Kush Srivastava's Blog, page 36

Eid Mubarak :)

Eid Mubarak to everyone

The moment I got up today, the festivity seemed to be gripping every nook and corner of my house. Though, I am not a Muslim by religion, you would be surprised to know that since times immemorial I have always asked my mother to cook all the things that, you would normally associate with the festival and to my great pleasure, my mom has been very kind to do so.

What makes this Eid so special is an incident that happened right in front of me, just yesterday night.

Around 11′o clock at night, my father received an anonymous call from a resident here in Bareilly. His brother had been jailed for not being able to pay the damage caused by him by hitting one of the electricity transformers en route to his house.

As a consequence, he had been put behind the bars on a complaint filed by one of my father’s subordinates. The man’s brother requested my father to ask his subordiante to take back the complaint considering the fact that today was Eid and that his family would be waiting for him.

Sometimes, our system is criticized for by-passing the formal scheme of things which Max Weber would seem to have supported throughout his entire life via description of his ideal model of administration.

But on this occassion, I feel, Weber’s model had very little significance considering the fact that we all are Indians, and a very fundamental attribute that you can very well associate with every Indian is that we all are very emotional and sensitive people.

Keeping on with this tradition of us Indians, what my father did thereafter is in all senses of the word an exemplary fiat.

He, without by passing the rules and regulations, made sure that this man was bailed out and was re-united wih his family on this festive occasion.

Why, I call this exemplary is because there are not many people, especially in government jobs, who would go out of the way, to help a person in need. Though, some might want to reduce the significance of the act by labelling it as a duty that was supposed to be fulfilled by a government officer.

But, true as it might sound to some extent, what makes it exemplary and the reason behind me labeling it as a very significant feat is that most of our government servants wouldn’t have really cared about the situation, especially considering the fact that it was nearly midnight.

It was indeed very gratifying for me to see a man being united with his family. I could imagine the amount of happiness that would have crossed each and every member of that family after seeing their man back in the house. Imagine what his kids would feel welcoming him with open arms.

These are the feelings that make us all human. These are the things that in its meaning and its essence contribute to the unity of our nation. These are the things that differentiate us from say, the terrorists. And therefore, these are the things which we should never allow to leave us both in the times of distress and happiness.

On this note, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Eid. Eid Mubarak to all.

It is time to take your leave. Guess what! My biryani and siwayan are eagerly waiting for me .

Source for Image:http://intricatezone.blogspot.in/2010/09/eid-mubarak.html, http://food.sulekha.com/sindhi-biryani.htm

 

Zindagi!

“kya kar raha hai aaj kal?”—friend

“bas yaar zindagi ki talaash!”—me

“yaar, ek baat bata, tu hamesha yahi kehta hai. aisa kyon?”—friend

“hmm! waise yaar tu sahi keh raha hai, zindagi to mujhe mil chuki hai “—me

And yes, I am talking about, none other than my to be better half. Somehow, it seems funny when I address her like this, but for the time being it sounds good…right?

You would find many who would keep running after success all their life, and of course I am talking about all the material possessions which define success in contemporary times.

But credit should go to those who defy the very materialistic logic and decide to lead a not so lavish but fulfilling life with their better halfs.

An extremely inspiring example of the same, I happened to find in Goa, where I had gone a couple of months back for vacation.

There was this middle-aged couple who owned a bakery. They had been living in Goa since 1990. Before that, the man, being a young ambitious person that he was, wanted to make it big.

In this pursuit of his, he decided that he would go to Saudia Arabia and would make a killing. But destiny had other plans in store for him.

On reaching Saudia Arabia, his passport and other travel documents were taken away by his employer citing it as a routine procedure. Days passed by and then months, and there was no sign of his employer leave alone returning his passport, not even mentioning about the same.

On top of that, he was getting negative vibes which he couldn’t ignore even after trying really hard. On one hand, where his career was progressing at a snail’s pace, on the other hand, he felt that he had been badly trapped in a situation, from where he couldn’t see a way out.

One day, he gathered the courage needed to talk to his employer.

“I want to go back to India. I think I am done with here. Can you please return my passport so that I can get a ticket.”—man

“Are you kidding me? You can’t take back your passport like this. You have a 10 years bond with us. And before that you cannot leave. Is it clear?”—employer

“I didn’t sign any bond. This is not right. You can’t do this to me.”—man

“Guards, take him away. Lock him up till he decides to shut down the rebel in him”—employer

And that was it for the day. He was locked up in a 10 by 10 cell, and no food or water was provided to him. At that very moment, he remembered the last words from his father, before he left home: “you are not doing the right thing by going there. There have been so many cases where people have gone missing. Don’t run after money. Don’t go.”

