an Athiest at the God's Gate

"I pity the fool" - Mr T's famous quote from Rocky III, came to my mind several times in the past few weeks. I had made a trip to the northern half of the country in the previous weeks & my journey included places of worship of different faiths. Few of them, were considered the most important pilgrimage points for different faiths. The journey was quite different for me, not only because of the new places I was seeing, but also because I had kept away from all religious places for the past 3 & half years. So it was a good experience, talking to different kinds of people, watching people from different places & different belief system. I got to meet the believers who had an extremist attachment to their belief system & also the ones who kept their beliefs as a private thing. So when I met these people, read and watched millions of others on TV & other medium, there has been only one feeling which comes into me. Its not anger, its not rage, its not happiness nor joy, but its pity. Pity for your ignorance. Pity that you are unable to see the bigger picture. Pity that you are being manipulated so easily with something which does not even exist.

Why pity? Well, I shall explain with the help of a story I recently heard through a friend. My friend belongs to a far off village where they have very limited access to electricity, newspapers, media & most things which we take for granted. The place where they live a simple life. But every time when election approaches, the regional political parties come up banners, posters to spread the word of the party. In most of these posters it was a common practice to put the pictures of the important leaders, which included few of them who had died in the late 80's. But for the people of the village, these posters were the only way to see all their leaders & to this day they believe that all of them are still alive. As much as 50% of the village's population, majority of whom are uneducated believe that their Prime Minister (who was killed in early 80's) is still alive & competing for elections. Feel like laughing at their ignorance? Village idiots, right? Hold on, what would you do if I tell you that there is a huge number of people who believe & trust a person whom they haven't even seen. In fact they haven't even seen his pictures, only sketches of the person. Yet they believe this person has the solution to all their problems & would go to any lengths to please him. None of these people have never spoken or heard this person, but have only "felt" his person. Yeah, you know where I am going with this. Blind faith & it only deserves pity.

But to be honest, I wish there was a God. No, I haven't turned into a believer, but for the sake of the millions of people who live around me. I wish there was a God so that all the prayers will not go for waste. I wish there was a God, so that he could acknowledge the billions people spend on making places of worship rather than trying to wipe off poverty or hunger. I wish there was a God who could forgive all those who killed & burned down property in the name of the almighty. I wish there was a God who could show heaven to all those martyrs who blow themselves up to reach Elysium. I wish there was a God who took note of the sacrifices & offerings made to him which amount to trillions. But more than everything I wish there was a God, for all the ones I pity, because fictitious though you may be, you are a source & inspiration to them. For the ones who do not believe in themselves, you are the only one they could trust. When everything around goes down in flames, you are the one they believe has a plan & its all well taken care of.

So while returning from the God's gate, this was the silent wish I had. I knew I cannot change the beliefs of the people around me, nor enlighten them with the truth. I controlled the urge to tell them that all those phenomena which you had named as God is now detailed in the science textbooks of school kids as facts. But I understood that knowing nothing & being ignorant can be more comforting at times. After all everybody has the right to follow his own faith.

Living a dream

Its been a while since I blogged & thought of putting down about what I had been up to. I got some serious feedback about my last write from a friend & this time I hope to bore you (if anybody is reading). Its almost the end of the year & looking back it feels I have achieved all the things I had set out to achieve. Almost. In December of last year, I penned down 4 resolutions which I planned on abiding in the coming year. Now a year back I had followed 3 of the 4 resolutions religiously. The one I didn't stick to, was no longer relevant, so lets strike that out.

So as per my resolution to travel, I set out to the Great North Indian trip. Now I dont want to write down all the small intricate details about the trip and bore anyone (the earlier feedback), so I will just stick to the highlights. The trip was mainly to attend a friend's brother's marriage, but that was after all just an excuse to visit the northern half of the majestic country. The trip lasted 11days & covered 6 States & 1 Union Territory. It started from the Delhi Airport --> Uttar Pradesh <--> Uttarakhand <--> Chandigarh <--> Punjab <--> Himachal Pradesh <--> Haryana--> Delhi. It was one of the most amazing journeys I have ever went. But there were few which stood out & it would be injustice not to mention them.

The North Indian marriage should be the one which generated the maximum amount of curiosity. Attended a marriage which started in night & went on till the early hours in morning. The lights, the color, the energy was electrifying. Got an opportunity to dance as part of the "Baarath" or the groom's procession till the wedding hall. The groom arrived at the wedding hall in the traditional horse driven chariot. The menu for dinner was limitless, starting from the Dosa of the south to well made Parrattas of the North. The ceremonies which I was not very fond off did go on for long & after a really tiring day, I dozed off in the wedding hall :)

The second place worth mentioning was Amritsar. The Golden Temple is a symbol of shear beauty. Though we had to go through an overnight train journey in chilling weather, the view of the Golden Temple, made the journey worth it. Even at 10 in the morning, the area was covered with mist but the air had a spiritual feel to it. Later in the evening had an opportunity to catch the parade at the Waga border. For all those people who are not huge patriots, the patriotism at the Waga is infectious. I never knew that I could scream out slogans like "Vande Matharam" & "Jai Hind" so loudly. The spirit & energy of the soldiers on both sides was amazing to watch.

