R U A SHOOTING ****STAR****?

Sunrise and Sunset would always remain as one of the most beautiful things of our nature. I believe there are so many little things that happen in between these two wonderful moments, which are not as beautiful, but we just cannot forget them. The little things that happen in our day to day life.

There are days, we don’t want to remember. There are days, we want to forget. There are days, which stay with us all our life time so that we can cherish it some other day. Day’s we spent in hostel, school, and colleges are simply unforgettable. Good or bad, they just stay with us.


I remember those words of our school principal on our last day at school. “Your life is like a freshly laid concrete mixture. Put your best foot forward, because once you get an impression on this concrete, it will harden in no time and would remain with you, life long.” I guess these are words which remain with you somewhere at the back of your mind and would lead you through the testing times towards light.


I had always maintained in my heart that I am not the brightest student, nor am I gifted like my cousin who can write an exam and score well by just going through the book once. I guess I belong to that group of people whose mind works backwards. For example, we start with what we want to achieve and then work backwards to find what exactly is sufficient enough to attain these results. Most of us are always told and programmed to believe that your 10th and +2 is the most important because this part of your academic life shapes your career in a great way. So, I too was brain washed to believe the same.


That makes my life easy. If 10th and +2 is important then why should one break our head at 1st, 2nd, 3rd ,4rth,5th,6th,7th,8th,9th and +1 ? Just enjoy life and make sure you get minimum marks to get to next gradeJ. So that’s my backward theory. You folks would have got me by now. I just created this theory because I simply couldn’t answer people when I had to face this weird questions like, “How on earth could you get good marks when it mattered?” If I said, “I worked hard.” I got this rolling of eyes meaning,”Yeah sure.”


Sometimes I would just blabber something like, “the examiner was the father of my girl friend. We made a deal. I had to forget his daughter and he would help me to answer. Now, since you know that I don’t even have a micro gram of grey cell in me to pass on my own, I agreed. Oh yes, I am now heart less as well. So, stop rolling those eyes.”


Ok, I will stop all this non sense. Frankly, I just worked hard, like donkey, dog or whichever hardworking animal comes to your mind. I worked so hard that, during my+2 exams, I knew all the reactions and equations in chemistry including the page number of the text book where you could find that equation. That’s photographic memory :-). However, believe me; I lost sleep resulting in mild insomnia, so I just didn’t try this kind of studying in my engineering. I guess it’s the kind of memory that you can use for a short burst, like 100 mts race. Cool, that’s enough of blowing my own trumpetJ. The actual reason for writing this post is that, there is no real reason. Well, If you have enjoyed it till here, you may want to continue because I promise, it doesn’t get any worst


One of my cousins’ friends wanted to get her daughter into my school. So my cousin informed his wife to take my help because he quoted, “……… you can take Raj’s help because he was one of the ‘BRIGHTEST’ student in the school……”


I couldn’t stop thinking, laughing. “Yella OK, ‘BRIGHTEST’ yake?” (Everything is OK, ‘Brightest’ Why?). Doesn’t translate well in English, but sounds good in kannada when our Uppi dada gives the pose for KF.


Now, I felt I have been so successful in building and maintaining this image of brightest student in my family circle, whereas the reality was not even half brightest :-). Oh yeah, I worked hard, but I wasn’t consistent. Also, there were students in the school, who set new benchmarks every year. I just couldn’t keep up. To be honest, I had no motivation to read. I just kept in mind whatever was taught in class and vomited it in exam. It is true that, I studied in village, so I didn’t enjoy the luxury of studying in a city. However, I believed that this was good for me because my thinking was crystal clear and that’s what helped me to get those marks when it mattered.


However, my attempt to tell my relatives, that I am not the ‘BRIGHTEST’ that you think, has failed every time. I am not the brightest, but I would die trying to get what I want when it mattered. I would forget food, water, sleep to get what I really wanted. That’s how hard I need to try to reach the benchmark set by these ‘BRIGHTEST’ students


So I told my cousin. “You might have to change your plans of taking me to my school because, If it is the same watchman then he would not allow me into the campus, considering the fact that I have tricked him many times to sneak out of the campus to buy Ice cream. I was so bright that, we would play football with a stone in public bus stop after school and complain at home about frequent bus strikes. I would walk all the way to home to save the bus ticket amount and buy a candy with that, though it was just Rs1.50. The sweetest of all candies.


