Ganpati Bappa Mourya!!!

The 11 day festivities of Ganpati kickstarts the cycle of festivals we all look forward to each year.

Today was the last day of Ganpati. Like every year, we had Ganpati at our place this year too. And, the best thing about Ganpati, well, a lot of people visit your place for the puja for all 11 days.

We had a loads of people coming over too Some friends I got to meet after a year!! Thanks to Ganpati!!!!


The visarjan is one of the brightest things about Ganpati, there is color, there is music and there is some amazing bonding among the people - whether or not they know you. On a Ganpati visarjan you will typically find the roads closed (almost), lots of traffic, lots of LOUD music playing along the road. People are dancing, and having a time of their life. Talking of my visarjan experience today, we left for the visarjan at around 6:15 p.m. The drive till the river was quite smooth. On the was you could see, a full line of Ganpati idols one after another with band-baja !!! The visarjan, if I remember correctly has been going on since the last 5 hours now and is expected to extend till midnight tonight. It started raining heavily the minute we stepped out of the car to walk towards the river.Mom and dad were trying to keep the Ganpati idol away from the water, while I wondered, "why are we protecting the God from the rains...??? It's the most natural thing, and they would never mind it..." Well, the puja and visarjan after that went off smooth. The area in and around in the river, was under strict security, with not only the policemen on job but a lot of volunteers too. Its great to see the enthusiasm of the people trying to keep the crowd in control, streamlining the entry and exit points, and keeping people happy too. And well, its good to see the common man responding to it in a good matured manner and cooperating with the authorities.

What amazed me was the way Indian political parties don't leave a single opportunity in making their mark. There were 2 small pandals set up by the 2 political parties. And the respective members came down to greet every single Ganpati idol that passed the way, with flowers and loud calls of "Ganpati Bappa Mourya". There was also a bank trying to capitalize on the audience with a stall and loudspeakers !!!!

Well, Ganpati Bappa has a rom for everyone I believe. So looking forward to Ganpati next year around as well. Till then,
Ganpati Bappa Mourya!!!
Pudhchya varshi lawkar yaa!!!

Hectic and High Pressure Continues.....!!!!!!

Yeah... I am alive...!!! I hope you will be glad to know... though I haven't finished all that I was supposed to yesterday... I manage to spend another day... and its the night again when I am unsure if I would see the sun tomorrow... not meant literally though...


Well, another day that I wanna scrape through and hope that I finish what I wanted to... see you tomorrow then.

Hectic and High Pressure!!!!

19th September 2007... one day that I m gonna remember always... woooo!!!! What a day?!?!! It started like any other Wednesday, with the exception that I reached class before the professor, attended the lecture I usually bunk (Quantitative...not perspective) and then some Masala Thumbs Up (the only time I think I managed to take a break!!!). Well, now if you are wondering why was it hectic. Apart from the routine work that we usually have in college, today looked like a day of deadlines!!!

I am doing a concurrent and the submission for it was today. Well, to finish that it's gonna be a whole long night for me. Marketing Research analysis.. well... takes quite sometime. And another submission for another subject's assignment tomorrow and considering the time that I spend in college, for me to submit it by the desired deadline looks difficult. So that's another reason for me to have a whole night session. The life of an MBA!!! Craazzzyyyy !!!

And if this weren't enough... my bike ran out out of petrol on my way back home from the station... so that meant dragging the bike to the petrol pump some half a km away (this is forming one of my service journal encounters). Not that bad, and what made it easier was the sweet Pandu I met on the way.

Off late the Mumbai police has been going through some tough times, but, this Mr.Hawaldar, was one of those NICE policemen we have with us. Seeing me dragging my bike on the way he asked me," क्या हुआ बेटा?!!!" Wow!!! I was soo amazed at the way he spoke to me and was ssoooo concerned seeing me drag my bike at 11 in the night. Proud of the Mumbai Police!!! And, yes I must tel you all, that most policemen that I have come across have been nice. 9 out of 10. Well, sorry about the exceptions, but yeah I guess from a personal experience, I feel safe when the police is around.

Yeah, so coming back to my day, quite a bit of running around and still have a long way to go today. Will perhaps, let you know whether or not I managed to finish everything - if I am alive to see the day tomorrow. So till then, bye. Goodnight.