I would call myself a non-believer, but which I was there I didn't mind checking out Haridwar & Hrishikesh, 2 of the important places of Hindu pilgrimage. Set at the banks of the so-called "holy" river Ganges, the place could easily get your liking. Though I was traveling only at the beginning of the winter, the water was still freezing cold. I could only envy the adventurous once who took a dip in the river which I had to limit myself to just washing my feet. The "Aarthi" performed in the evening at the banks of the river, was one spectacle which would remain in my mind for years to come. The students of the traditional school all dressed in yellow & red recited the prayers in such unison to an audience of close to 100. Even I was motivated to shut my camera & sit down to listen to them.

Last but certainly not the least was the visit to Delhi, the capital city of India. Everything about the place was a treat to my eyes. From the modern Metro transport, the Parliament house, the India Gate & the Qutab Minar. I can almost still taste the "Chilly Stuffed Paratta" & "Rabri Paratta" which we had in the "Paratta Wale Galli" in Chandi Chowk. Since we were running short of time, we had hurry through Delhi to see all the places, but every minute spend was worth it. Everything about Delhi is simply beautiful & I mean everything.

Those were only the highlights of the 11 day North Indian trip, but there was endless number of memories from the journey. The glimpses of the trip still comes to my mind, the cycle rickshaw rides, the delicious "alloo tikki", the early 5pm sunsets, the view of the Himalayas, the softest Paneer, beautiful faces in Delhi, the gardens of Panjore, the Gun Hill at Mussorie. So finally went the year closes I feel I have so many new places & met lot many people in this year than all my years combined.

Chasing a rainbow

I had never planned on writing a travelogue, but after the last trip I think owe the place one. At the beginning of the year, I had made 5 resolution, one of them was Traveling. After almost 10months into the year, I can safely say that I can definitely strike off one of the resolutions as complete. Managed to visit most of the cities in the southern part of the country. Planning to cover the northern half in the remaining 2months. So why write a travelogue now? Well, like I said before firstly I owe it to the place, secondly I wanted to help out anybody who is planning a trip there. So, here we go..

The idea for the trip came, when I saw the pictures of a trip my colleague went to. The instant I saw it, I knew I have to check it out. The pictures looked amazing & it turned out that the place wasn't that far out : 8hours. So planning for the "Shimoga - Sagara - Jog Falls Trip" began. Now, Jog Falls is a part of Sagara but I kind off put it separately because the place deserves its due importance. With the power of Google & Wikipedia we made a list of places to cover. It wasn't much difficult to get a list thanks to hundreds of websites which pulled up in Google's search list. All boasted about the different scenic beauties in & around Shimoga, the sanctuaries, the dam & the rivers. Made a 2page long list for the 2days, took some cash, tickets & set off.

We were supposed to go to Sagara for a day, visit four places including Jog Falls, stay in Sagara for the night. Next day travel down to Shimoga, visit 2 wildlife sanctuaries & a sunset view atop Agumbe. Five of us reached Sagara 7 in the morning. The place seemed smaller than expected, little bit bigger than a village but smaller than a town. We hadn't booked accommodation so had to search for a place. After some bit of walking around we realized that the place has only 2 lodges & decided to find the nearest one. I can safely say that my room at home was much neater & less messy than the room we got in our lodge in Sagara. I wouldn't have been surprised if I found a dead animal in the room, really !! But, we didn't want to make any judgments yet about the place, so freshened up & set out to cover the places.

First up, we decided to go to "Sikhandooru". The place is an island which could be reached only by a ferry. We rented a van for the day and fixed the price at 1000. A l0km long path which was more potholes than road took us to the ferry. The ferry was one of the most beautiful that I had ever been to. Small islands dotted the entire lake/river ( I really don't know). Though the ride took an hour, including the long wait for the ferry, I would say that it was completely worth it. Though the journey was fun, our destination was a disappointment. It seems "Sikhandooru" is famous for a temple which is of no architectural significance except for its diety. So dissapointed we turned to our next 2 destinations.