How much he wished then that he had listened to his father. I cannot tell you how he managed to get out from there as that will take me an entire novel to do so, but the fact is that today he is living a very comfortable life with his family in Goa.

He has no regrets whatsoever of not being able to make it big in his life. The only things that are important to him are his wife and his kids.

On the night that I was about to catch my flight back home, he told me: “Son, the only advice that I will like to give you for your life is, never ever run after money, because that’s not what life is. Life is right here with me in the form of my wife and kids and I would never let anything take them away from me.”

While coming back, during the whole journey, his words seemed to echo in my head. I guess the man had found his Zindagi. And today I want to thank the Almighty for having found my Zindagi for me.

Source for Image:http://khawarbilal.deviantart.com/art/Zindagi-Tea-logo-72166493, http://sft78600.blogspot.in/2011/12/zindagi-shayari.html

This time it’s not Life!

For the past couple of days, my to be better half has been complaining about me not being able to give her much time. On top of that, whenever I decide to crib something here, she says, that it’s on topics such as life and not wife, which if I were to write on, would in all probabilities make her happy .

Though, even the Gods wouldn’t dare to tread this path, today is a day where I take the liberty, of course at my own risk, to throw myself in this short but extremely significant journey, where I would try to discover the very significance of the word wife .

A man’s interaction with a woman starts the very moment he announces himself on the floor which we call World. Though, the woman in his life is not a wife, but this very interaction with his mother, is instrumental in framing his conception of a wife.

As a natural progression of cognitive development, he slowly but surely realizes what a wife can and would certainly do to him, or to put it differently, how a wife would be able to make that quintessential difference that he had been waiting/or not waiting for so long .

As Shahrukh Khan has famously said in one of his dialogues from his movie kuch kuch hota hai, a man indeed tends to bow down in front of the three most important women in his life, namely: devi ma, ma and biwi.

On getting married, a mumma’s boy is expected to become a biwi’s guy, if I can call it so . He is supposed to cater to each and every need of his wife, and the onus of deciding whether the so called created need is indeed legitimate and logical, lies on none other than the person whose need is supposed to be catered to.

So far, it seems I have been talking about just one aspect of the word wife, and that too in not a very positive manner. But folks, I must tell you that there is another side to this story which truly deserves a lot of praise and respect.

A wife in all senses of the word is truly a homemaker. For if she was not there, a house would ever remain a house. She is the one who tries hard day-in-day-out to turn a house into a home.

She is the one who not only takes care of the husband, but also the entire family of her husband. And mind you, it’s not easy to come into a household, which is totally new to your expectations and give in your 100%.

Even after all the difficulties and cultural shocks, she makes sure that her husband is happy. Sometimes I wonder how can wives be so dedicated and selfless?

On second thoughts, instead of wondering how she is able to do so, I guess, I would be better off in bowing myself as Mr. Shahrukh Khan has apltly portrayed in his blockbuster, in front of the woman, who is truly, amongst the three very important ladies in the life of any mortal who happens to visit this planet Earth .

Source for Image: http://www.teluguone.com/comedy/content/wife-to-husband-659-7044.html, http://myindiapictures.com

Life!

Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayal aata hai…kya karoon yaar…hamesha tere ishq ka bukhaar aur pyaar ka ikaraar chayya rehta hai….

This is not a dialogue from the likes of kya cool hain hum or kya super cool hain hum, but comes to you straight from 92.7 big FM’s bakwaas shayari, which I happened to be listening to, today in the afternoon, courtesy my inability to step out of my house because of the curfew situation that has seemed to grip my city again.

Second time, in just a couple of days, certainly, it’s not reflecting very well on the administration here in the city. DM of Bareilly seems to be on the move to ensure that situation shouldn’t deteriorate any further and is leaving no stone unturned while pursuing the same.

The steel frame, as it used to be called once in the British era, is no more the same. With the kind of politicization that has hit the very cores of our bureaucracy, coupled with Marx’s view of bureaucracy being involved in amassing power and self-aggrandisation, administrative reforms coupled with a social reform movement is the need of the hour.

The likes of Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev are on the streets once again to raise their voices against corruption that has seemed to percolate in every nook and corner of our establishement, which we all like to give the name, society.

