All Is Not Well..!!

As soon as I gave the morning newspaper a look, an advertisement on the front page caught my attention. It read, “Fresh vegetables!.. Rates per Kg…Potato-Rs 260/-, Onion- Rs 340/-, Tomato- Rs380/-..”Further it said, “Cost of living is rising and it might be harder to cope with once you retire. Here’s a pension plan for you.”Finding it quite fascinating but true and assured of the credibility of the life insurance plan, it sold, I turned pages... 
After a few more pages, came another advertisement which said, “Yellow Peas Dal, only at Rs 26 per Kg!”After a few more details was written in hideous fonts, “Available in select,” and also written conspicuously was, “Jago Grahak Jago.”

INDIA: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Clad in tattered pieces of rags, with eyes desperately searching for some useful in the heap of garbage. With shaggy hair eclipsing the eyes, they ran barefoot on the unbearable sun hot metalled road. Within a couple of minutes, there came a group of fashionably dressed guys and gals (as they say it) in an ac car. Carefree they marched into a multistorey mall with all the fun and enjoyment. Standing under the shade of a tree at the nearby road was I, imagining and differentiating the two lifestyles, the people there and more importantly the consequences that might have lead to such a deep void.


This sight is not a big thing in countries like India where in addition to culture and language, social and economical class is the biggest divide. My recent visits to Gurgoan and my perception of life in such cosmopolitan and metropolitan cities, led me to conclude that the skyscrapers do make us feel that we (India) are progressing but we tend to forget that those (people) who sustain the lives of the riches (talking about the domestic helps and servants) are still in rags. Governments come and go but the tall claims at the time of voting are seldom fulfilled. The blame game never ends and if ever the government logically thinks of its own loopholes, “global recession” is where they find the escape route.

Education Falcified

While setting up the foundation of higher education post independence, professor Yashpal, a distinguished physicist and the former chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), had very honestly revered a “university” as an institution for holistic education and knowledge. But he had not thought in the worst of his dreams that after six decades the concept will mutate completely and they’ll become a money-minting machine for the vested interests of some unscrupulous men.

In order to provide education at higher level some 36 universities and deemed universities, which provided quality education in sciences and technical fields as well as facilities for research, were set up in India from 1956 to 1995. The trend continued but quality deteriorated. The condition today is such that there is a college providing technical education in almost every city and village, affiliate to one or the other university but many with dubious credentials.

Zindagi Badal Rahi Hai..

by Rishab Sinha

Shayad zindagi badal rahi hai..

Jab mein chotta tha, shayad duniya bahut badi hua karti thi..

Mujhe yad hai mere ghar se school tak ka wo rasta, kya kya nahi tha wahaan..

Chaat ke thele, jalebi ki dukaan, barf ke gole, sab kuch..

Aaj wahaan “mobile shop”, “video parlour” hain, fir bhi sab soona hai..

Shayad shaamein bahut lambi hua karti thi.

Mein patang ki dor pakde, ghanton udaya karta tha,

Woh lambi “cycle race”, woh bachpan ke cricket matches, har shaam thaak ke choor ho jaana..

ab sham nahi hoti, ab seedhe din dhalta hai aur raat ho jaati hai..

shayad waqt simat raha hai..

The Woman on Platform No. 3

It was a cold winter morning. The last day of a very happening and interesting year 2009. My semester exams had just ended and I was excited..very excited..coz it was the beginning of a new year, new thoughts and new life.


My journey began as I boarded the train to my home. The intermittent breaks it took at every station, the very same boarding and deboarding people made the journey lively and broke the monotony. Then I reached the New Delhi railway station where it was scheduled to stop for half an hour. Did I tell you that the train was from Bandra to Amritsar and that the very mention of a journey by train used to pound my heart with fond memories, which though were not there but were yet to be forged. In short, I was very excited. The station was under face lifting in full swing and the amalgamation of people from all the corners of India an even abroad presented a beautiful pageant. Coolies draped in red, pulled luggage from one platform to another. In the middle of this hullabaloo, I discovered a woman and immediately enquired about the platform number.

The Transformer..!!

