The Episode of Missing Suitcase: It is raining shit

Yours truly is not only a male chauvinist pig, but also a really careless, untidy, unpolished and lazy bugger who can charm the shitting pigs to fart to their hearts content because of his honest tactlessness.

The story has its origins in a recent networking event which yours truly attended in one of the finest hotels in Mumbai. The agenda was to network. Since I have the gift of gab and my boss knew i am useless in office any way, i was shipped to this event to generate leads. I guess i should be careful hence forth.

I spent my days trying to chat up old men, bored to death with their P and L statements and port-socket dilemmas. I would wait for the day to end and the party to begin. With fellow drunk buggers, all useless MBAs occupying good positions in car-porates, we would hit the town late at night, driving drunk, listening to floyd.

I slept late and came to the last day of the conference much after the first event of the day had started. Without a much thought, i placed my luggage at the end of the seminar hall and went to occupy one of the front row seats. Have you noticed that usually, all seminars have their last rows filled up first, and the last ones to remain are the front row seats, to be taken as a punishment by the late participants. 

So anyway,  after sleeping through the day sessions, at the end of the last session, i went back to the end of the seminar hall,picked up my luggage and lugged it to the waiting cab to Pune. After 4 hours, i checked into the Pune hotel. Tired, sleepy, hungry and almost dead, i opened the bag hoping to pick up some fresh kachchas to change into. And i realize i am digging into lacy nighties, silk tops and unmistakable jasmine scent of a female's bag. Now since which day on earth did girls start carrying black business luggare from VIP? They are supposed to carry red, pink, green pieces of luggage.  Bloody bible thumping retards. Anyway, i went out, shopped for clothes, and came back to the hotel for the conference the next day.

another story to tell my retarded life.

the dead men who walk around us

they look so normal.
they are all around us.
their every day is a challenge.
life is a chore- a responsibility.
to be led in a certain way, as defined by the social norms.
they are uninispired to achieve the greater happiness in life.
the greater satisfaction of having accomplished something in life.
they have defined their lives before they start living.
they never live to their potential.
some of them, realize quite late what a waste it has been.
they walk the road of life like dead men.

who are the people who are not dead and who have defined their lives

the college friend who dropped out to start his own business?
the college crush, who fled her home to run away to married to the guy she loved?
the guy who chose to sat out the campus placement because he wanted to start something on his own?
the married guy who gave up his identity to admit he is gay and started afresh..
the tortured wife who left her thankless husband to start her life afresh...
the bored professional who decided to pursue his hobbie seriously.

the dead men will never understand you.
the dead society will never appreciate you.

you will walk alone with a smile, knowing that there is a path to heaven on the unpaved road you take.

walk on buddy, you will find me there..

Daggers in classrooms: A question of faith?

Every now and then this question comes up. Sikhs living in different parts of the world want the local legislations to be changed to allow young sikhs, in age group of 8 to 18, be allowed to carry the traditional Kirpan

This is often a contentious issue because Kirpan can easily be used as a weapon against other kids. And most developed societies are not in favour of allowing overt religious symbols in classrooms. However, for most Sikh political and advocacy groups, the issue of Daggers in Classrooms is as basic as the fundamental right to vote or right to freedom of speech as guaranteed by the constitution in a democracy.

Recently in a Bangalore Sikh community forum, a guy posted a message saying that this is an issue for the survival of sikh faith. I wrote a comment which said that it definitely is not and that i am in favour of actually banning these daggers from classrooms all together. Not only several community members ganged up against me, they questioned my faith and my beliefs, but went on to abuse me on this forum. It is not the first time i have felt isolated in a religius debate. I just dont connect with most people on questions like these i guess. But this is my blog and i want to make my opinion clear on this subject.

