to Ahmedabad for a month or so. She loves being there but we do miss her here. And since my kid's having a vacation, wife's off to my in-laws till the weekend. So, though I usually enjoy such short breaks as a bachelor, I am somehow not coming to enjoy it this time around. Maybe because I haven't played enough carrom with my kid this vacation.

Aah..!!! How can I forget this...saw some amazing snaps of Mumbai-Lonavala trip of my in-laws yesterday. The pix simply rock! The credit goes to all my elderly in-laws who went adventurous for the shutter-bug even at a ripe age. Also saw some first-hand snaps of the famous Amby Valley. The place looks grand but not as impressive as the promos showed it to be. I think the trick is that they have built things larger than life and that's what the hype is all about. It has six swings hung onto very tall piers. Then it has a massive chariot pulled by four roaring lions, again larger than life. And then it has a dam built within its expanse to create a big lake. And that's about it. But it all looks good for a one-day picnic which is surely not worth a trip all the way from Mumbai.

And thus, a lonely life goes on without much worth describing happening in it.

a day wasted, thanks to a chameleon...

Sometimes, we start a day with great hope and end up in utter disgust. It truly hurts when respectable gentlemen, who have behaved like friends so far, suddenly start showing no qualms while white-lying. Such was the experience that awaited me today in Ahmedabad. I regret that I am unable to disclose details about the incident due to professional reasons else I would have shared this experience with you all to inarguably demonstrate the depths to which sometimes even the very highly placed people plunge themselves.

I spent my entire evening thinking of the day's incidents. When I left Rajkot today morning for Ahmedabad, I was in a pretty good mood. So because an important assignment awaited me down the hours. But strangely, things kept on going wrong at every step, almost as if destiny was trying to foretell the remains of the day. Not that all these events were related to each other but somehow I sincerely wish that something should have gone right today; something that would have made my waking up today worthwhile. Not that I detest failures - of course they are a part and parcel of our lives. But failure due to somebody else's betrayal or cowardice is somehow unpalatable, however, predictable such behaviour may have been.

a solemn but peaceful morning...

Just crossed Surendranagar, in air-conditioned comfort, on my way to Rajkot, the magical place where I was born. And so was my sister, who later discovered her Knight in Shining Armour in this very city and they continue to live happily since then.

Sadly, the Knight is grieving for the moment. He has lost his beloved father two mornings ago and I am on my way to be with him in his moment of grief. I honestly wanted to be with him on the very same day the tragedy befell on him. But destiny somehow always manages to have other plans. Sometimes I fight back, sometimes I simply can't. This was one of the 'can'ts'. Having an important Court Date on the coming Wednesday and having a lot of paperwork to be done simply didn't allow me to fight back. And again for the same reason, I can't be with him for more than twenty-four hours. Have to be back on Wednesday morning to face the black coats. Life's like that.

And this brings back to me the never-forgotten memories of my father who lived a life so proper, I simply do not know how will I ever stand up to his stature. He lived without regrets and his heart betrayed him even before he could know of it. Coincidentally surrounded by his entire family in his final moments on a Sunday evening, he made as peaceful an exit as he had led his existence.

Not for a fleeting moment have I forgotten him since that second Sunday of May this year. But, at the moment, I am burdened with the 'elderly' responsibility of concealing the facts about my true feelings about him. Unlike him, I do have my regrets. I regret not having asked him whether I had been a good son (to which I am sure he would have replied in the affirmative just because he was one who would never hurt anyone). I regret having asked him whether there is anything I could do for him (this one would have been answered in the negative because expectations were never on his agenda). I regret not being able to give him as good a life as he deserved. Destiny had been unfair with him on almost every count. But he neither complained nor held any grudges. In my view, he led an almost divine existence which very few manage to achieve. I am still unable to fathom his greatness. I am saying this not because he was 'my' father but because he actually walked this planet without being a burden on it. He returned far more to life than what he took from it. I can only strive to be worthy of the good life that he left behind for me. I can only pray to the Almighty to give me the kind of strength that my father had embodied within himself. Only then will I be able to put up a contented face when I face him up there.

A hectic day!

An unexpectedly hectic day awaited me at the office today. Not that I hate it but I always love being prepared for things. But, as the adage ought to go: man proposes, boss disposes!

In fact, it was after a very, very long time that I missed my lunch time. No regrets, however. At my age (and size), its never a bad option to procrastinate calorie consumption as long as I can. But the hunger pangs finally got onto me at 4.30 pm when I brought out my 'khakhras' and Shashank made my day by offering a can full of curd which he hadn't consumed for reasons unexplained.

One thing that I noticed today was the sheer energy with which everybody seemed to throw himself/herself at the work in hand. It was a delight to see a lively bunch of colleagues at work. Nothing beats the feeling that it gives to someone who has longed to be 'really' busy.

Nothing great happened otherwise and here I am signing off for the day.

A double whammy for me - 1) neerav.in finally goes online, and 2) the past finally meets the present for a better future...

What an ecstatic feeling it is to finally have one's own website with one's own domain name go online!

More than the launch of the website itself, it is my satisfaction with the way the site looks that brings real joy to a wandering mind like mine. My sincerest thanks to two of my dearest friends for getting this site up. I cannot name one of them due to reasons of professional complications and I do not wish to name only one of them. However, I can never express enough gratitude to both of them for their efforts in executing the site's idea to my fullest satisfaction.

An equally ecstatic moment came yesterday when five of us (Sandesh Bhingarde, Durgesh Honnemadi, the undersigned, Jayesh Kothari - the ex-students of Model College, Dombivli, and my friend, Kishan Sata) conducted a somewhat interactive Career Guidance session for 70 students of TYB.Com and M.Com from our alma mater. Though I wasn't in the best of forms, Durgesh, Sandesh and Kishan did pull it off very well. I hope that we have been able to give a pretty good start to this long-awaited exercise. The students did interact after some coercion by Durgesh and we were quite satisfied with the beginning of this new chapter in the Alumni-Student relationship. And now, begins the real challenge - to get them the right guidance based on the feedback forms returned to us.

Contrary to my personal judgement, the feedback forms have thrown up a surprise - almost half of the participating students have shown a preference for joining a government job! Not that I am against people taking up government jobs, but what concerns me is that several of them, potentially capable of doing far better in their professional capacities, have displayed a willingness to accept seniority-based growth compared to a merit-based one. It is indeed disturbing that almost 50% of them are unwilling to take the risk of working for the private sector. For me, this is a direct indication of lack of self-confidence among today's generation. I pray to God to help them realise that as many as half a nation's population cannot be employed to run any country's administration. How could any nation afford this? It is like a company having as many staff members as it has customers! How can it cover the costs without paying from its pockets? The equation simply doesn't seem to fit in.

Maybe I am wrong but I am definitely disturbed. And fortunately, I think I still have enough time on hand to make the more worthy of them change their minds after their forthcoming Aptitude Test, the date for which I hope to announce shortly.

May the force be with me. And with them too!