My brightness never escaped the teacher’s eye as well. Almost every teacher, head teacher had got me kneeled down at various locations of school. Sometimes, my juniors used to look at me and say, “hey, isn’t this the guy who was outside so and so class on his knees, and yet head held high, as if the national anthem is being played.”


I usually would come to school very early in public bus, so few of us would make a team and throw ball from one end to the other end of class and count who takes the maximum catches. Some played to impress girls, some for fun. Sometimes the girls giggled and those boys, who never joined us, would envy us. Once when we were playing this, the ball bounced of the window and hit our vice principle who was talking a walk on the veranda. She just walked off. I didn’t understand this. Usually a teacher would blast out and end our life with words. But here, she walked off and she is a vice principal.


So the owner of the ball, that’s undoubtedly me, my daring 3 friends walked to head mistress. She was angry but not very much angry considering the magnitude of the event. She asked us to go to vice principal and apologies. We followed her to the vice principal’s room like the ducks following the leader in the water, in line.


My memory jogged back and forth. Few years ago, my uncle had literally dragged me to vice principal’s room for admission interview. I didn’t answer anything right. Most of the effort to get the right answer out of my little mouth went futile. However, she gave me an admission. Little did she know that, I would be standing in front of her after few years apologizing for playing inside class.


Our vice principal listened to our broken apology statement and said, “Do not repeat again. You may leave.”


We looked at each other confirming that what we have heard is right. We never repeated the mistake again. In fact, I don’t repeat my mistakes. That’s one good quality in me. We recruited two classmates as security guards to check for anyone coming towards class. We would take turns to stand as guards. We never accidently hurt any teacher again. As I said, we don’t repeat the same mistake.


However, my BRIGHTNESS never made it to headlines, because there were brighter people in my school . So what happened in campus remained within the campus. I stayed on the boundary, never crossed it. It is fun to be on the boundary and see both the worlds. It’s exciting to be on the boundary.


I believe what happened in my academics has repeated all through my career as well. I didn’t get a placement in campus. As usual I was not the brightest. However, once outside the college, I worked double hard to do WHATEVER to get the job. Once I got a job I worked, triple hard to get what I wanted. I still do that. Because, we are not the BRIGHTEST stars who shine all the night, we are the SHOOTING stars, who shine so bright that you can’t see the other stars, but hey, we fade away, leaving you with the memory to cherish.

R U A SHOOTING ****STAR****?

2 Sing or Not 2 Sing !!

Vande Mataram !!

Bankin Chandra composed the song Vande Mataram in an inspired moment, Rabindranath sang it by setting a glorious tune to it and it was left to the genius of Shri Aurobindo to interpret the deeper meaning of the song out of which India received the philosophy of new Nationalism.



The English translation of Vande Mataram rendered by Shree Aurobindo, is considered as official and best as per Bhavan’s book, Vande Mataram by Moni Bagchee.



September 7th was the 100th anniversary of “Vande Mataram” (”Hail to the Mother (land)!”), which was used often during campaigns to free India (and pre-partition Pakistan, for that matter) from British colonial rule.



A campaign to urge schoolchildren across India to sing the song has stirred controversy, with some Muslim schools, supported by Muslim institutions, refusing to sing it on the grounds that it invokes the worship of Hindu deities, specifically Durga. Although “Vande Mataram” mostly praises India’s geography, the title can be translated to “I bow to thee, mother,” which clashes with Muslim traditions of bowing only to God.



A lot of debate has been going on and it has now become a political issue with BJP voting for making it compulsory in states where it governs. “There should be no compromising attitude on the national song,” said BJP leader LK Advani. Perhaps, this has contributed to one of the many factors for poor performance in elections.



However, despite all the concerns, leading Muslim institutes and bodies such has Darul Uloom Deoband have steered clear of the issue until today, where in it issued a fatwa to against singing Vande Maataram by Muslims.



Now, there are various questions being raised and this has fire balled into a big issue. My views:



Firstly, India is a secular country and the decision to sing the song should be left to the individual just like the national anthem. Though, the people of India should be encouraged to sing it by educating them about the right meaning to the song and the need to maintain unity in diversity. The present government has made it clear that it would not make singing this song or any song for that matter, compulsory.



The Muslim institutes need to answer one simply question. Vande Maataram, has been an integral part of India’s freedom struggle which was fought shoulder to shoulder by all religions united. Why didn’t they find the need to impose a fatwa then? Perhaps, the cause to free the nation was more important than the song itself. However, isn’t the cause more important today as well, where the world is filled with violence and religious divides, wherein we are fighting a different kind of freedom struggle?



