A Dream realized.

Somewhere between a perfect breakfast and a mid-day meal, as the sun shines, the earth spins and a clock tower in a far corner of the city reads 10:15 AM, a strangely familiar yet completely absurd alarm-tune of ‘It’s the time to disco’ goes off my phone, substantiating my worst ever fears.
It’s time to wake up.

I take my phone out from under the pillow and hit the red button to end the melancholic melody. After a good 10 minutes of staring at the ceiling for no apparent reason, followed by a great battle of the mind, I struggle out of bed, drag myself towards the main door of the house and open it. A cold gush of wind sweeps right across my face, messing up my already disheveled hair. It’s an extremely cold and cloudy day. I stretch my arms out through the door to check if it’s drizzling; it isn’t. There is something peculiar about that day. It is too cold, too cloudy and too silent. Yet, for some weird reason, I’m unfazed by all that. I feel like I’m entranced by some heavenly spirit. I somehow sense that it’s going to be a fantastic day.

After taking a deep breath of fresh, chill air, I close the main door and move towards the kitchen to make my ambrosial morning drink, coffee. Just as I place the kettle on the stove, the phone in my pocket gives a double beep, notifying me that its highness has just received a text message. Expecting a clichéd forward message ending with ‘gud mrng, hav a nic day,’ I open my inbox. Much to my surprise and bewilderment, the sender’s name reads ‘CAT – Results.’ With mouth wide open in aghast, I shift all the attention from the kettle to the phone and click on the message. The message reads ‘CAT results are out. To get your results, please visit the CAT website.’ I stuff the phone back into my pocket, look at the kettle and whisper ‘I don’t need you anymore, I’m wide awake now,’ and leave the kitchen.

I spend the next couple of minutes rushing to my room, turning on the computer, opening the browser and keying in the website. It felt like an eternity. I finally find myself sitting in front of my computer, staring at the screen that says ‘Enter register number.’ I know I’m just one step away now; just one step away from the greatest achievement of my life. Just one step away from gaining dividends for all my hard work. Just one step away from realizing a dream. I enter my register number, close my eyes, take a moment for a short prayer, open my eyes, take a deep breath and hit the enter key.

Now, I’m greeted by an elegant white screen with my name, date of birth and array of two digit numbers which would apparently determine the fate of my life. With a heavy breath and an indescribable rush of adrenaline, I browse through the page trying to find the column that says ‘overall percentile.’ The few seconds that followed were the longest of my life. When I finally found the percentile column, I saw the text ‘Overall Percentile: 97’ clearly printed in bold black. I rub my eyes and look at the column again. There it was; it was real and it had a dazzling sheen about it. I could almost sense it gleaming at me, as though it wanted to say ‘Congrats dude, you made it.’

I give a huge sigh of relief. With trembling hands, moist eyes and an uncontrollable smile, I scroll down the screen to get more details. At the very bottom of the screen, I find a small orange box with a black background and 3 lines of texts. At the top of the box is a bold black text that reads - Congratulations, you have got calls from the following IIM’s; Call letters would be dispatched shortly.
I cannot forget the contents of the orange box even if I’m subjected to a lifetime of brain-transplants. In bright red font, the 3 lines of the orange box correspondingly read – IIM Bangalore, IIM Indore and IIM Kozhikode. I look at the ceiling, look at the screen and look at the ceiling again; wipe the tears off my eyes, nod and give another huge sigh of relief. I punch the air in joy and exclaim loudly “Yes! I finally made it.”

I’m in complete bliss. Everything is turning out exactly the way I want it to. I know it’s going to be a fantastic day indeed. I want to share my happiness with my friends too. So, I pick my phone up and call a close friend. She picks the call up in just a couple of rings and says “hello.” Her voice sounds oddly distant and her tone sounds horrendously unreal. I ignore and excitedly shout “hey! What are you doing?” Taken aback by the boisterous tone, she cautiously replies “eh, having my coffee. Why do you sound so excited?”
At this exact point, like the bullet hitting the forehead, the arrow hitting the bull’s eye and the final nail hitting the coffin; an invisible force hits me square from the inside, making me realize two things,
1) I haven’t had my coffee yet; the kettle is still on the stove.
2) I don’t even know how to make coffee!

