Its the first time that I sit and write an obituary. Its the first time that I should write an obituary.
The loss itself is so big that I can never put it in words. Its a void which can (i guess) filled by none. I still remember the first time I saw you and immediately at that moment I said to myself,"this is it. what I have been searching for, I have finally found" It wasn't easy but still decided to take up the challenge and woo you & ultimately the day did come when I could hold you in my hands!
Acceptance and appreciation, were not in shortage when you were around. I looked at the world in a different colour through you. You shaded me at times when it was unbearable. Silently, being with you boosted my confidence. There were innumerable times when you protected me from prospective injuries and I failed a couple of times when I had to. But trust me when I say, when you were hurt, so were I.
This time too I failed. Failed, miserably! I didn't have my attention on you and the moment came which could have been avioided, but if only for my forgetfulness. I cannot say I left you behind or you left, both of them mean the same pain, which can never be erased.
I will miss you my darling!
Polaroid Sunglasses (February 2008- January 2010)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Lal Salaam!
I read last night about the loss of Jyoti Basu, undoubtedly who along with Vajpayee is among the last “good breed” of leaders we have left in our country. Unfortunately I couldn’t catch up with the news as tired body pushed me to sleep. However as I woke up today morning I couldn’t stop myself from watching the news, so much so that I decided against going for the first lecture. (anywhich ways watching and learning about Jyoti Basu was much better than Virus, no comparison actually!)
I caught up with news and thankfully NDTV was running a re-telecast of their special show on Jyoti Basu with all top leaders and thinkers joining in to share their thoughts. Pranab Mukherjee, Buddhadeb, Sitaram Yechury, N Ram, Tarun Das and Amartya Sen shared their views on the leader whom they unanimously called “the greatest” in the post independence era!
The program began with visuals of how Bimon Roy came out and announced the sad news. Choked he was and so was everyone else after having heard the news. Wailing people and shouts of Lal Salaam echoed around, as news persons gathered each and every visual that they could. They would have succeeded to make a news with just a simple one liner about the loss. That was the power of the leader which brought me to think about what exactly would you define a leader as, what are the characteristics?
Jyoti Basu was a Leader to everyone. He was a man of Principles who always weighed the Principles set by his comrades above his own preferences. That’s why he didn’t become the Prime Minister when he was invited him to, as his party decided against it. His thoughts though communist were never against the development of the region where he came from. The charisma that he had, would just not be confined to his people but also to his critics and media. In the words of Pranab Mukherjee,”He would definitely have been a good Prime Minister.” In the words of the media,”He was a man who complemented them for our efforts.” That is the reason why today we sit and notice the loss of this great man, who went on to become the longest serving Chief Minister of any state in India. At a time when we find it difficult to have a mandate for a single term, here was a guy who led his state for 2 decades! He was truly a Regional Leader of National stature.
What was also noteworthy was his ability to understand when to exit. Just yesterday, we had a senior person from the industry who came for a lecture and told us that as important it is to venture into something, one should also know when to exit. Abhimanyu in Mahabharta is a fine example of someone who knew only to enter but not to exit. Thankfully Jyoti Basu was no Abhimanyu. He quit from his post and handed over the reins to Budhhadeb in a perfectly timed move which gave him good enough time to prove himself before the elections. This helped him come back to power.
The equations have however changed since then and the Communists are falling into the deep gorge from where revival would only be termed as a miracle. Could Jyoti Basu’s exit give them that miracle? Could they ride on the wave of emotions after his demise to improve their standing in general public. Even if they do, I don’t see that running for long for Jyoti Basu’s leadership has taught the masses in Bengal to think what is right and reject what is wrong in their own ways. That’s the reason we saw unrest in Singur to initiatives led by the same Government whom they had voted to power 7 times in a row.
Jyoti Basu’s death reminded me of an update I had read recently on Facebook,which said "after your death you leave behind your children and what google says about you." Well in case of Jyoti Basu Google might fall short of words because that’s the level of reach that he had with his masses which can never be summed up by anyone. That’s a True Leader!
We will miss you Jyoti Basu for they don’t make them like you, anymore!
R.I.P. Jyoti Basu. Lal Salaam!
I caught up with news and thankfully NDTV was running a re-telecast of their special show on Jyoti Basu with all top leaders and thinkers joining in to share their thoughts. Pranab Mukherjee, Buddhadeb, Sitaram Yechury, N Ram, Tarun Das and Amartya Sen shared their views on the leader whom they unanimously called “the greatest” in the post independence era!