Our next destinations were again holy places (Yeah I know, an Atheist in a holy place) one being Ikkeri & other Varadhahalli. The visit to Ikkeri was worth it. The place had excellent architecture & carvings of stone. The place was really scenic & peaceful. It has lush green grass around the temple where you could relax & statues of elephants. Varadhahalli on the other hand was the biggest disappointment of the day. Neither was the journey fun, nor was the place scenic. I wondered why this place made it into a tourist location. My driver told me that he believed it was because they give free lunch :)

Last place of the day, was the Jog Falls. A long drive but the bets part of the entire trip. The Jog Falls is majestic & it stands tall. Our timing was not all that great since there wasn't much water, yet the place was mind lowing. We trekked the 1400 steps down the side to see the beauty up close. The water as white as milk falls from a height of 830ft. Tired & exhausted from the day we head back to our suffocating hotel room for a good night sleep.

Ok, its not that fun to write a travelogue as I had thought it would be. So let me fast forward through our second & less eventful day of the trip. Shimoga is a much bigger Sagara & can be called as a bigger town. The cab chargers are high & chances of getting fooled are close to 80% & we fell into that 80%. So in Shimoga we visited the "Thavarekoppe" sanctuary which had 2 lions & 3 tigers, the Gajanur Dam which didn't have water (& didn't allow photography) & a bird sanctuary which had 6 crows. Dissapointed & cheated (by our new cab driver). We turned towards our final destination for the trip, Agumbe famous for its sunsets. The place is a 100km long drive from Shimoga & can be extremely tiring because of the bad roads. We reached the place well ahead of time to see an amazing sunset. Though it wasn't the typical sunset we were hoping for, it was a different & fun filled experienced. We turned back to Shimoga from where we would return home in the late night bus. Overall, another rocking trip !!!

For my ol' pal..

From now,

coming home wouldn't be the same, without you waiting by the door;

my shoes wouldn't be the same, without you chewing on its sole;

breakfast at home wouldn't be the same, without you sleeping near our feet;

playing ball wouldn't be as much fun, without you running behind it;

the crumbled blanket wouldn't be the same, without you sprawled over it;

getting mail wouldn't be the same, without you chasing away the mailman;

pillow fights wouldn't be the same, without you fighting over it;

thunder showers wouldn't be the same, without

you hiding under the couch;

Life wouldn't be the same, without you in it..

You were the best, you were my pal.

You always listened, you never complained, you never judged.

You would stick by my side for all the mischiefs.

You would even do tricks as long as you got your chewy snack.

Will miss you my friend, will miss you Jimmy

A sad life; but happy at death

Whenever a person dies, the people around him remember the person for his goodness & share the sweet memories they have. It is the moment when people forget the negative qualities of the person & remember him for all the goodness he had. This implies for anybody no matter if he is a dictator, movie star, a politician or even a dacoit. People forget their differences to mourn at the death of the person. Many at times we do see a lot of contrast between the emotions of people towards a person before & after death. But there can be no match to the contrast in emotions of people to what they had towards MJ, before & after his death.

Michael Jackson, popularly known as MJ died on June 25 2009. The shock expressed by the world can only be preceded by what was observed at the death of Princess Diana. Millions around the world joined in prayer & mourned the death of Michael Jackson, supposedly the “King Of Pop”. Even in India thousands of fans paid their respect to the star. The visual & printed media ran 24hours broadcast about the star’s life & the incidents which lead to his death. For weeks television hosts discussed about the possible cause of death & the various medication he was undergoing. The Internet blogging community praised the life of MJ & declared that there couldn’t be a better pop star. But where were these millions of fans & supporters when he was alive?

If he was indeed the “King” of pop why did he lead a lonely secluded life? Why didn’t his family who rushed to get a spot on media after his death, support him while he was alive? Where were all those people who now want the doctors to be prosecuted who administered him wrong drugs? Why didn’t they try to stop these doctors while his life could have been saved? Why do we have to only realize the value of a person only once its too late?

It is no secret that the “king” of pop in spite of his riches & fame, lived a lonely life. He was the character who was mocked by television channels around the world. He was ridiculed for his lifestyle, the way he looked & his personal likes & dislikes. He lived his life in the middle of controversies when the world around him truly despised him. While he was alive, people around the world called him a pedophile & a “weirdo”. The very same internet groups which mourns his death earlier depicted him as a beast. We would never know whether these allegations were true or not, they would remain a mystery like MJ himself.

But if MJ has shown us something, it is that people don’t value you in life but would rather mourn for you in death.

write for a smile....

I have written a lot of posts in this blog of mine, 60 in fact (I just checked). Some of them were related to my personal life, some related to current affairs & some plain stupidity. But this time, I wanted to write something for a cause. For the right cause.