Just like that, the cold in the air fades away, the silence subsides and it doesn’t feel like a fantastic day anymore.
And at that precise moment,
Somewhere between the transitional phase of fantasy and reality, somewhere between a perfect breakfast and a mid-day meal, as the sun shines, the earth spins and a clock tower in a far corner of the city reads 10:15 AM, a strangely familiar yet completely absurd alarm-tune of ‘It’s the time to disco’ goes off my phone, substantiating my worst ever fears.
Damn! It was all a dream.

The Apple

No, this article is not dedicated to the manufacturers of the I-Pod. In fact, it’s quite a pity that the fruit that was once better known for its forbidden felicities and eternal efficacies is today associated with a ‘touchy,’ palm size, silicon made gadget. Anyway, since the intention behind this article is neither to put Apple inc. out of business, nor to put the stock markets in jeopardy, I’ll just restrict myself to the Apple fruit alone.

Though our incessant existence, starting from the ancestral monkey, has acquainted us with innumerable varieties of fruits, the Apple fruit has always been peculiarly distinctive in its own ways. For starters, it’s ‘A for Apple’ and not ‘A for Apricot.’ I suppose that explains a lot. Not convinced yet? Well, if you had paid enough attention in your 8th standard science class, without ogling at the girl sitting in front, you would be aware that it was the Apple that hit Sir Isaac Newton hard on his head making him realize that the dude who jumped off the 15th floor of his building didn’t die merely because of his inability to fly.

It took ages for man to figure out – what goes up comes down and what goes down stays down. Remember, the Apple made it happen! Oh yes, Newton too, but it took him some beating!

The thing about the Apple fruit that astonishes me the most is the fact that some people still strongly believe that an Apple a day can actually keep the doctor away! Wow, how about that for optimism? Well, I cannot help but imagine how it would be if an apple a day can actually keep the doctor away. Apple Inc. would be a farming company, living up to its name; Apollo Hospitals would probably be renamed Apple-owe Hospitals. Doctors would be businessmen, businessmen would be engineers and engineers would be on the streets. Oh wait, aren’t engineers on the streets already? I’m sorry, my bad. Four years of engineering has put me in quite a disoriented state. Well, maybe I should start having more apples now.

Another attribute of the Apple that has never ceased to astound me is the concept of ‘Adam’s Apple.’ Firstly, if it is Adam’s apple, what on earth is it doing in my throat? Secondly, what kind of person would go around searching for an Apple when he is left all alone in an isolated island with a beautiful girl? Mr. Adam sure must have been one real hungry man. Unfortunate him; He didn’t even get to swallow his Apple completely. I do understand the lamentable state this would have put him in and my heart does go out for him. Mr. Adam might have had a tragic end, but his legacy sure lives on, much to the chagrin of my poor throat.

Inspired by Sir Newton, if you are planning to sit under an Apple tree on a scientific expedition, I strongly recommend you not to. One, it is the 21st century; the tree would be cut off by someone before even you could look up and say ‘Baa baa black sheep.’ Two, Sir Highness Newton has left us with enough derivations to break our heads with anyway. So, we do not need your contributions; relax, take it easy, use the Apple for the purpose it is meant to be used. Eat and enjoy eating.

Until the next time an apple falls off a tree, and makes history, take care and stay away from the tree.
Appy days!

Mind Matters

Have you ever wondered why there are situations where your brain badly wants you to do certain tasks while an abstruse ‘something’ in you strongly opposes? The reason is what I call the ‘MBC’ which when expanded is called the Mind-Brain Conflict. The ‘something’ is what I believe is the human Mind. This article is penned in order to express my views and understanding of the human mind which many people mistake to be synonymous with the human brain and also to elucidate the boundless potentials of the human mind which mankind has never managed to fully harness.

The subject of the human mind has engrossed philosophers and psychologists alike for several centuries now. Although they have expressed varied opinions on the subject, their views have been quite consistent with regard to the power of the human mind. Personally, I would define the human mind as ‘The single, most powerful entity that mankind has ever known, but never completely realized.’ Here, realization is not acknowledging the fact that the mind exists but striking a perfect chord between the mind, the brain and the body. Harnessing the powers of the human mind can be achieved only when the mind, the brain and the body are in harmony with each other.

Let me break it down for you. The mind, the brain and the body are three independent entities which together make your ‘self’. The mind and the brain seemingly appear to be closely connected but in reality, they are not. The body and the brain make a more realistic connection, with every action of the body being a direct result of what the brain wants. Now, the mind cannot interact directly with the body; it can do so only through the brain. Most of the times what your brain wants is quite contradictory to what your mind wants, ultimately resulting in MBC.