However, all said. It is important that singing a song or not should not be equated to the patriotism of the entire community. It will only cause further confusions among the young minds. Therefore, it is very important for our politicians and religious leaders to stop giving this issue a political color and start calling a spade, a spade. If someone doesn’t want to sing, fine no problem. I have no doubt that they are as patriotic as anyone else and they love their country as much as others. Not touching the elders feet should not be considered as a sign of disrespect. If at all there is love and respect, let it be in our hearts and deeds. At the same time it is necessary to understand that the boundary separating absolute honesty and arrogance is a very thin delicate line. Each and every one of us needs to acknowledge that. Therefore, I am steering clear of the how one religion should look at God.



My fellow blogger Sai once commented, “I prefer direct communication. No hidden meanings etc. We all seem to convolute this communication and the reader is stuck on the words rather than the wisdom.” Perhaps Sai was absolutely right. There is no hidden meaning. I didn’t even know the meaning of each word of Vande Maataram until today. However, when it is sung, my heart would fill with joy and pride. Joy of being someone and being free yet responsible. Such is the tune.



Perhaps, this could be well summarized by remembering the fact that, Vande Mataram was sung by Lata Mageshkar. Vande Mataram was also sung by A.R Rahman. Now, that is what I mean by secularism and respecting the soul of the song instead of being hung up on words.

” Honey, I HATE DIAMONDS !!! “

“Honey, I hate diamonds !!” It was woman’s voice. I was sure about that.

At least, this is what I heard in the dark movie theatre just before the movie was on its way to end. I couldn’t believe my ears but I definitely had to.‘Blood Diamond’. Whoever has watched this movie may have partially understood what I am talking about right now. I always wondered why diamonds are women’s best friend. I really couldn’t get a satisfying answer from women. Perhaps, I believe it’s a big coup. It reminds me of the story of an elephant which was tied to chain when it was young and when it grew up, even though it was tied to a rope, it never tried to escape. It was made to believe that it could never escape. Similarly, all of us, while we are growing up are fed with some thoughts, which we follow without questioning. I guess, ‘The way to girl’s heart is through diamond and gold’; ‘Diamonds are her best friends’ are one of those thoughts. This is passed on from generations to generations. The biggest lie.

The truth is that, “The world’s trade in diamonds is a cartelized, multi-billion dollar industry that has damaging human rights, environmental and legal repercussions that have worldwide impact and effect. The issues have so far eluded a legal solution and are an example of the limits of international law. “– according to an American University in Washington DC.

Have you ever pondered on, how this precious rock or metal on your body makes it way?The government makes more out of mining these rocks than vegetation, so thereby they devastate the land by digging and disturbing the entire eco system.


After mining for long time, the area is abandoned, unsuitable to do anything on this land.

Water gets collected in these areas leading to severe health hazards.

The large group of people who inhabited these places has lost their way of living. So what do they do? They are forced to be miners. Now, if you think they earn a lot, think again because you are so wrong.

Many third world countries have seen serious human rights violations since 1991 when the civil war erupted. Around 50,000 plus people have been killed and over million people have been displaced till date. The human rights violations related to diamond mining and trading is unimaginable. Slavery, Child labor, Sexual slavery, massive genocide to remove people who can’t work on these mines or people who protest.

United Nation had tried interfering in diamond trading since long time with little success. The diamond companies claim that they have taken adequate measures to counter these ill effects and they are clean. However, the truth is far from reality.Can we understand the simple fact that, the prices can be controlled by regulating the supply? Large safe and secure storage areas are created to store all these diamonds so that the demand is million times more than the supply, thereby increasing the cost of this rock to millions of dollar.

I believe Africa is one of the richest continents in this world, considering the natural recourses available. They are self adequate. But just look what the world has given them? They have been exploited and allowed to kill themselves. Every other day, there is a rebel group coming up conquering the village, killing the people and forcing them into mining. The money is used to buy arms to topple the existing government. The world just sits and watches.

There are many NGO’s working in this part of the world. However, this is just not enough. If the world wants them to really develop then, they got to teach them to fish. Don’t give them fish and ask them to dig diamonds for you.The worth of one precious diamond could surely be around 13 million. This 13 million if it was used in the right way, it could save the entire town in Africa. But no, everyone wants to be the part of this major coup. So the money goes into the big pockets of diamond trader. They do tell the world that, a part of this money is used for good things in Africa, but that part of money starts with a decimal point followed by n number of zeroes and a number. This is nothing.

