Happy new year people!

One more year in life? It was just like yesterday I sat in a church thinking the year 2000 will bring in more joy and it is already 15 years since. Life!

It has taken turns and twists! Brought me immense joy and of course the many many unfortunate incidents. More people and more people came in; And of course they came in and went out. Life changed from being dependent to periods of immence independence and then slowly back to dependence again. There were turbulent periods and of course the insanely sane and calm periods. Life!

Has life been the same it was supposed to be? Did it follow the drousy dream I had on that 31st december night in 1999?

Surely not! Life had to take paths different from the dreams, I presume. And if not, may be it would not have been interesting after all.

I swear I have no idea why I am writting this blog! Yet, December 31, 2016 brought back memories of that day and thankfully I have people like you reading this:)

Happy new year people! May this year bring in many more surpises and happiness just like it has brought in over the years.

Going deep into Indian Villages!

How is it travelling deep in to an Indian village in interior Madhya Pradesh?

So you board the typical mission hospital Jeep! And 8 of you and a big tyre are squeezed into that Jeep and off we go on the pot holed national highway. Then inevitably you turn into one of those roads/mudpaths and go further. And there you are, after a few kilometers of riding/rafting you enter one of those villages

Typical poor Indian Village! the buffaloes, the poorest of huts built of mud, the dirty pond where people wash their clothes, the broken panchayat building, the empty school, children playing without dresses. All of them it had. All of them straight from the class 2 social book I studied.

Class 2? And that is a looong time. 20 years! Phew, I'm that old! 20 years and nothing has changed? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! 

Of course, The one I went to was one of the posher villages. They have television sets now! Saw a few bikes. And yes, an odd car too! But is that all the change we can bring about in a village which is 3 hours travel from two of the bigger cities called Bhopal and Nagpur? 

Ah, the reality of it all had to be brought before me all over again! 

India, the India of the IT, the multiplexes, the Audi's and of course the Ache Dhin! But there is another face, the real one. If you want to see that, go in to one of those deep Indian villages.

The real India lives there.

                                                                   The bike and the dish! modern Indian village

The national highways connecting Bhopal and Nagpur

The road leading to the village

  

Stay proud, stay angry chennai!

It feels terrible when you are not in the middle of the activity that is going on in Chennai! No,not the floods. But the relief that is happening around in chennai.

The day it rained and when the News of floods were coming in, it felt even worse when the city you loved and had been part of is being devastated. Just that, the business of life was taking its toll. The human being inside me which wanted to be part of this mamoth tragedy just lost to the everyday monotonies of life!

And then the beauty of Chennai and its people unfolded. Twitter and Facebook were so full of people waiting to help and everybody I know (Both real and virtual) were extending helping hands. An army man quoted this, "For the first time I'm seeing more volunteers than victims", and I felt proud.

The Chennai of our dreams had stood up in times of crisis and held hands together and I could feel the pride!

Then, there was a tinge of anger in it! Anger at the political apathy, anger at people like me who just sat back in comfy homes and watched without lending a helping hand, anger at themselves for this situation which they had brought upon themselves to a certain extent and anger towards God!

Hold on to that anger Chennai! The next time when the politician comes to you asking for votes stay angry. When the real estate advertisers encroach another of the water bodies stay angry. Next time when the 'God men' blesses you for money, stay angry!

I'm proud of you chennai! Lest we forget, if we lose our anger, like we lose it everytime, Our pride is a useless virtue.

Stay proud Chennai! Stay angry too!