With a few droplets on my palm

Sitting by a window-side,
Cool breeze rustling across my face.
I think of the bygone days.
With a few droplets on my palm,
With a few droplets on my cheek
I watch the rain flood the street.

A thread flew out of the window
and settled on a tree
It will never be dissolved in the wind,
Just like my memories which will never wither way

pure…white…serene…the memories will always stand out.

With a few droplets on my palm,
With a few droplets on my cheek
I watch the rain flood the street.

I had watched the rain flood the street,
It was a “rainy day” for school.
I remember how my sister made a study table out of bedding
I remember how we sat in our den, in our comfortable surrounding
Reciting and dictating
Fighting and giggling

For one hour I was her teacher,
For another hour I became her student
Pointing out each other’s slightest error gave authority
Counting those red circles on each other’s copy gave satisfaction

When would all break into a game,
Only the guilt of ‘posing’ to study would tell later.

Burying our heads into books
discovering a game in them was tricky.

It got dark
It got confusing
But the game continued,
We pondered
We concentrated like never before
Not a word to be missed
Not a letter to be left
We continued to play
We continued to accuse

Then the rain stopped,
Then the game ended.

The night promised another “Rainy Day”
But the terrible sun rays pierced my window the very next day
It had to be a “school day”

Nudging each other all the way
Taunting each other on the defeat when actually none of us had won the game
She was a “cheater” for me, I was a “loser” for her

Grudgingly we got down from our Auto-Rickshaw

She wouldn’t forget to bid good-bye
I wouldn’t forget to give her a smile.

With a few droplets on my palm,
With a few droplets on my cheek
I would wait to watch the rain flood the street again.

They say I am tied to my memories,
They say I am a prisoner of the past

I smile and say,

        “I remember the people who made me what I am today.”

"Inconsiderate lot"

We all are inconsiderate in some or the other way.... The level at which we are inconsiderate is different. I have been thinking about it and if we look at it, almost all the crimes, big or small, arise from just one thing- inconsideration!


On seeing war documentaries different emotions arise like pity, anger, sadness, depression and pleasure. Pleasure? Yes, you read it correctly. The last type of feeling comes from, what in my parlance is the "inconsiderate" lot.

A man shot in head and blood streaming out or when the head being chopped off and the body falls still wriggling as if life is refusing to go out of it.... There comes a chorus  from the viewers"REWIND"

These are documentaries...footage of the incidents that happened in real life and not fiction. Place yourself in that situation and see your kith and kin being shot right in front of you and then have the guts to say "REWIND".

We don't feel the burns until fire catches our own home.

Textbooks change with change of the CM!

It is illogical but the content of textbooks is changed with the new Chief Minister. Ms. Jayalalithaa is striking off any reference of former CM M.Karunanidhi in school textbooks. A green sheet or a permanent marker id used to struck off the references. However, in the process, the names of many great Tamil scholars are also removed. Even, C.N. Annadurai, the founder of DMK party is also out of the books. Sadly, all this got an administrative approval.

The question is what right do politicians have to add or delete content of textbooks? Politicians can at least spare school children from their vengeance.

Very unfortunately, nobody seems to take this as an important issue. The media is too obsessed with "Anna Hazare".

They say I am a loner..

It was suffocating,
It was tearing me apart.
It was strange for some,
It was sad for friends.

I wanted to talk less,
I wanted others to shut up.
I wanted to be left alone,
I wanted to dig deep into my books.

I was learning to hide
I was learning to lie
I was learning to fake
I was learning to survive

They say I am a loner..

I didn't have any answers
I didn't have any reasons
I didn't have any questions
I didn't have any regrets

I didn't want anyone..

It somehow happened...but that's how I like it now!

एक एहसास . .

मुझे उस रात के अन्धेरे का  इन्तेज़ार रहता है,

जहाँ मेरे चारो ओर कोई नही होता !

उस तम में ना कोई मुझे देख पाता है, ना मैं किसी और को, 

मैं, मैं हो सकती हूँ, कुछ क्षण के लिए ही सही!