 

I don’t want to judge people here nor do I want to make a request. However, there is one thing that I want to say,

“The rock that shines’s on your finger or neck, could easily be the collection of glitter’s lost from millions of people’s eye.”

I could only imagine the smile on this lucky guy’s face (at least for that moment). The smile of pride, looking into her eye. I just couldn’t stop thinking about it.

It’s time to start, “THINKING”. “THINKING FAR & DEEP”

“NOW”

The SPEAKER is not allowed to SPEAK !!!

Enough is just not enough, when it comes to Indian politicians and their far from gentlemanly behavior in the temple of our parliament. This is not the first of its kind.



1997, our own politicians, leaders gave a new meaning to ‘sharing the mic’. As millions saw in televised replays, legislators opposed to the Hindu nationalists staged a melee on the floor of the state assembly, throwing punches at political opponents, hurling chairs, ripping out microphones and throwing them at the podium. Several legislators were led away bleeding. The events were termed as simply ''a brutalization of democracy,''. These were the worst example yet of the growing violence in Indian politics as the speaker of the house watched helplessly.


This time, it was the Speaker himself at the receiving end of this goondaism. A day after unruly MLAs created ruckus in Uttar Pradesh Assembly, there was chaos in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday. In scenes similar to what happened in the assembly in 1997, MLAs threw paper balls at the Governor, stood on chairs and tables and shouted slogans. However, in AP, the minister just didn’t bulge from their location, stalling the entire proceeding; thereby forcing the speaker to call in marshal’s to take them out of house. Funny, because it took almost 7 marshal to lift each MLA. Guess, where your tax is going.


Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the chief architects of India's freedom and a moving force behind its Constitution, placed the office of the Speaker in India in the proper context when he said:


The Speaker represents the House. He represents the dignity of the House, the freedom of the House and because the House represents the nation, in a particular way, the Speaker becomes a symbol of nation's freedom and liberty. Therefore, it is right that, that should be an honored position, a free position and should be occupied always by men of outstanding ability and impartiality.


This would explain why this office still remains one of the most crucial ones in the life of every Lok Sabha.


Usually, a member belonging to the ruling party is elected the Speaker. A healthy convention, however, has evolved over the years whereby the ruling party nominates its candidate after informal consultations with the Leaders of other Parties and Groups in the House. This convention ensures that once elected, the Speaker enjoys the respect of all sections of the House.


However, when things get hotter, the politicians cry foul and give little respect to the house. Doesn’t this show a bad example of leadership. Of course yes. Let me tell you how.


Just like a speaker is elected by the house member’s, we elect our leaders to lead us. But when these leaders turn out to be no good, we go on strike and go rampaging like herds of elephants, burning everything on our way. Isn’t this the destruction of our own property? Of course, when the leader itself is showing us the way, then what can the people do, but follow the leader.


I hope our leaders stop all this non sense, behave sensibly and lead us by example. Unfortunately we have elected few groups of thugs. What could be done when all the candidates standing for election are thugs. All that can be done is elect the lesser thug and hope for the best. Well, better than not voting at all.


Anyway, I think violence and politics go hand in hand. I can recall my college day’s wherein there were violence during the college election and often, some or the other guy would find himself in hospital bed.


All, that I want to tell these politicians is that, your follower’s, and the younger generation is watching you. Please don’t set a bad example.


On the other hand, I see a major flaw in the way the speaker is elected. Article 93 of the Indian constitution talks about the Speaker of the Parliament. The office of the Speaker is one of the great responsibilities. The Speaker is the Chief Officer of the Lok Sabha, he presides over its sitting and controls its working. He upholds the dignity and privileges of the House. It is expected that once elected he must rise above party interests. This is necessary to maintain impartiality. The Constitution of India contains certain provisions for maintaining independence and impartiality of the Speaker. His salary is charged on the Consolidated Fund of India and is not subject to annual vote by Parliament. He cannot be removed from his office except by a resolution passed by a special majority.


But the high tradition of this office and the honor and dignity with which this office is looked upon in England has not been maintained in India. So, the question is, “Who rule’s the God?” However, this could be a vicious circle, leading to nowhere.


So what is needed, is the sense of respect for the house and the person addressing the house rather than the “who rule’s the ruler” philosophy.


Please for the sake of the young mind's.

"What they see is what you do. Lets behave before we speak"

MY NEED’s & My WANT’s !!