Tell me if you have had, days like these or perhaps even worse....

Just Wondering...

Few things that I have been wondering about... see if you have ever wondered about them too.

• A person standing next to you, who was once your classmate. Just an acquaintance perhaps and to see them after say 3 years, do you wonder what he or she is doing now??? Wondering if they are also on the same lines as you... working, studying, married ???
• To see a man outside his shanty house alongside the railway track, playing with his little kid... that he is not just a poor man, but, very much a father, a husband and shouldering all those responsibilities which are much more difficult for him to shoulder than you or me.
• To overhear a conversation, about someone having a very hard time in their life and wonder about what all they have gone through ( a 8 day old marriage turning into a disaster...) Do you ever wonder, all the cribbing we must be doing of how unfair life is to us, we might actually be better of than most others. And should be happy and living for that.
• To wonder how the entire SEC classification that we as MBA students find so very important, seem to just vanish at the smallest instances. Take today for example, if you would see the way EVERYONE was geared up for Ganpati... there was no chance you would classify them into any segments. The way they do the stuff, for all festivals for that matter, purchasing POWER has nothing to do with anything.
• You wonder what, where and with whom you would be spending our life tomorrow.
  
• You wonder, how your parents were when they were your age (cos you never got t see them like that) ...
• You wonder how these old people when they have reunions behave, just the way you do with your friends today.
• You wonder that at this very moment when you are reading my post (or when I was writing this one), what would some friend of yours would be doing on some other end of the world.
  
• You wonder standing on sea side, where this would be stretching to. And if you were to go over straight on it, where would you reach.
• When you fly, you wonder whether you would fly from over your home.
• When you see a plane go over you, you wonder, if anyone you know would be aboard.
• You wonder, what and how you had be, if you weren't doing something else and not what you are currently doing in life. If you were perhaps not an MBA students, but, say a painter or a singer.

There are so many things to wonder about, that I am sure you would be able to add more to this list.

And ya, I am sure, we are all wondering at so many instances of our lives that there is a little WONDERLAND in all of us!!!

Brutal or Blind?????

The Indian News Media is creating waves in the industry these days. People are mocking at the extent to which the media can go to create stories and be the number one in doing so.

One of the stories that I happen to ridicule and hate the media the most for is the one created prior to the Abhishek - Ash wedding.

All the news channels covering Jhanvi Kapoor, the girl who claimed to be married to Abhishek Bachchan. The media not only covered the smallest of the details, but also, mocked at the tyranny of the girl, who was not even in her senses.

The media somehow failed to empathize with the girl. Let me explain to you the real problem with her.

I am sure you would have heard of "Schizophrenia".

It is defined as a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental illness characterized by impairments in the perception or expression of reality, most commonly manifesting as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions or disorganized speech and thinking in the context of significant social or occupational dysfunction.

In simple terms, Schizophrenia is a mental disorder where the person under its influence, begins to imagine himself in various situations. For him they are the true world. Under the influence of this, they are not able to distinguish between real and imaginary, because for them the imaginary becomes real. And stands true irrespective of everything else. A person suffering from this disorder does not even realize that they are under its influence. It's a fragment of their imagination which starts ruling them completely.

They tend to behave according to what they think is true. They perhaps don't even realize what they are doing and why so?? For them, what they imagine and think at that point of time become true; the truth of their life, the truth that they believe in. The truth that they live for.

Yes, it is a fatal truth for them. Something that is capable of driving them into death. Something which is a temporary state of mind and once they come back to their normal states they have no memory of what happened in the past.

Coming back Jhanvi Kapoor. A sad victim of the media's quest for higher TRPs and creating waves. Jhanvi was unfortunately a victim of schizophrenia and what the media gave her was complete mockery. Every singly news channel was seen making a "show" out of it. For them it was a "breaking news". Despite repeated pleas by he father, trying to explain that she was mentally not stable, the media continued its fanfare.

Well, the most grueling part of the whole episode is the fact that, the next day morning when Jhanvi would get up to start a new day, she would not be even aware of the story on which everyone was busy making money.

I think we need to to give it thought, are we moving towards development and away from humanity. The media, the biggest force and driver of change and revolution... is it here to present facts or are they here to create sizzling stories.

It wont be long, when the average Indian would doubt the credibility of the news industry.