I am a Sikh, and I am against daggers in classrooms and in offices. This is what i think is right and i think that the Sikh faith is not doing enough to encourage a debate over the issue internally. Following are my reasons for being against "allowing students carry real daggers to schools":-

1. Kids are Kids: They will use daggers for not so noble purposes, no matter what justification you bring on the table.
2. Kirpan is a symbolic representation of faith. Technically, a small replica of the kirpan should suffice.
3. Any overt symbols of faith can create frictions in classroom from students, teachers and administrators. They should be actively discouraged. A muslim student should not be allowed to wear a burqa in a classroom, a muslim boy should not be allowed to carry a suicide vest /AK 47 /Hand grenade to classroom (sorry for the poor sense of humour).
4. When living outside India, Sikhs should respect local customs and make an attempt to integrate with the local society. They should not gheto-ize themselves and carry their 300 year old restrictions to school.

Some relevant Links in Mainstream Media:
What is a Kirpan? Link 1 
Some Michigan Schools Permit ‘Religious’ Knives, Yet Cupcakes Are Still Banned (Link 2)

Kirpan Ban Blasted By Sikhs (Canada) Link 3

Everybody Hurts Sometimes

I was sitting in this cafe with this girl. I knew i dint stand a chance with her. I have rarely met a girl who is so self assured. She has reason to be like that. Speaking to her was like i was giving a justification for being who i am. Its like when you want to possess something, you want to justify it somehow. I came out of this date feeling tense. feeling like i had given an exam and i was waiting for a result. Worse still, i called her later today, to ask her what she felt like. Even worse, she thought i am asking for an objective answer. So there ends another story of me finding my love.
Anyway, while i was giving a bottom of the heart explaination of why i am who i am and what i am, there was this song playing in the background. I just had a feeling like, soon, this moment will end, and i will be alone all over again. I will be thinking about the hurt this girl, sitting right across will cause me because i am opening up my heart to her.

Enjoy the song. I read on wikipedia that the song is "one of the best break up songs" ever. Well, for all the people who thought arranged marriages are easy. Here is to you MM!! All the best with your search for the Mr. perfect. I am not your guy!!

Poisoned Heaven: Drug problem in Punjab, a real and present danger!

 I know about this since a long time now. Long enough to think it is not important. Or may be insigificant. There are many things which are not right with Punjab or Punjabi community world over. We dont think about it. We dont talk about it. We dont even want to mention it in public dialogue.

My grandfather used to tell me about "Apheemchees", village folk who were so addicted to the naturally grown apheem, that they had lost their senses. Elderly men and even women were addicted to apheem, as the powers of the drug to cinstantly relieve all pain and loneliness, which often plagued the elderly as they waited for news from their kids settled outside, often illegally.

The problem is now more grave because of multiple reasons.

One, the form of drug abuse is now much more lethal. We are talking about LSD, cocain and assorted pills like ecstasy. These started to enter Punjab in the 80s, as a measure to increase militancy in Punjab. Origin is Pakistan. It is simply impossible for the entire value chain to exist illegally in India. My belief is that the growth happens in Afganistan, the processing and packaging happens in Pakistan. There are several ways through which these drugs end up in Punjab. 

As evidence i dont have to rely on stats. My close friend is a doctor in Punjab, in one of the largest and most prestigious hospitals in Chandi. He almost gave up his practice one day. That day he had stood helpless and seen over 4 patients die, because of drug abuse. All of them were in the 20 to 25 age group. All of them were Sikh. All of them were farmers from remote villages. Why them?

Two, the age group is getting younger. Kids as young as 8 are known to be on drugs. Most affected group is the teenagers. Why are they being targetted? Who is selling drugs to them? If the reports are true, 80% kids in Punjab have access to drugs. Why is the police sleeping over it? Why are political leaders sleeping over it?

Third, it is no longer a question of morality, only money counts. The huge stakes in the drug trade have ensured that no one complains, no one listens, no one reports, no one dies and no one is mourned. Atleast Officially.

Initially, i believe that the drug trade could have been a strategy for ISI to boost and sponsor terrorism in Punjab, but once the addiction sets in and the business starts booming, i think the business has taken its own speed now.

What can we do about it?

Talk about it. Spread Awareness. Make sure people know that this is a grave problem. Let them react. Make this appeal viral. Force them to react. If you are a celebrity, you are a critical support this mission needs right now.

Watch this documentary on the drug abuse in Punjab...

 http://vimeo.com/19815617