The program began with visuals of how Bimon Roy came out and announced the sad news. Choked he was and so was everyone else after having heard the news. Wailing people and shouts of Lal Salaam echoed around, as news persons gathered each and every visual that they could. They would have succeeded to make a news with just a simple one liner about the loss. That was the power of the leader which brought me to think about what exactly would you define a leader as, what are the characteristics?
Jyoti Basu was a Leader to everyone. He was a man of Principles who always weighed the Principles set by his comrades above his own preferences. That’s why he didn’t become the Prime Minister when he was invited him to, as his party decided against it. His thoughts though communist were never against the development of the region where he came from. The charisma that he had, would just not be confined to his people but also to his critics and media. In the words of Pranab Mukherjee,”He would definitely have been a good Prime Minister.” In the words of the media,”He was a man who complemented them for our efforts.” That is the reason why today we sit and notice the loss of this great man, who went on to become the longest serving Chief Minister of any state in India. At a time when we find it difficult to have a mandate for a single term, here was a guy who led his state for 2 decades! He was truly a Regional Leader of National stature.
What was also noteworthy was his ability to understand when to exit. Just yesterday, we had a senior person from the industry who came for a lecture and told us that as important it is to venture into something, one should also know when to exit. Abhimanyu in Mahabharta is a fine example of someone who knew only to enter but not to exit. Thankfully Jyoti Basu was no Abhimanyu. He quit from his post and handed over the reins to Budhhadeb in a perfectly timed move which gave him good enough time to prove himself before the elections. This helped him come back to power.
The equations have however changed since then and the Communists are falling into the deep gorge from where revival would only be termed as a miracle. Could Jyoti Basu’s exit give them that miracle? Could they ride on the wave of emotions after his demise to improve their standing in general public. Even if they do, I don’t see that running for long for Jyoti Basu’s leadership has taught the masses in Bengal to think what is right and reject what is wrong in their own ways. That’s the reason we saw unrest in Singur to initiatives led by the same Government whom they had voted to power 7 times in a row.
Jyoti Basu’s death reminded me of an update I had read recently on Facebook,which said "after your death you leave behind your children and what google says about you." Well in case of Jyoti Basu Google might fall short of words because that’s the level of reach that he had with his masses which can never be summed up by anyone. That’s a True Leader!
We will miss you Jyoti Basu for they don’t make them like you, anymore!
R.I.P. Jyoti Basu. Lal Salaam!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
What goes around, INDEED comes around!
Many asked why I had not updated my blog as yet, well this one is for them!
College started a week after the New Year and the first day was supposed to be a good one, all because it had only one lecture! According to seniors feedbacks the prof was witty and had sharp one liners. However the taxing part for me was, is and would be, is that there are a handful of subject related to finance! Gosh I should go to "Raaz Pichle Janam Ka" to try and understand why this phobia with numbers! Anyways had that in mind since last few days, duh, not to go to "Raaz...." but the fact that there are so many subjects of Finance in this semester. It has been running constantly in my mind. However, one of the Finance lecture has been made optional for the Marketing guys and vice versa. So today, Saturday, gives me a chance to come home by 4/4:30 because of the optional lecture Finance lecture.
As I got into home today, there was a bit of an excitement to sit with my laptop and the newly installed Wi-Fi at home. However with a few project presentations coming up in the week ahead I wasn't too sure if this was a welcome back home feeling! Besides the fact that I also have 3 lectures tomorrow right from 8:30 in the morning to 6:30 in the evening and of the 3, two are Finance. Mom's handmade sumptuous lunch was too heavy and the hunger only complimented to it. So off went into my stomach, Pulav and Raita and before it would have been difficult for me to get up and walk by myself, I decided to get up from the dining table.
Coming back to my room after a hard days work is indeed one of the best part and so is the bathroom! :D I relaxed on my bed and picked up the little Lenovo and settled to check my mails. I fell asleep and I didn't just realise when!
All that I remember from the dreams is that I was enjoying them and didn't want to wake myself! However the 3 lectures and more over the 2 Finance lectures in it didnt make that feeling the most desired and I got up to realise it was 6:41! WTF! I am late to college and the lecture which I dread the most starts in 2 hours and how would I reach college now? I wondered how come mom missed out on waking me and that terrible feeling only got worse! So I picked up my phone and called mom and (like every other woman) she answered the call only by the second last ring! "Amma I have college, why didn't you wake me!"