वो एहसास जिसमे मैं अपने आप को पहचान पाती हूँ,

ऐसी अनुभूति जिसमे में खुद को औरो से अलग पाती हूँ !

अन्धकार जिसे सब अज्ञानता कि उपमा से दर्शाते हैं,

उस ही रात से बढ़कर मेरा कोई मार्गदर्शक नही !

वो रात का साया मेरे लिए आशा की शहतीर है ,

उसने मेरे अस्तित्व से मेरी पहचान कराई है !

पर फिर वही जालिम रोशनी आ जाती है, 

उसकी पहली किरण वो उत्कृष्ट अनुभव मुझसे छीन ले जाती है !

इस पदार्थवादी दुनिया मे जहाँ सब क्षणभंगुर है,

वो एहसास मेरे लिए सतत है!

कितना व्यंगात्मक है... दुनिया अंधेरे में खो जाती है और मैं रोशनी मे  !  

The changing face of Radio Industry in India

During the time of Independence, radio was an integral part of everyone’s life. Due to the lack of any other motion medium, all the information about the national events reached the people through radio. Popularity of radio was widespread.

Since then, radio has seen many seasons. From Hindi music to English rock music, radio has moved from its old box like look to the basic feature in every cell phone.

Radio broadcasting began in India on an experimental basis. In 1921, Times of India in collaboration with Post and Telegraph started broadcasting a musical programme. In 1930, radio broadcasting started under the Indian Broadcasting Company. After three years, the company was liquidated and the Government took the charge of broadcasting. In 1936, the name changed to All India radio (AIR). It is officially known as Akashvani. AIR is one of the largest radio networks in the world.

In accordance with its motto, Bahujan Hitaya, Bahujan Sukhaya, benefits and happiness of the large section of the people, AIR has always concentrated on information, education and entertainment.

Vividh Bharti service of AIR was started in 1957 to combat Radio Ceylon. It presents a mix of film music, skits, short plays and interactive programmes, Some of the old popular programmes of Vividh Bharati are 'Sangeet Sarita', 'Bhule Bisre Geet', Hawa Mahal, 'Jaimala', 'Inse Miliye', 'Chhaya Geet' etc., are still distinctly recognized by the listeners. Ameen Sayani is referred to as the golden voice of Radio.

For four decades, the Government of India did not allow private radio stations to broadcast in India. In 1993, the Government allowed private FM operators to buy chunks on AIR, prepare programming content, book commercials from advertisers and then broadcast. Within a short span of time, the FM radio advertising and sponsorship grew to crores of rupees.

The year 1999, changed the course of radio industry in India. The Government decided to allow private sector participation in FM radio broadcasting. 150 new FM channels were to be licensed across 40 cities. The focus was on the metros but many players dropped because of the heavy license fee. This marked the Phase-I of Radio. Phase-II saw a less of restrictions and discussions on Phase-III which may lead to permission of broadcasting news on private FM stations, are still on.

At a time when radio nearly became dead, life was resurrected in it by FM stations. They brought music listening back into fashion. Radio One, Radio Mirchi, Big FM, Red FM are few of the big players of the industry.
“The irony with the radio industry is that it has been the last one to get liberalised. Even then, we are extremely excited about the next phase. It will be a huge advertising opportunity as smaller towns and cities will power it,” said Anurradha Prasad, president, Association of Radio Operators for India.

With Phase-III, 800 new radio stations are expected to start. 18% of all the private FM stations are in the metro market. Advertising is the sole source of revenue for this industry. Radio industry is yet to see even greener shades of success. Youngsters like radio because it matches with the fast-paced lifestyle today. Radio reaches about 99% of Indian population. Internet radio adds to its accessibility. However, the content played on different FM stations is quite similar to each other.

“With phase III, radio will become larger than any other medium. Advertisers will be forced to look at it with a new vigour,” said Vineet Singh Hukmani, managing director, RadioOne.

Despite few hurdles, the radio industry is excited to welcome the Phase-III. It will spur the popularity and growth of radio even more.

Steve Allen has aptly remarked:

Radio is the theatre of the mind; television is the theatre of the mindless.