Well, I haven’t written a single post this year. Perhaps this year didn’t start on a good note. The bad luck and news which had haunted me all through the last few months of 2008 had continued to 2009. On a positive note, probably this is a sign of something good to come my way. So I am bent but not broken. Oh not yet. There were worse day’s.

Anyway, I was just getting all worked up because all that I touched or thought was turning to rusted metal, forget gold, silver and bronze. Well, most of these things were not actually in my control, so that added to my frustration. Also, we melancholy perfectionist idiots build very high standards for ourselves and would get very upset and troubled if we don’t achieve it. Troubled to an extent that you curse your life and make yourself feel like worth less. However that’s a strategy subconsciously adapted by us to get back and fight every time we fail. As I said, our style of fighting is to bend back to such an extent that you would fall flat on your face trying to take a jab at us.


I have a good/bad habit of maintaining a diary. I don’t update it every day. Just when I am bored and feel like I need to note down few important things that I come across. I do read it sometimes and reflect upon the incidents and try to laugh, learn or unlearn. It’s my way of connecting the dots looking backwards.


Few days ago, I opened this diary to read. Something interesting caught my eyes. I know, I had written this, but every time I read it feels like something new to me. Like I am reading it for the first time. Anyway, I don’t want to just paste whatever I had written on Jan 1 2009, but I will narrate the incident which had happened a day before New Year.


I was at my home town that day. It was my grandmother’s first death anniversary; therefore all my relatives had come down from various part of the country. My grandmother had 11 children ( entire cricket team without bench strength) therefore, when I say relatives, you might get a little idea about the numbers. I had made a family tree after returning from home town and the total comes up to 82.


So with all these people on board, you can imagine the state of house during the functions of any kind at my hometown. Though my granny’s house is huge, it seems to be small when all these people come together. Al l the younger cousin’s running around, smaller once screaming at the height of their voice with the vicious aim to bring down the roof, cousin’s of my age playing cricket, football whatever in the court yard, uncles sitting on the porch playing cards and warning us every minute about ball thrashing into one of their cars parked, aunties chatting in the hall, it looks just a little less than a railway stations and a little more than a fish market.


Well, I was tired of playing cricket and came into the hall and joined my aunts, to catch up with all the gossips going around the family and outside family. I don’t know if this sound’s girlish but I love to simply sit in a corner and listen to all the people just coming up such interesting topics. It just fascinates me. Surely it’s interesting as well. On the contrary my uncle’s are all serious talks and I feel lost because sometimes I feel that I got two worlds. The world inside me is very childish and it is like 10 years old and the world outside me is all serious running on 40 years old. So when I am with uncle’s I talk like 40 and when I am with aunts and cousins I talk like 10.


Therefore, I would rather sit next to some ladies, listen to them chatting rather than sit next to uncles and listen to how share market is falling, how it could be got back on track, when to start farming, my son/daughter is in US, he/she got a very good CET ranking and all the strategic gimmicks. Well I would have enjoyed it few years ago but now I know life a little bit better and I can learn all these things myself.


So, as I said, I was enjoying the discussion. My grandmother had 6 daughters. They were discussing about their days when they got married.


One of my aunt said, “On the day of Saku’s ( one of my aunt) wedding, she went straight to her father in law and poured the water on his feet to wash it (it’s a tradition wherein the bride washes her husband’s feet, however my aunt went straight to father in law to wash his feet instead of washing her husband’s feet). Someone pulled her and re directed her towards her husband.”


My eldest uncle had come home, scolded her for doing this.


I asked my aunt why she had done something like that.


She said, “I was ignorant. I hadn’t seen any wedding before. My wedding is the first wedding I had witnessed.”


I was surprised and a little shocked because today’s generation would attend at least a dozen wedding’s before their own. (and yet they wouldn’t know to which figure do they need to insert the ring. But that’s another story).


My aunt continued, “It was tough day’s. We didn’t have money. Having 2 square meals everyday was a big deal. Your grandmother worked very hard. Without any support from your grandfather, she had alone developed from almost zero assets to what you see today. So we had only two good dresses which could be worn on special occasions. So on a given day, only two of the six sister’s could go out for a wedding. Therefore, we took turns wearing the dress and attending any functions. I was unfortunate because I couldn’t attend any wedding before my wedding. Therefore, I didn’t know whose feet to wash on the day of wedding.”


Just then my teenage cousin comes running in complaining about his new jeans which is a little light colored and therefore he wants a new one.