On one hand where there are so many issues that need a thought from the who’s who of our society, on the other hand, the nation is welcoming with open arms our Olympic heros who have managed to bring glory to both their respective sports and the nation.

What is very visible, though, is a plethora of emotions and a huge diversity in the kind of behaviour that people demonstrate towards various facets of life.

Sometimes I wonder, if it was not for our ability of expressing things, how boring and dull our lives would have become. I guess, the very essence of life is very much demonstrated in our actions and behaviour.

So, can I say: LIFE=BEHAVIOUR + IT’S IMPLICATIONS (think about it!)

Source for Image: http://thedeenshow.com/

Can I help you?

In most well to do to families in India and even in developed countries, there is a person who gets up every morning around 5. He/she makes sure that everything is arranged for you on time, as soon as you get up.

There are actually two who fit in the description given above, but I would like to focus on only one today. I am talking about none other than our maid-servants who, in all senses of the word, a hard-working lot.

Let us have a look at what their daily schedule might look like:

5 a.m—>Get up

By 6 a.m. —>complete all the household chores such as washing yesternight’s utensils etc.

7 a.m.—> Serve bed tea to the members in the household

By 8 a.m.—>breakfast should be served on the table

It is only around 9 a.m. in the morning, that he/she gets to eat after everyone finishes their breakfast.

10 a.m.–>back to work “jhadu, pocha etc. etc.”

11:30 a.m.—>preparation for the day’s lunch

12:30 p.m.—>going to the market to buy things which might be needed tonight or the next day

1 p.m.—>cooking lunch

It is only around 2 p.m. that he/she is served lunch after everyone’s done with it.

3 p.m. to 5p.m.—>rest or does any other household chore which might hit his/her memsahab’s evolved mind

5 p.m. to 7 p.m.—>preparation for dinner along with serving the evening tea/meal

It is only around 9 or 10 at night that he/she takes a break from the work, with the thought of next day’s work staring right in his/her face.

Can you ever imagine living such a life? I don’t think so and would wish that none has to go through the same, especially considering the kind of treatment that one is met with and the kind of meagre remuneration that one gets for doing all the above.

On top of that, when UN (United Nations) tries to come up with a resolution aimed at improving the plight of domestic workers the World over, it is really unfortunate to see developed countries like UK opposing the same along with Saudia Arabia joining hands (though it can be expected from her, sheerly because of the immense number of labourers that are imported to do their household work and the infamous nature of the country for handling her labour laws).

But what surprises me the most is as to what’s stopping a democratic country like ours to come up with a national regulatory framework for the same. Why our country seems to be lacking the political and administrative will at all times? Why is it that no one seems to bother about this neglected section in our society?

Is it because the people who might be involved in framing the laws, might themselves be found guilty of propagating the malpractices? In all probabilities, yes!

Seeing the scenario in our country, there is an urgent need for a law aimed at ameliorating the conditions of this neglected section of our population.

But the question that seems to haunt my mind more often than not is: “Is someone listening?”

Source for Image: http://icaruscreative.org/lamarherndon/?p=427, http://www.civitas.org.uk/wordpress/2011/10/27/knowledge-is-power-but-only-if-someone%E2%80%99s-listening/

Anna Calling!

I couldn’t help but write something on what I just saw. No! it isn’t reading about the fastest man on Earth, Usain Bolt; it isn’t even about Yuvi’s selection in the T-20 squad, it’s about a photograph that has been posted on Fb by one of my very dear friends from school, Anna.

It seems, he has taken a leap back into those lanes of memory where we would all always want to return to, and that is our childhood days. With a carefree attitude and nothing to bother our minds, we used to fly as if there was no tomorrow.

Nothing seemed to perturb us more than not being able to play during the sole PT period in our school. With the few amongst us, who indeed wore a watch in those days, all eyes used to be hooked at when the bell would ring and when we would rush out of our classes to fulfill the very reason of coming to the school on the very day.

Sometimes, when we think about our golden days, we all tend to become very nostalgic. At the end what stares us in our faces is the blunt reality of today’s competitive World which, in a way, forces us all to become a part of the rat race.

How often, we tend to move on with our lives, without really caring to give a thought about those whom we are leaving behind. We all tend to evolve as a person and as a professional.

But there are few amongst us who tend to hold on to our origins, and they are the ones who play that critical role in establishing that link which was lost because of the others who hadn’t cared about maintaining the same.

And one such person is Anna. A gem of a person from heart and a friend whom you can always look upto, he indeed represents the very essence that my school St. Francis’ College stands for.