(written for an e-magazine- The Quest)

Marital Rape: A right or a crime?

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शायद वो आज भी मेरे साथ होती.....

उसकी हर मुस्कराहट के पीछे एक राज़ था, 

उसकी हर अदा का एक अलग अंदाज़ था !

खनकती पायल जैसी उसकी आवाज़ थी, 

लहराते फूल जैसी उसकी काया थी !

हर दोस्त को खुद से बढ़कर चाहती थी , 

पर अपना दर्द किसी को न बताती थी !

उसकी हंसी में गम की झलक मिला करती थी, 

पर वो मुख से कुछ न कहा करती थी !

सुबह - शाम हंसती खिलखिलाती थी, 

पर रात के अँधेरे में खुद को भी ना ढूँढ पाती थी !

एक दिन अचानक क्या बात हुई,

कहने लगी , " मैं अब कभी वापस ना आउंगी "

उसके इन शब्दों ने मानो मुझे व्यामोह में दाल दिया था, 

इस अनपेक्षित संयोग को बूझना मेरी प्रज्ञा से परे था!

काश मैंने उस वक्त पूछा होता कि उसकी व्यथा क्या थी,

काश मैंने उसे रोकने की एक भी कोशिश की होती!

तब शायद आज हमारी दोस्ती की भी कोई कथा होती,

तब शायद वो आज भी मेरे साथ होती ! 

Our perpetual intolerance!

The Gujarat government has banned a book, Great Soul; Mahatma Gandhi and His struggle with India written by Joseph Lelyveld, a Pulitzer prize winning author and a former editor of New York Times. Veerappa Moily, the Union Law Minister said that the book should be banned but changed his opinion later. The Maharashtra government is contemplating the ban. The Congress leaves the decision to the government.  

The controversy is with regards to the sexual preferences of Gandhi mentioned in the book. The author has also been accused of calling Gandhi a racist. The author denies the use of the word "bisexual" for Gandhi, and says that the word racist was used in a limited context relating to a single phrase and not to Gandhi's whole set of attitudes or history in South Africa. 

In another and very familiar case of irrational intolerance, the book hasn't been read by the people who have banned it. The same happened earlier with Jaswant Singh, a senior BJP politician wrote Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence.

Two things are quite evident here. First that we cannot accept a view that deviates from the standard larger than life image of Gandhi. Second that bisexuality seemed offensive is a reflection of our narrow-mindedness. In the wake of recognising the LGBT communities, this war cry over a mention of his German-Jewish bodybuilder lover, Hermann Kallenbach in the book seems simply hypocritical.  

Narendra Modi, CM of Gujarat, said Lelyveld should apologize publicly for "hurting the sentiments of millions of people."

This attitude shows the obsession we have as a nation to narrow social mindsets, even when we claim to be modernized and developed. The release of a book brings with it complications that may even throw an entire nation off-track.  Why portray these typical human characteristics? If the book hurts sentiments, don’t read it. The author’s freedom of expression is being thwarted. This right seems to be losing its value, as those who write or say something which is against the thinking of people in power; it is immediately destined to be banned. 

Joseph Lelyveld has said that “In a country (India) that calls itself a democracy, it is shameful to ban a book that no one has read.”

The newspapers also reported that the word "bisexual" has been used for Gandhi. Now, why would the media also rely on hearsay?

We live in a country that is run by some dogmatic individuals, where the media, at times, acts quite impulsively. It’s nice to be in the limelight by creating controversy but let’s not damage the very essence of writing a book.

( Published on www.simcnow.simcug.edu.in )  

शाख से टूटे पत्ते की तरह .......

शाख से  टूटे  पत्ते  की  तरह 

                                         मुझे अपनी  ज़िन्दगी  का  इल्म  ना रहा  !

आज भी  उस  ही  रहा पे  खड़े  तेरा  इंतज़ार  करते  हैं 

                                         जहाँ  तूने ये  हाथ छोड़ा  था  !

कभी ज़िन्दगी हमसे रुसवा हुआ करती थी,

                        आज हम ज़िन्दगी से रुसवा होकर मौत क होने को तयार हैं !!