I looked at my cousin and then I looked at my aunt’s. We all knew what was going on each other’s mind at that particular moment. Today’s generation has all the comforts and yet its complaining about things they don’t have.


I read this diary entry, and thought about myself. About what I had and what I don’t have. The truth is, what I have is more than what I don’t have. The year didn’t look that bad anymore. I had found the inspiration not from books, not from great leaders but from a small incident in my family.


In fact, I don’t have to look far away to find role models. My dearest uncle is my role model.(that’s another post). My family doesn’t stop inspiring me every time I am with them. I am sure most of you would relate to whatever I have said. Many of you have a great family. What else do we need?


I am thankful for having more than what I NEED.


I don’t crib much about what I WANT.

“When you put your NEED’s before your WANT’s, you will find peace.”

Do not Trample my DREAMZzzzz...

Do not trample on my dreams,
dreams are my life, makes me beam.




Think you understand me completely
just when you do,
I will change on you.




If you dislike change,
pick someone else strange




but if you like unexplored regions
unclimbed mountains
and future shrouded in mist and beckon,
and magic castles and unexplored treasures,
then don’t fear me.



what better way will you find,
to learn about life and me?




my way of fighting is not to fight;
it’s to bend so far backwards,
that you fall on your face.
You know I am not here to race.




Try to dominate me,
you'll discover you're empty-handed.




I will simply drift away, without a fuss.
Just like the sand from the folded palm.




Look at me.
I am the water without form,
Calm in the river and fiery in ocean storm.




I am all of your sweetest dreams,
and all of your worst nightmares.



Oh please,
Do not trample on my dreams,
dreams are my life, makes me beam.

-----RAJ

BAT MAN Inspires me!! N How ???

I know this sounds a little crazy, but there is some amount of truth in this craziness. Long ago, may be a year ago, I had come up with a post on how spider man inspires me. Today, at this time of terror and violence, it’s another super hero who inspires me. A super hero, THE DARK KNIGHT, BAT MAN.

26\11\2008. One of those days, which we don’t even wish to be one of those nightmares that spoils our sleep. However, reality is quite tough and hard. What happened on 26\11\2008 in Mumbai would be a single nightmare haunting many people who were directly and indirectly effected by this. It would remain etched in our memory as long as we live and may be after that.

Mumbai. A city I would hate to forget. My father stayed here until he retired from job. I spent my early childhood here. We stayed in the Mumbai chawl. Typical tenement was common Gallery,large 12-18' x 10' room, followed by smaller Kitchen with Bathroom(Mori) at the end with Tap for water.Common Toilets were norm.There was no provision for underground water tank and Water supplied by BMC did not reach overhead tanks due to lack of pressure,so storing water in big drums was necessity. Tenement were small so there was no space for residents.You use home to bath,eat food and sleep.Rest of the time you have to be out of the house.So groups were formed according to age and each group had its meeting place.During holidays and vacation half the day was spent in company of friends. With plenty of time on hands you indulge in games-cricket being favorite,but we played Kabbadi,lagori and Marbles.Carrom was very popular,and Table Tennis on small wooden bench.There was no TV, so Radio Ceylon with Binaca Geetmala was hot favorite.

Chawls are unique for Mumbai and are responsible for cosmopolitan ,liberal ,tolerant culture of Mumbai. Everyone took part in Festivals. I dont remember being asked not to play or not to mix with low caste people.We were aware of the caste but it had no place in our day to day life.This has given Mumbai its unique character.

Sadly, this is quietly deteriorating. Thanks to our own Sena’s and non-Sena’s. However, what happened on 26\11\2008 surely, tested this uniqueness of Mumbai, once again.

Operation Black tornado, Burning hotels, gun sounds, grenade blasts and scattered bodies. Over 188 dead, 293 injured, broken dreams and pieces of hearts all over. The aftermath of this incident was unusual. The patience of people has been tested and it has broken all the dam. Anger just rose like tsunami and two countries were on the verge of war. Frankly, when the first terrorist was captured, I told my friend, “gosh! Is it the beginning of 3rd world war?” I have no doubt in my mind that the 3rd world war will not be fought for land, oil or water. It will be against terrorists. Terrorism has evolved as the single most powerful entity threatening the human existence. If this war is not won, then each day ,we survive unhurt ,successfully till we fall on bed, would be termed as ‘a miracle’.

However, ‘WAR’, is not as easy as said. We know what happened to the most powerful country in the world when they went on war with terrorism and ended up invading lands with false intelligence reports of weapons of mass destructions. This led them to bankruptcy and created more enemies.