The main reason for writing this post, is a piece of news I read the other day. The news article was about a DIG in West Bengal who employed an 8Year old girl as a domestic help & later tortured her. According to the write up, this was not the first incident of physical torture inflicted on the kid, but there were many prior incidents. The child mustered the courage to contact the local police, but they denied taking up a case until an MP had personally gotten involved, later on. How can someone do this to a kid?

I had read about a law being passed, couple of years back (2007), making employment of children a punishable offense. The person who breaks this law was supposed to pay a hefty fine & can be imprisoned for the same. But when we look around we see that children are still being employed at a very early age onwards. Looking around in Bangalore, you wouldn’t find a single road side eating joints which do not have a child as a cleaner or a waiter. Only the other day, a boy who would be no older than 10years was frying chips in hot oil at one of those bakeries which is located right at the street junction. How can the authorities be so blind to allow such practices to continue? How can we let children, who we say are the future of the country, lose out on education? How can we be so selfish to profit from the low wages given to children who are forced to do a normal man's work? How can we let this happen?

I wasn't entirely sure about the law which I remember reading in the paper, sometime in October of 2007. So I decided to check out in the internet, as to what "our country" & "our constitution’s" stand on Child Labor is. A search on "child labor in India" will point you to a law named "The Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986". Now, I am no expert in law & neither will I try to act like one. But in plain English, the law prohibits a child from being employed in "certain" employments and to regulate the conditions of work of children in "certain other employments". Ok now the "certain" list which they mentioned about has 52 items in it. Now I really fail to understand 2 things- 

1) Why should be a list of "certain" employment? Why cant we abolish child labor as a whole? Why are we not focusing on compulsory primary education & instead giving loopholes by providing these lists with "certain" employments?

2) Are we at least enforcing this law for these "certain" employments? A quick glance through the list & I can see in my mind images of children whom I had seen employed in these very same "certain employments".

So we failed to give a solid proper law & we are unable to enforce the faulty one as well !

But above all this, more than the child labor, the lack of education or financial injustice, nothing is more sinister than the cruelty towards children. Has time made us so cold & selfish, that we would even hurt an innocent child? I keep seeing in the visual & printed media about the deaths of children in various part of the country. If somewhere it is due to medical negligence, then somewhere else a schoolteacher issues death penalty to a student. All these incidents become an issue of a huge controversy & discussion, but get easily forgotten once another controversy comes up. Do we always need a controversy or a death to identify what we are doing wrong? Should a 11year old die each time to make us realize that a teacher should be well trained for the job? Should half a dozen newborns die to remind us to check we manufacture & distribute the right medicine? 

As children, we looked upon & trusted our elders around us to show us the right direction, to keep us safe, to teach us. But what are we doing to our country's future? A person who holds a senior office in the police force, the upholders of justice, is actually committing a crime towards a child. If this is the actions towards a child, by a person who should be protecting us, are we safe? Is our country's future safe? How many innocent kids should die to rethink our path? How many tears should be shed to melt our heart which is hardened by our greed? How can we make a difference...

letters from another planet

Olla.. Here is my second post from ma cubicle. Come to think of it, it’s a really comfortable place to write from. It’s peaceful, quite & provides a good break from the brain draining work. Fine, I made up the last part. But anyways, it’s a nice place to write from. No particular agenda/topic for this write as well. Its just another write to capture/collect/collate my thoughts. There isn't much of them, but thought I might as well collect them anyhow.

I heard of stories where people hallucinate of seeing things which do not exist, ghosts, aliens, god..whatever. Such people were always termed to be either lunatics or spiritual. The former lands up in a mental asylum while pictures of the latter end up in frames on our prayer rooms. This is not about me seeing or feeling any ghost or alien. Instead it’s about me "feeling" like an alien myself. You know, the parallel galaxy thing. The last few weeks made me feel like an independent entity, disconnected & free from the human world. Lacking human contact, floating around in the human world, without having an interaction with the world. Like the parallel galaxy thingy..

I knew that the living alone thing would get to me one day, & it finally did. I tried running away form it & trying to make as much link possible with this human world. But it was bound to happen soon, however much I ran away from it. Tried making new links for the ones that broke & the cycle continued, but ultimately the inevitable came & all contacts was lost. Floating around in this human world, with all the activity happening around me. Felt like I didn’t exist, felt I was invisible; felt I was from the parallel galaxy. I spoke the same language, but it didn’t make much difference. Lot of activities seems to happen around me, but somehow I wasn’t related to any of those. I lived in a world where only I existed & that’s all it was.

Ok if anybody is still reading, bravo !!! Because I don’t think it would make much sense to me if I read this all over again. Anyways I am off to my house now, no, not the parallel galaxy one, but the one back in ma hometown in the human world. Hope it should revive the lost links & get me back inside. Else would return within a few days to continue floating...