On second thoughts, I haven’t spoken to him for a long time now. But who’s stopping me to? Fb, here I come .

Source for Image: School pics (by the way, can someone tell where am I in this pic? )

Turning into a Cow?

Sometimes I wonder whether we all are turning into cows eyeing at all times the grass on the other side. Why is it that some people develop this habit of seeing the others doing very well in their lives and repenting the fact that they are being left behind in this rat race?

Why the hell do we have to define success everytime in relative terms? Why do we have to compare ourselves with others, at the same time why others end up comparing us to the other significant people around us?

When I was a kid, I never used to believe in the saying: the grass is always greener on the other side. But during this biological period of me becoming an adult, the saying seemed to become truer and truer.

During this journey, I encountered more and more people who would sit for hours repenting on the fact that if they would have done some things differently then their lives would have been something else.

At the same time, they would feel jealous and envy those who ended up doing things differently and thereby becoming more successful.

Somehow, we have got used to giving excuses, at the same time making sure that its not only us who pity us but also the people around us who join us in this tirade.

The question that needs to be asked is whether we are all turning out into cows vying for the grass from other’s garden?

Source for Image: http://web.wapday.com/

Foodieeeeeeeeeeeee!

The one thing that turns me on amongst all things is my love for the delicacies for which our country is so famous for . And on several occassions, Saty has accompanied me on my discovery of the famous and not-so-famous streets of Lucknow.

Sometimes, thanks to my ever-increasing gourmandising nature,I end up losing all control over myself. By the way, why I say it is ever-increasing is because every new place that I happen to visit, I end up discovering a new recipe which surely mingles well with the taste buds that I have been bestowed with from that Someone who is sitting up there.

Though, there was no new place yesterday, and though I was munching on the same good old recipes that I have been since the time when I was a small kid, I was in a mood to treat myself for no reason as such, or at least for no reason known to me.

As a result, I ended up holding on to my stomach, the moment I finished having my dinner. As with every other good thing, this also has its pros and cons and sometimes the cons are very difficult to deal with, at least in this case.

Somehow, God has ensured that for every crime that you do, there is an antidote which you can avail of to restore normalcy in the same.

And as I was trying to restore that normalcy in my stomach, guess who called! Yes, it was none other than my fiance who has, of late, been too concerned about my health sheerly because of the foodie in me.

It was only after a couple of minutes that I realized that my fiance’s worry is more related to the manner in which we would be presenting ourselves to the audience as a couple on our the day, whenever that’s supposed to be. If it was in her hands, she would make sure that I be on a diet-schedule.

And to my surprise my mother always seem to agree to my fiance’s worry of me turning more and more into a kind of personality very similar to Mr. Ram Kapoor of Bade Acche Lagte hain, a TV soap that is being telecasted on the Sony channel.

It is not often that a mother-in-law tends to have the same kind of opinion as the daughter-in-law, but thanks to my gourmandising nature, they both have seemed to develop a bonhomie, at least on this front.

On second thoughts, when the pros of being a foodie seem to outweigh the cons, do you think I should give a damn on the contemplated diet-schedule? NAAAAAAAAAA! and after all Mr. Ram Kapoor doesn’t look so bad.

Source for Image: http://foodie.blastmagazine.com/, http://entertainment.oneindia.in/topic/ram-kapoor

Pretending to be Me!

“The prententious in me always seem to take over and I end up doing things which I would have otherwise not even dreamt of doing.”

This was an answer given by one of the most famous actors of his time on being asked how he is able to give incredible performances day-in-day-out.

To some extent, we all end up behaving a bit differently when significant others are around us. We try to put up our best display of courteousness and smartness in order to impress others with our persona and presence of mind.

For youngsters, especially guys, this is one of the ways in which they try to catch the much seeked attention from the pretty girls who happen to be present there at that very moment.

For girls, it is of course about seeking attention from the most handsome of guys and making sure that they beat their contemporaries on this front.

For aunties, it is a way of restoring their lost glory, when they used to be themselves very pretty. It is also a way of demonstrating to the entire World that they are still in the race.

For uncles, it is nothing but a way of ensuring their dominance over their colleagues and showing that they have what it takes to be right up there.

Somehow, with the increased socialization, we all tend to devote very little time to what we truly are and end up living a totally different kind of a life.

But there are times, when no one is there and we end up spending some time with our origins, the nature who has, since times immemorial, continued to remind us all of the absolute truth.