What we need to understand is that terrorism is not a country. You cant invade a country and win over terrorism. Terrorism is more of a theory. It’s everywhere. Declaring war on Pakistan would explode it, living us with an Afghanistan at our border, which we don’t want to have.

Infact that’s what the terrorist look for. A terrorist is a JOKER. Perhaps when you are angry, you fail to understand what it really means. Bruce Wayne( Batman) pushes the bad men. However, Alfred( his loyal butler) tells him exactly why he was wrong.

Bruce Wayne: Targeting me won't get their money back. I knew the mob wouldn't go down without a fight, but this is different. They crossed the line.


Alfred Pennyworth: You crossed the line first, sir. You squeezed them , you hammered them to the point of desperation. And in their desperation they turned to a man they didn't fully understand.


Bruce Wayne: Criminals aren't complicated, Alfred. Just have to figure out what he's after.


Alfred Pennyworth: With respect, sir, perhaps this is a man that *you* don't fully understand.

Terrorists don’t want anything in return. They just want to instill the fear in us, that’s all they want. By pushing Pakistan to war, they would loose their focus on afganisthan and join hands with them to fight the war. This is worst. We cant let them off hook this easily.

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Alfred Pennyworth: A long time ago, I was in Burma, my friends and I were working for the local government. They were trying to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders by bribing them with precious stones. But their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit. So we went looking for the stones. But in six months, we never found anyone who traded with him. One day I saw a child playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine. The bandit had been throwing them away.

Bruce Wayne: Then why steal them?


Alfred Pennyworth: Because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.


You can kill a terrorist by burning down a country, but we cant kill the terrorism because it’s a theory which would come up in another country, may be our own country. They don’t look for anything but fear in other’s eye and want the world to burn. We cant let that happen.



The Joker: [to Det. Stephens] Do you wanna know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the… little… emotions. In… you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?

We have seen bomb blasts in train and markets. None of these resembled what happened in Mumbai, wherein these terrorists went on firing spree on crowd in front of all the security. This shows that they have upgraded their techniques. They no more hide and attack. This makes things very serious. This shows how vulnerable, inadequate and pathetic our intelligence is.



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The Joker: The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules!


The Joker: See, I'm a man of simple tastes. I like dynamite… and gunpowder… and gasoline! Do you know what all of these things have in common? They're cheap!

Terrorists don’t have rules. Perhaps, this explains why our NSG took time to end the saga. We have rules. We just cant let the hostages die because of us just because we want to end it. This is why they terrorists have an edge over our police, army or NSG. We have rules, they don’t.

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The Joker: You'll see, I'll show you, that when the chips are down, these uh… civilized people, they'll eat each other. You see, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve.

Perhaps, this is what the terrorism is all about. The just brought two nations on the verge of war and despair. They just wanted to show the world how desperate we could get when the chips are down. However, I am proud today, considering how the situation was handled. We didn’t consider all the knee jerk reactions and dealt with it pretty well. I know its too soon to say this. But by not giving into terrorists motive’s, we have begun well.

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Batman: Sometimes, truth isn't good enough, sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.

Can our politicians take something out of this. People deserve something more than truth. It’s the faith in you politicians and cops that needs to be rewarded. Our intelligence have failed us badly.

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The Joker: You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with. Nothing to do with all your strength.

This is true with terrorism as well. You can threaten a person. You cant threaten the idea. You need to get it out of the roots.

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Harvey Dent: The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.

Perhaps people of this country should believe in this now, more than ever before. Because it’s the hope that keeps the candle of life burning all day and night.

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Batman: Then why do you want to kill me? The Joker: [laughs] I don't want to kill you! What would I do without you? Go back to ripping off mob dealers? No, no, NO! No. You… you… complete me.


Batman: You're garbage who kills for money. The Joker: Don't talk like one of them. You're not! Even if you'd like to be. To them, you're just a freak, like me! They need you right now, but when they don't, they'll cast you out, like a leper! You see, their morals, their code, it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these… these civilized people, they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve.


Batman: Where's Dent? The Joker: You have all these rules, and you think they'll save you.

Terrorism will test us all time and again. However, we cannot allow it to win. When the chips are down, we need to make sure that we show our resilience and bounce back with our head held high.

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Bruce Wayne: People are dying, Alfred. What would you have me do?