The mind is ‘virtuous’ while the brain is ‘self-oriented’. For instance, your mind is cognizant of right and wrong while all your brain cares about is beneficial or non-beneficial. When you are made to choose between something that is right but non-beneficial and something that is wrong but beneficial, 98% of the people go with the latter, because that’s what the brain wants. The remaining 2% are not good by any means; they are just not as bad as the others. We are dominated by a malicious, selfish ‘Brain’ while a noble, selfless ‘Mind’ is a mere spectator. Now you know what makes human beings such weak specimens.

For all the so called Brain heads out there, if you think you have it all, think again. Brains can get you a six digit salary, but it can’t teach you the values of life. Brains can take you places, but it can’t tell you where you belong. Brains can get you friends, but it can’t get you to realize friendship. Brains can get you accolades, but it can’t get you respect. Brains can get you a house, but it can’t get you a home. Brains can get you a girlfriend, but it can’t get you love. Brains can get you to live, but it can’t get you a life.

What the brain cant, the mind can, which is what makes the Mind the single most powerful entity ever known to mankind. Now, some of you might be wondering if your mind is powerful enough to make you jump up and touch the sky. You are not to be blamed entirely, however it is important to understand that actions like jumping up and touching the sky, flying in the air, etc. cannot be classified as attributes of mind; they would rather be attributes of insanity. Failure to recognize the difference between the two would be a serious threat to humanity. So it’s imperative to understand that though the human mind has immeasurable potential, it cannot be stretched beyond the realms of bodily capacities.

The self-centered human brain as we know it today is a result of centuries of evolution. For eons now, human beings have treated each other with distrust and hostility. Fighting battles, creating barriers, the concept of mankind has been fragmenting with every passing day. Today, we live in a world where the adage survival of the fittest is a way of life. If we hadn’t evolved with the ‘brains’ of today, we would be left in the desert to die. The evolution of the human brain into what it is today is not by choice or chance but by inevitable necessity which we humans have brought upon ourselves.

Today, with issues ranging from global warming to food shortages to terrorism, mankind is in the fringe of annihilation like never before. All our hopes now hang on a thin thread held together not by our brains, but by our minds. Though the human brain, with its artificial barriers, has left mankind divided; we are all still held together by an invisible bond of our minds. The brain is merely the virtue of the body; but the mind knows better, for it is, the virtue of the soul.

Harnessing the power of the human mind is not something that can be achieved by you or me, but it’s something that can only be achieved collectively by us, the human race.

The day every single human being starts using ‘we’ in place of ‘me’, ‘our’ in place of ‘my’, and starts living by it; the day when an Indian goes to a mosque in Pakistan and a Pakistani goes to a temple in India; the day when an American and an Afghan exchange sweets for Christmas and celebrate Eid together; the day when a North Korean and a South Korean can sit together with a cup of coffee and laugh over a distressed past; the day when an Israeli and a Palestine can share a neighborhood and call themselves friends; the day when the words ‘Rich’ and ‘Poor’ are no longer part of the dictionaries; the day when a child reads about ‘Terrorism’ and ‘Racism’ in the history text books;
That day, would be the day human race learnt to effectively use a power incomparably larger than any Nuclear-bomb or Army ever known.
That day, would be the day human race learnt to harness the power of the mind.
That would be the day when people stop merely existing and start living.
Such is the power of the human mind.

Black-ed Out!

BLACK is just a poor, harmless color. Yet, almost all the things associated with it have completely negative implications. This maybe partially attributed to the fact that the general human perception of the color black is associated with feelings like misery, depression, grief etc. I can make sense of this to an extent, because we’re talking about a color that’s quite character-less and dark by itself. But does that mean that we have to subject it to so many negativities?

Black hearted person: A person who is mean and unloving.
I was under the impression that being mean and unloving had something to do with the person’s character. But apparently it looks like it has more to do with ‘black’ than it has to do with the person’s mentality.
Black list: List of undesirable persons or entities.
Well, can’t it just be something like the “undesirable-list” or “lame-list” or maybe just “name-list”? where did the ‘black’ come from?
Blackmail: The act of threatening to reveal information about a person unless the threatened party fulfills certain demands.
Why should a threat that is generally sent through E-mail be called blackmail?
Black day: Refers to a sad or tragic day.
Like 7 whole agonizing days from Sunday to Saturday are not enough.
Black magic: Destructive or evil form of magic.
Yea Right! Like other forms of magic are useful to the society!
Black mark: An indication of failure or censure.
With all the colors available to us, why should it always be black?
Black sheep: A person who causes shame or embarrassment because of deviation from the accepted standards of his or her group.
Now how does that have anything to do with a sheep, or the color of the sheep?