Why Gandhi ??

While paying at the juice counter yesterday, I suddenly asked my friend, "Why do we have Gandhiji's picture on our currency notes?"

The possible answer that I expect from the majority is that he is the Father of our nation.

He didn't believe in industrialization, market or economy. Then, why his photo on the currency notes? If that's the reason then, instead of respecting him, I think we are doing the opposite. We are using his picture on that paper, to which he didn't give much importance. Haven't we forcefully placed him there?

Many of us revere Gandhiji . I too have used "ji" just for the reason that I have been taught to do so since childhood, what not made any other freedom fighter deserve a "ji"?  Anyways, not delving into this particular intricacy of our respect for him, I feel that many of us have placed him too high on the honor scale without knowing much about him. This is simply because from the day we are born, we are conditioned to look at him as a Mahatma.

I feel, we were never told the full story about him.

कुछ टूटी हुई लकीरें ....

कुछ टूटी हुई लकीरें जिन्हें हम जोड़ना चाहते थे,

कुछ बचकानी ख्वाइशे जिन्हें हम छोड़ना नहीं चाहते थे!

एक अधूरी तस्वीर जिसमे हम रंग भरना चाहते थे,

एक टूटी हुई कलम जिससे हम लिखना चाहते थे!

हर आइय्ने में परछाई को भी हमने छूना चाहा , 

हर ख्वाब बिखर जाने पे भी हमने ज़िन्दगी को पूरी तमक से चाहा !

The unwanted intuitions ..

Sometimes, I feel why do we get a hint of things which are about to happen.
You don't want to feel in advance, how you will feel when it would actually happen but you still have the intuition. It makes you brood.
You are sitting and suddenly you have an inkling of some random thing that might take place either with you or with your acquaintance at some uncertain time. So vague, but still uncomfortable to feel... It might not be related to your routine but it suddenly dawns upon you out of nowhere. Then you are like, Oh God! Please, please , don't let that happen ( in case you have a negative intuition, which is often). You feel restless because many of your intuitions have proven to be correct. They might be a result of mere co-incidences but still you worry because that's human nature. Then, of course, you are left with the jitters.Your logic will tell you, "Common, don't be stupid, it hasn't happened yet, what's the point of worrying?"

That's what is even worse, everything, every time, doesn't go by logic. You can't control your thoughts but at times you just wish that it shouldn't have come to your mind.

When you forget everything!

There are times when you pick up a book, look at the cover page, start flipping through the pages and even before you know, you are reading that book. You eventually land up reading half of the book and then you realize, "Oh! two hours have passed." You suddenly notice that your eyes are red, you are tired, you need sleep but you just can't put the book down.
You hadn't picked up the book to read but just to have a look at it while you were idling about the room.

That's the charm of writing. The text which doesn't let the reader put down the book. You would want to turn the pages and at times the excitement is so much that you even have to hide the text so as not to jump to the last line to end your avidity. You have a different feeling while reading, may be it's nostalgia mixed with excitement, something you really can't put into words but experience.

When a writer is able to engross you to the extent that you forget your environs, I call that writer a skillful architect, who has constructed a whole world of his perceived reality for you by his words. He is a painter in the true sense who has painted his vision right in front of your eyes.

Jhumpa Lahiri is one such writer.

Interpreter of Maladies... simply stupendous!

The double standards!

He kept a pistol on the head of the horse and pressed the trigger. The horse immediately fell to the ground. He cut its throat with a sharp knife and blood came rushing. Its skin and all other parts, including the intestine, were taken off. Somewhat similar things were done to sheep, calves, and bulls. All would be utilized for human-purpose.

It's the description of Blood of the Beasts (Le Sang des bêtes), a 1949 short French documentary film. I could see people flinch while watching it. They were pitying the poor animals.

One thing, I failed to understand was why people were behaving that way. Most of them are non-vegetarians. Don't they realize that the same process would have been followed before the food kept on their plate was prepared? Many of them use products made of leather. Don't they think that the leather has come out in a similar way?