Deep down, we know what is the eventuality. Inspite of that, we try to mask the reality with the lifestyle that we so love to lead. Someone has wisely said: “jeena isi ka naam hai.“

Sometimes, I too think, that it is not worth thinking. It is not worth pondering over where we will be after we are no more here.

The countdown had already begun when we first made our presence felt in this World. And the nature of this clock is such that it never gives you a second chance.

That is the sole reason why I always beleive in living life to the fullest. After all it is worth pretending to be me rather than being me.

Source for Image: http://janestreetclayworks.com/2011/03/17/rollo-mays-the-nature-of-creativity-part-2/what-if-im-pretending/, http://nonnetta.deviantart.com/art/The-art-of-pretending-94138403

I have a Plan B!

Well! I am not talking about a discussion being held in the posch enclaves of a MNC discussion room. I am referring to what youngsters today are constantly harping on.

I am in fact speaking about a love story that is for strange reasons going through situations and circumstances unheard of and unconceived of before this.

If you are wondering what that might be, you indeed need to go through a dynamics that I am about to mention.

Somehow, with the innumerable plans that the telecom companies have got so used to offering lately, this is a classic example of a guy and a girl ending up taking different plans from the same telecom company.

It is quite remarkable how the girls love to write loads of messages expressing themselves to the fullest and leaving no stone unturned to convey their feelings to their boyfriends.

So, what she does in order to fulfill the dream of her life which is to express herself, she ends up opting for a plan which allows her to write lots and lots of messages for just a few bucks.

Happily enough, she ends up messaging her boyfriend at least 100 times in a day and expects her boyfriend to do the same, which of course doesn’t happen, sheerly because of the very nature of a guy.

He ends up taking an economic plan as he thinks it would suffice his needs, ignoring the very recent need of messaging his girlfriend that has of late begun to knock at his door.

What results is anybody’s guess. They end up quarrelling as the girl perceives the guy to have lost interest in her and for ignoring all the stuff that the girl wants to share with her guy.

The guy, in order to avoid all the bickering taking place, decides to opt for the same plan as the girl. He tries to send as many messages as possible from his end, but is never able to compensate the girl for her expression of her feelings.

If this was not enough a cause for the quarrell to even grow worse, they end up fighting for the guy’s inability to call her in the same manner as he used to do before taking up the girl’s plan.

Sometimes, it is so difficult to explain the obvious. The guy tries every thing in the World to come up with an explanation citing that since he has changed his plan, he is unable to make the same number of calls as he used to do before.

But as if the words are falling on a deaf person’s ear, he is unable to get any respite for his explanation. Instead the girl thinks that the guy has started to blame her for everything and of course for no fault of hers.

Seeing the situation go out of control, the guy decides that he won’t be a miser any more and this time around he opts for the most inclusive of plans which allows him not only to send messages to his girlfriend but also gives him enough freedom to make as many calls as he wishes to make on a number which belongs to the same telecom company.

Feeling quite joyful about his act, he decides to call up his girlfriend. With the luxury of time no more being a constraint, he calls her up. But to his utter dismay, he is unable to connect to the same and is met with a voice telling him that the number has been temporarily drawn out of service.

Feeling quite strange about what he just heard, he is left with no other option but to wait for his girlfriend’s call.

After a long wait, he does receive a call from none other than his girlfriend, who is all set to surprise her boyfriend with a breaking news: “Hey, Guess what! I have changed my number. I thought, I was being too possessive. So, I decided that I would take up a number which would give me an opportunity to interact with my family and friends more often at the same time, I would not be pestering you with my calls and messages every now and then. Moreover, the connection that I have taken this time gives much better reception than my previous one. See, I am the best girlfriend that you could have ever dreamt of. Hai na! “

The breaking news proved to be a heartbreak for the guy. More than a heartbreak, it leaves him disappointed.Thinking it wiser not to tell his girlfriend about what he had just done for her, he decides to keep the dymanics of the plans to himself: “You are very sweet, baby and very understanding too. That’s why, I am your biggest fan on this planet, Earth. “

This is how, the whole dynamics of the plans came to an end at least in this case. But I am sure there are many more such stories that are going around in India and deserve a mention.

Having said, all the above, happys endings always give me immense satisfaction and happiness.

Lekin kya karoon, picture abhi baaki hai mere dost

Source for Image: http://www.jadnici.info/page/4, http://www.getbackexgirlfriendadvice.com/, http://www.myniceprofile.com/miss-you-6671.html