Alfred Pennyworth: Endure, Master Wayne. Take it. They'll hate you for it, but that's the point of Batman, he can be the outcast. He can make the choice that no one else can make, the right choice.

I know a lot of people think that enduring something is bad and cowardly act. No its not. We need to endure few things , to act at the right time in a right way. We cant go on war and put our freedom at stake by going on war with a country.

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[the Joker has rigged two ferries to explode, one filled with prison inmates, one with ordinary people, giving each ferry a detonator and telling them that one has to blow up the other, or he'll blow up both of them]


Tattooed Prisoner: You don't want to die, but you don't know how to take a life. Give it to me; these men would kill you, and take it anyway. Give it to me. You can tell 'em I took it by force. Give it to me, and I'll do what you shoulda did ten minutes ago. [Scared, the man hands over the detonator. The Tattooed Prisoner throws it out the window]

This again explains the difference between the Asian emerging super power and US. When US was attacked, they went on war, and almost went bankrupt creating more enemies and lot to think. However, we showed the world how we handle our 9/11. We cant afford to give up all that we have worked for. We cant give up what we have. Surely, we are afraid, but we cant give up to the terrorists motives.

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The Joker: [to Dent/Two-Face] Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it. You know, I just… do things. The mob has plans, the cops have plans, Gordon's got plans. You know, they're schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds. I'm not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how, pathetic, their attempts to control things really are. So, when I say… Ah! Come here.


[takes Dent's hand into his own] The Joker: When I say that you and your girlfriend was nothing personal, you know that I'm telling the truth. It's the schemers that put you where you are. You were a schemer, you had plans, and look where that got you.


[Dent tries to grab the Joker] The Joker: I just did what I do best. I took your little plan and I turned it on itself. Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets. Hmmm? You know… You know what I've noticed? Nobody panics when things go [makes air quotes]


The Joker: "according to plan". Even if the plan is horrifying! If tomorrow I tell the press that, like, a gang banger, will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it's all part of the plan. But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds! [Joker hands Two-Face a gun and points it at himself] The Joker: Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair! [still holding the gun, Two-Face pauses and takes out his coin]


Two-Face: [showing the unscarred side] You live.


The Joker: Mm-hmm.


Two-Face: [flips, showing the scarred side] You die.


The Joker: Mmm, now we're talking.

Terrorism doesn’t have any plan. It’s a crazy freaking idea. The main aim is to create fear, uneasiness and make people fight among themselves. Some people give up and take up to terrorism listening to their fake sense of pride and power.

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Batman explains to Two-face why the Joker had lied to him.


Batman: [about the Joker] He wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall.


Two-Face: [bitter] And he was right.

A terrorist will test every man and every country. We need to have faith in what we are and go on with our work. We cannot give up.

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Batman: [to the Joker] What were you trying to prove? That deep down, everyone is as ugly as you? You're alone!

The people in the ship decide against blowing up each other and thereby they let the joker know that they are united against him. We have to fight this terrorism together. We cant blow up each other and start another war simply because we have worked very hard till date to reach this place.

We need to be resilient and prove that terrorists are alone.

In fact, the Indian Muslim community rejected to bury these dead terrorists in their burial grounds. This shows how lonely the terrorist are.

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Batman: What did you do?


The Joker: I took Gotham's white knight, and brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard. Y'see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little… push. [laughs]

We need to be very careful when the chips are down, because this is exactly when we are the most vulnerable and take worst decisions.

In the end batman saves the joker from falling.

The Joker: You just couldn't let me go could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness, and I won't kill you, because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever..


Batman: You'll be in a padded cell forever.

Good and bad will always go hand in hand. We cannot allow the terrorist to create a battle field where we fight against each other. We cant just kill someone just because they belong to a particular cast.

Perhaps, it is known that the muslim community in the J and K are tortured by few. They should understand that just because of the act of few, we cannot corrupt ourselves. We blame or kill the entire community. We should stop having misplaced sense of self-righteousness and stop playing God.

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In the end,


Batman asks Lt. to get the dog’s chase him and he run’s away.L


t. James Gordon's Son: But why he is he running?


Lt. James Gordon: Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.

Yes, the good ones will always be blamed. When we blame the cops, intelligence or for that matter any cast or creed we should be careful that we don’t target it against the entire community. There are good and bad people in all of us. Yes you be called coward if you don’t return a blow with blow. However, it’s important to understand that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. I salute the martyr’s of 26\11. They are the real hero’s. The silent guardians, a watchful protector.

THE DARK KNIGHT.