The US president Barrack Obama is always referred to as the first “black president”. Why not refer to him as the first “African-american president”? Why should “Black” always be rubbed in? Well, former president Gerorge.W.Bush was never referred to as the forty third “white president” was he? So why such discrimination when it comes to Black alone? Doesn’t black look as wonderful as all the colors the universe has to offer? Why should ‘black’ always be viewed at such pessimistic perspective?

The answers to these questions might take us centuries back in time, maybe even to the very beginning of mankind, or maybe we’ll never find the answers. But that doesn’t matter. The fact is, black is a beautiful color; It is the only color that adds life to all the other colors; Black is unique, sophisticated and is the mother of all colors. ‘Black’ has its influence in almost everything around us. Even the lovely stars and the majestic moon need a ‘black’ background to elucidate them. The universe would be meaningless without the color Black.

Alas, when the heart stops beating and the eye stops blinking, Black is all we would have left in us. Black isn’t just around us, it is a part of us. Black isn’t just the essence of life, it is the essence of the soul. Black is eternal, Black is forever.

Incisive Intruder

It was a cold, rainy night. The streets were completely deserted; it was pitch-dark and there was an eerie silence that prevailed. In all, it had everything in the making, for a perfect horror film, or in my case, a deadly intruder!

My parents were not in town, and I had to spend the night all alone in my house. It was just one of those nights when I just knew something strange was going to happen. I finished my supper, watched TV till I turned off the lights and went to bed. It was close to midnight, and I wasn’t able to get any sleep because of the spookiness in the air. I was trying my best to get some sleep until suddenly, disaster struck!

There was an intruder in my room! Since it was too dark, I wasn’t able to get a proper glance at him. I was pretty sure he was positioned very close to me, because I could sense him. Initially I was startled. I was wondering how he entered my room. Then I figured that he would have probably come in through the open windows. I immediately got out of bed and switched on the lights. He had disappeared in a jiffy. He couldn’t have left the room that fast. So, the only possibility was that, he was hiding behind the cupboard. Petrified with what had just happened, I tried to put myself together and slowly approached the cupboard. There he was! I could see him. His eyes were fixed upon me. He had an air of purpose. He was all set to strike; Ready to draw blood.

I knew I had to take him down before he hurt me. As I was thinking about means to achieve that, without warning, he attacked! He came storming at me and tried to plunge into me. I dodged; it was a narrow miss. Now I was face to face with my enemy. Luckily, I had him cornered. I knew this was my last chance. I took a deep breath, brought all my power together, aimed at him, and gave him one fatal blow. There was a squeak and a splash of blood. Yes! The mosquito was dead.

A Lost Path

Robert Frost once bravely ventured into the path less traveled, and it made all the difference. Lucky for him, he had only two paths to choose from. Try asking a 12th standard student about choosing the right path, not to mention the path less traveled! You'd be lucky to get away with a mere stare. In a country of a billion, is the path less traveled actually plausible? Well, even if it is, how many parents would actually endure it if their kids choose their own paths? The only path a lawyer's child would be allowed to pursue would be a path to the Supreme Court. The only path a doctor's child would be allowed to take up, would be to the Government Hospital. Well, almost all our ancestors were once farmers. Imagine how things would have been if they'd had it their way.

We all have our own interests, and it will be apt to endeavor a path in which we are interested in. "I'm doing this, because I have a passion for it" is what you would like to hear from your child, rather than – "I'm doing this, because my dad wanted me to". Let us be practical here. Just because the poor child has your eyes, and has a smile that resembles yours, doesn't mean that he/she will excel in your profession. Remember – Sachin Tendulkar's father never played cricket and my father never wrote articles.

When WAR is the only road to PEACE. . .

It’s not a secret anymore. Pakistan is the epicenter of terrorism! The whole world knows it! Yet, we know it better than any other, because we’ve been at the receiving end of it all for too long now. I’m not too much of a war-mongering person, but there’s a limit for tolerance. We have given Pakistan all the respect that a neighbor deserves; we have been more than patient with them in a lot of aspects; we’ve given them enough evidence and enough chances. I think India has had enough of a friendship that was never meant to be. What happened on 26th November in Mumbai was completely over the line. Enough is enough. Now, it’s time to act. The issue isn’t about whether we need to impose war on Pakistan or not; the fact of the issue is, WAR is upon us!