Why are we such hypocrites? I could watch the documentary without any flinching or pitying. I am, anyways, considered as the heartless person! But , those who supposedly have a heart and are emotional beings, were quite disturbed at the sight of dead animals. Many didn't even watch it.

I couldn't help but smirk at their double standards.

Trapped in relationships!

There are times in life when we don't want to face the truth especially when it comes to relationships.

We know what the reality is, our brain has got it but our heart won't ever accept it. I am not talking of only the relationship between lovers but of all those relationships which we start and are not the blood relations.

Common ,let's face it! By just tying a Rakhi, no one becomes your brother, saying I love you does not make the other person your lover, calling some one a "friend" is not friendship, you actually have to feel it. That makes the difference, faking does not. Once you feel that you did a mistake: accept it. We get so emotional that we just can't put the reality into words even when we find that continuing the relationship is futile. We think that it might hurt the other person and we just can't let it go!

Mind you, you will be called the most unemotional person, you will be the person who has a heart made of stone, you will become the worst person on this earth , even the worst thing in whole of the universe, if you tell the other person what the truth is. Try and you will be blamed for not understanding the meaning if a relationship.

It's good to enter into relationships but they should not be dragged on even if we feel suffocated in them. We should be able to severe ties when the relationship is no more than just in words. There is no point in fooling ourselves when we know the truth.

Motivational books: Worth reading??

One thing I have always failed to understand is why people read motivational or self-help books. Especially, the Robin Sharma kind of books.
Common, think for once. Why do we need someone else's experience to learn the lessons of our life. We all know that some or the other day life will teach us. Still we need to learn in advance how to handle difficult circumstances. That's like killing the adventure of living a "life". It's our life, not a motivational writer's, who has to tell us to act in a particular way to achieve our goal. It might have worked for him, how does it guarantee that it will work for others. The writer should understand that he/she has learnt by his/her good or bad experiences, now it's our turn to analyze our own experiences in whichever way we want. We should reflect upon our actions, why let somebody else influence it!

In a nutshell, for me, the sole purpose of writing and reading any book of this kind is a sheer waste of time.

           The unexamined life is not worth living- Socrates

P.S.- no offence meant to the readers and writers of such books.

शायरी की शुरआत..

हम येहाँ  उनके इंतज़ार की घड़ियाँ गिन रहे थे,

और वो वहां किसी और के इश्क की वफ़ा कर रहे थे!

हम येहाँ उनके ख्वाबो में डूबे हुए थे,

और वो वहां किसी और की निगाहों में खोये हुए थे!

हैरान हैं हम आज भी , ऐसी क्या खता हुई हमसे,

जो उन्होंने हमारा साथ छोड़कर किसी और का हाथ थाम लिया!

किसी और को वो दिल कैसे लेने दिया, जो सिर्फ हमारी अमानत थी,

किसी और को इतना करीब कैसे आने दिया, जिस एहसास पर बस हमारा ही हक था!

वो हमसे बेवफाई कर लें, ये हम मान नहीं सकते,

पर आज हम उनकी वफ़ा पर यकीन भी नहीं कर सकते!

Everyone has lost it!

When Rahul Gandhi fractured his leg and when Varun Gandhi married Yamini, one of the leading English newspapers in India published this "news" on the front page. You must have read it. If not, then please do because this is "news" for our media. This is necessary for the public to know. Oops! I missed something.. it is necessary for the public to know what is happening in the Gandhi family.

What I could infer from this: either there is nothing important happening in the country or the media is too obsessed with the Gandhi family. Certainly, the die is rolled in the favor of the latter. You see, it's the contacts and the tie-ups which matter in the media industry, even if it includes sycophancy. 

MPs got a 300% hike in their salary and they still want more! After all, a glutton is a glutton, however and whatever you feed him, he wants more. How does it even matter if thousands of us spent whole of our lives in just hoping to get a promotion or a pay hike? They should get enough...Enough to wear a garland of rupees 2-5 crores on their birthdays.

See, this is politics.... either get into the mud yourself or you will be splashed with it!