Amma : Oh you got college ah? (with a hint of sarcasm)
I was worried now, is it that me being an MBA student at MET, all a part of the DREAM itself? Huh? I just shook myself and in the meanwhile I heard a laughing voice open & enter my room. It was mom and I really couldn't understand why she felt like laughing at a situation which demanded actions immediately and she repeated the same question, "Oh you got college ah?" (with that typical mallu accent)to which I replied with a hint of irritation, "How many ever times you ask me this question my answer wouldn't change." She still couldn't control her laughter and now this was REALLY irritating me!I rolled up the curtains and that sadness which you see around in the morning hours as the sun comes out, was all around, outside my window! My mom slowly controlled her laughter and told me, "Idiot its 6:45 in the evening and you seemed to have got into a real deep sleep!" I have no words to describe how I felt but it instantly took me to a day which must be easily 13 years back if not more when my younger brother Vineet got up in a similar fashion and I actually increased his tension by nodding in agreement and said that he was late for school and the poor fellow started brushing his teeth at 6:45 in the evening! It was the same feeling which he had got 13 years back which I had today!
Indeed, what goes around comes around!
College started a week after the New Year and the first day was supposed to be a good one, all because it had only one lecture! According to seniors feedbacks the prof was witty and had sharp one liners. However the taxing part for me was, is and would be, is that there are a handful of subject related to finance! Gosh I should go to "Raaz Pichle Janam Ka" to try and understand why this phobia with numbers! Anyways had that in mind since last few days, duh, not to go to "Raaz...." but the fact that there are so many subjects of Finance in this semester. It has been running constantly in my mind. However, one of the Finance lecture has been made optional for the Marketing guys and vice versa. So today, Saturday, gives me a chance to come home by 4/4:30 because of the optional lecture Finance lecture.
As I got into home today, there was a bit of an excitement to sit with my laptop and the newly installed Wi-Fi at home. However with a few project presentations coming up in the week ahead I wasn't too sure if this was a welcome back home feeling! Besides the fact that I also have 3 lectures tomorrow right from 8:30 in the morning to 6:30 in the evening and of the 3, two are Finance. Mom's handmade sumptuous lunch was too heavy and the hunger only complimented to it. So off went into my stomach, Pulav and Raita and before it would have been difficult for me to get up and walk by myself, I decided to get up from the dining table.
Coming back to my room after a hard days work is indeed one of the best part and so is the bathroom! :D I relaxed on my bed and picked up the little Lenovo and settled to check my mails. I fell asleep and I didn't just realise when!
All that I remember from the dreams is that I was enjoying them and didn't want to wake myself! However the 3 lectures and more over the 2 Finance lectures in it didnt make that feeling the most desired and I got up to realise it was 6:41! WTF! I am late to college and the lecture which I dread the most starts in 2 hours and how would I reach college now? I wondered how come mom missed out on waking me and that terrible feeling only got worse! So I picked up my phone and called mom and (like every other woman) she answered the call only by the second last ring! "Amma I have college, why didn't you wake me!"
Amma : Oh you got college ah? (with a hint of sarcasm)
I was worried now, is it that me being an MBA student at MET, all a part of the DREAM itself? Huh? I just shook myself and in the meanwhile I heard a laughing voice open & enter my room. It was mom and I really couldn't understand why she felt like laughing at a situation which demanded actions immediately and she repeated the same question, "Oh you got college ah?" (with that typical mallu accent)to which I replied with a hint of irritation, "How many ever times you ask me this question my answer wouldn't change." She still couldn't control her laughter and now this was REALLY irritating me!I rolled up the curtains and that sadness which you see around in the morning hours as the sun comes out, was all around, outside my window! My mom slowly controlled her laughter and told me, "Idiot its 6:45 in the evening and you seemed to have got into a real deep sleep!" I have no words to describe how I felt but it instantly took me to a day which must be easily 13 years back if not more when my younger brother Vineet got up in a similar fashion and I actually increased his tension by nodding in agreement and said that he was late for school and the poor fellow started brushing his teeth at 6:45 in the evening! It was the same feeling which he had got 13 years back which I had today!
Indeed, what goes around comes around!
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