When we talk of attacking Pakistan, what is essentially being implied is, attack on the terror-camps based in Pakistan. These terror camps are the cause of concern because they are the breeding grounds for terror all over the world, and in spite of world countries urging Pakistan to bring these camps down, Pakistan doesn’t seem to be taking any action. November 26th definitely demonstrated the extent of ease with which these organizations function within Pakistan. So, when we wage war on Pakistan, we will only target these terror camps. It’s not like we are going to go massacre innocent Pakistanis. (we’ll leave that to the terrorists)

Being a sovereign and secular nation, India has every right to defend itself against externalities. Almost 30% of our tax money goes into defense. At 2.5 million, Indian army is the second largest standing army in the world. What’s the point in spending so much if we are never going to make use of it? What happened on 26th November was an attack on India, not just on Mumbai. If we do not respond appropriately and immediately, we are undeniably being too soft on terror and in a way abetting it.

Post September 11, 2001, there hasn’t been a single terrorist attack on the US soil. The reason behind that -
War on Afghanistan, War on Iraq, USA made sure that all its enemies were dealt with. I don’t expect India to be as effective as the US. I admit, it is asking for too much, considering our politicians! All I ask for is some aggressive intent.

Around 2000 people were killed in the WTC attacks. Actions taken by US after the attacks changed the way the entire world looked at terror. We have tens of thousands of our Indians dying every year because of terrorism in various forms. It has been happening almost without respite for the past thirty years. What have we ever done about it? Have we even remotely endeavored to do anything aggressive? If that’s the kind of approach we are going to have, then it is indeed of no surprise that external forces annihilate us. They know we will not act effectively, and thus keep up their relentless attack on us. Every single time an attack is successful, it only makes them stronger. If we need an everlasting solution to this; if we are going to make India a safe place for our future generations, then, WAR is the only option.

It’s really surprising that some people actually expect India and Pakistan to have a harmonious co existence. Yea right!! Just imagine: We’ll probably end up having RDX for breakfast or have school kids playing catch with hand grenades. Let us face the ultimate – India and Pakistan were never friends to begin with, and can never be. If we had been friends, the split would never have happened. We would have been a single nation today.

Some intellectual pundits claim that war isn’t going to change anything; it’s only going to worsen things; we need to look at other peaceful means, and that we need to be united as a country to solve this problem, so on and so forth.

Well, firstly, aren’t things already in a bad state?
Secondly, what’s going to happen if we do unite?
Well yes, it would indeed be a picturesque moment. We can light candles, bring out banners with patriotic statements, raise slogans, stand together as one nation and sing our national anthem. Undoubtedly awe inspiring. However, envision what would happen if someone in the crowd shouts out - “there’s a terrorist here!!” ?
I’m pretty sure every single person in that gathering would run for his life, helter-skelter, and trust me, national unity would be the last thing on his mind. No offense, I’m just trying to be a little practical here. I do agree that people coming together and expressing their views is a wonderful sight, and it does go a long way. But what are we trying to achieve here? If we are under the impression that we are fighting terror by doing all this, then I’m sorry to say, we’re just wasting our time. Let’s talk a little sense. We’re talking about men with AK-47 rifles and hand grenades. They are trained to kill. I seriously don’t see how mass gathering or expression of unity is going to stop them, or their AK-47’s from functioning.

We need to fight fire with fire. We need to hit them, and we need to hit them hard. India has to make a strong statement. Let our enemies know that we are not going to sit back and watch all their atrocities continue. We have to remind them that we have weapons too, instill fear in them, the same fear that is haunting a billion lives today. Let’s make this, the moment of justice. We shall stand united behind our brave soldiers, who are well and truly our only beacon now, not with banners or candles, but with a strong message of love and unity.

When war is the only road to peace, we do not have an option. If we don’t act now, perhaps, we never will be able to. This is our only chance. Let us make this count – for you, for me, for the tens and thousands who have been victim of terror, for all our unsung heroes who’ve sacrificed their lives for us and last but not the least, a nation that has had enough of blood shed on its soil. Let us make this INDIA’S WAR ON TERROR. Let us send a strong message across to all those people who still think India is a soft nation. Let the world know that India is a nation that always craves for peace, but can also get aggressive when provoked. Let them know that India is not only the land of Mahatma Gandhi; but is also the land of Subhas Chandra Bose. Jai hind!