My brother Aayush has always been very kind hearted and nature loving. He had a special love for stray animals- the cows and the cows that would roam untamed around the colony I had lived in for the past twenty years. These very stray but actually pet animals of his would get special treats every evening because he would ask mom to prepare extra chapattis for them. Someone’s birthday or mom and dad’s wedding anniversary would make their nights a scrumptious banquet. He would distribute the meals equally among all the guests. And you know what.. dogs would be his priority coz cows are herbivores and have other options too. As they collected, he would start showering his affection on them and would get a scolding from me, if I am present at the moment, for touching those filthy creatures, house to pathogens and germs..!!

Luck Factor

When was the last time you thanked god for something bad that happened to..? When was the moment when you did not yell at your being so unlucky..? Do you remember them. Frankly speaking, did these instances really exist in your life. Quiet a mind tickling question but we are human beings after all. Aren't we?

Cribbing for what we had always wanted but never got,craving for things we always cherished is as common as the sun rising in the east. Has anyone thought whats the secret behind other people getting their dreams fulfilled and not you? In short, has anyone pondered whats the logic behind every other person being more lucky than you? Well the following story will surely help you figure out a fact about the uncertainities in your life.

Happiness Gift-Wrapped..:-)

Friday, August 20, 2k10


Though it’s August 23, that I was born 20 years ago but my dear buddies had left no stone unturned in making me shell out money for Lafangey Parindey, the latest release on Friday to mark it as my birth day celebration. The clever Rishab applied brains and abstained himself from coming to college on Monday coz it was a planned bunk, the day of my 20th b’day anniversary. Nitish and Rishab tried hard to make the party a big hit but all our plans fizzled out as soon as we saw “The End” which was a complete anticlimax. A thousand bucks that I had spent purchasing tickets and meals for the 1st day 1st show screening burnt quite a hole in my pocket.


Monday, August 23, 2k10


With the weekend preceding and an off on Tuesday succeeding my big day, I was left quite alone in the hostel with Pawan, my roommate and some mavericks who too consider going home a waste of time.”This is gonna be the worst and the loneliest of all my birthdays”, I sub-vocalised and reiterated in my mind but that didn’t deter me from waking up 12 on the midnight of August 22, to receive calls, if any.

I Have To Move On..

The journey began as I stepped out determined,
Eyes beholding dreams so highly defined,
Loyal to work, I paved my way,
Hoping someday glory shall come my way.
But the path was forested and quiet less traveled
And I had wanted to make a difference.
Cautions were many, helping hands were less.
Advices proved enough for my stamina to suppress.
The faster I moved, the lower dipped the success rate,
critics and cheats had disguised as my mates.
Results didn’t reciprocate the input of my work.
Deceived and unheard, I was left alone in lurch.
Dead ends and steep slopes did me press,
Unfulfilled promises, goals not reached were my distress.
Analyzing my situation and thinking profoundly,
A heavenly light dawned upon me.
Despite the odds, despite the failure,
The path traveled held high esteem, for sure.
The destination reached is a function of time,
Perseverance and hard work are of importance prime.
So burying dead thoughts and bridging the chasm,
Unmindful of success, of my journey’s path,
I marched ahead with vigor and enthusiasm.

Strange Days

It Was The Same Morning

The Sun As Bright As Usual

But The Breeze Was Serene

And The Birds Were Chirping

And The Clouds Were Clear

Don’t You Think It Was A Strange Day

As No One Was Abused,

No One Conspired and NO One Was Accused

Yes It was A Strange Day

Not A Bomb Exploded And Not A Man Killed

Trains & Buses Ran On Time

And There was No Accident NO Crime

No Banks Were Looted And no One Was Murdered

Animals Were Not Poached And Trees Not Injured

Definitely It Was A Strange Day

Politician Didn’t Smell Of Corruption And No One Was Involved In Any Destruction

Newspaper Spoke Of Goodness And Everything went On Right

As There Were No Controversies To Highlight

Certainly It Was a Strange Day

As People Didn’t Fight And Were Unanimous To Pray

As No One Was Duped and No one Caught

But It Was a Dream, A Utopian Thought

A Thought That Can Never Materialize

As Greed And Immorality Are One Rise

Patriotism Is Being Overshadowed By Chauvinism

And Religion Being Engulfed By Fundamentalism

So Stop This, Stop This, Before We Face Something more amiss

Don’t Blame The people, Don’t Blame The Leaders

Just Be A Medium Of Change Yourself

So That Life Can Easily Run On Track

And Strange Days Are Brought Back