Friday, March 29, 2013
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Crime and punishment!
Zaibunissa Qazi got five year rigorous imprisonment under TADA in 1993 blast verdict. Allegedly her crime was to unknowingly allowing her house as a safe heaven for the arms and ammunition which were later used in 1993 blast. She was 51 year old when she was arrested and now 71 year with severe kidney complications.
On the contrary, charges against Sanjay Dutt for illegal arms possession under TADA was dropped, even though allegedly he confessed to have acquired them from underworld dons which he later retracted. Eventually he was tried under Arms Act of India and given five year of imprisonment. After the verdict, Sanjay accepted the verdict with a heavy heart and agreed to serve the sentence.
Things were fine till this point. But the problem started to emerge with large number of celebrities, law makers and politicians starting to bate for Sanjay and his clemency. It is quite understandable for friends and family to show sympathy and seek clemency. But what about the social conscience of people who don't know him closely, like, Markandey Katju, Mamata Banerjee and several other prominent politicians. The reasons given are that he has suffered a lot in last 20 years, and that he has a family to look after. So is true about Zaibunissa. Why didn't anyone asked for Zaibunissa's pardon? Just because she is an unknown face. Shouldn't people be more careful in assessing the verdict before fanning out their liking for certain people. On one side you reinforce the fact that law is equal for everyone but at the same time you show a double standard, as evident between Sanjay and Zaibunissa.
Why wasn't zaibunissa tried under Arms Act? Why was she singled out? It is for people to see the obvious.
I have nothing against Sanjay Dutt. He has been graceful in accepting the verdict. He has all the right to appeal for pardon so has his family and friends. But do I agree that he should be pardoned, not before Zaibunissa Qazi and I am sure Sanjay would agree with me. What pains me the most is the double standard of politicians and lawmakers.
Justice delayed is justice denied. At one point it used to be crime followed by punishment and now its crime followed by delay and further delay and some more delay.....
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Wonderful Sundays!
Weekends are meant for fun, to go out and explore the randomness. Days to break out of mundane daily life and give ourselves a breather. Normally, for me the weekends are spent either working in lab or in bed snoozing the alarm nth time. Even my girlfriend has given up on me and patiently waits for me to finally get out of bed and call her. I must say I can't imagine being with anyone else but her :). Calling her and watching movies together are the only exciting part of weekends.
But for past couple of weekends things have been little different and little more interesting. Last Sunday I was able to drive myself to city and spend a wonderful chilly day with my friends Aroop and Dawn. A day of endless walk, good cheap food and equally good and cheap beer. Dawn's interest in antiques got us a chance to walk through some of the best antique furniture at annual antique show in the city. Over all a wonderful Sunday.
This Sunday too the fun continued. Shomo, a friend of mine, and his wife were kind enough to invite Divya and I to their place for lunch. Lamb biryani, prawn in coconut sauce, mango chutney and sewaiya made our day followed by random lazy chitter chatter about religion and politics. Over all another wonderful Sunday.
I hope the fun continues!
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Oh my beloved...you will be dearly missed!!!
Winter is my favorite weather. A weather of gray shades, gloominess and most importantly layers of clothes. How I love the chilly wind sending a shiver down the body and walking in heaps of snow, leaving behind footprints and many more impressions. Being a foodie, winter is the time to hog on to anything or everything without any guilt. Fried food and smell of good coffee never tastes so good in any other weather but winter. Oh how I can easily hide my overgrown belly under layers of clothes and fool myself in eating more and a lot more :)
But as someone once said, everything has a self life, especially things which bring excitement has much shorter life, like a rose survives only for a few days but elephant can live forever. Mind it I have nothing against elephants, rather I love baby elephants who doesn't :) so the winter is almost at the brink of departure. Spring has been trying its best, but winter is dying a death of one of those Bollywood heroes, stretching every last breath.
The most scary thing is that layers of clothes will disappear and will soon give away all my secret. The guilt is gonna creep up and only thing that will show up is the bump. Oh how I dread that. But may be I need it to prepare myself for another year of winter.
Oh my beloved...you will be dearly missed, till we meet again!!!
Saturday, March 16, 2013
My favorite women on TV.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Have I changed?
I am wondering, have I changed? Have I become a mere a reflection of what I used to be growing up?
I remember my school days when I was so eager to do something big in life, never settle for anything less. But there were things that happened since then. It all started when I moved to Delhi in summer of 1997 to pursue my high school studies. To be very honest, it was one of the most difficult transitions. A transition from a small town of notorious state of Bihar to a cruel, crude and one of the most unforgiving state of Delhi. I was a rural bloke with a sharp brain full of naivety but no sense of personality. I was mocked for my bihari accent, for my crude behavior and for not having any ounce of sophistication. Contrary to my believe, at that time it seemed like these were the basic necessity of life, at least in a city like Delhi. I used to go to school with a constant fear of ridicule which largely affected my studies and and my outlook towards life. At an impressionable age like that it did nothing but fueled my frustration and introvert nature. In addition to that, a constant anxiety of not being able to live up to parents expectation had severe impact, keeping in mind money they were spending on me. Those two years were like an ordeal and I couldn't come out of it. Even my parents saw a downward spiral change in my approach and achievements without going in too much detail. Despite all this I somehow managed to pass 12th standard. Now was the time to shift the gear and make up for the loss time and hence, I decided to take a year off to prepare for IIT entrance exams. Things did seem to change for good. I was focused and was in the process to get back on the track. I cleared my prelims for the engineering exams. However I will be lying if I dont admit that a part of me has started to move away from engineering. I can't say for sure what actually was going on in my mind but I would say for sure that I was slowly losing my interest. The unknown interest was reflected in my failure to get into entrance exams. It was very depressing period. A time where I was not sure of anything and a fear of unknown was lingering in my heart. The only logical things for me to do was to get admitted to a college for my undergraduate studies. A year back I would have never imagined that I would be siting in one of the classrooms of St. Stephen's college, scribbling on white piece of paper, disillusioned and oblivious of everything. First few months were very strange. I felt like I didn't belong here. All of sudden, feeling of failure was creeping in. However, things started to get a little better with time, met new people, found that life doesn't end here. Many things happened in those three years of my college. The first year was an year of self discovery, year when I started to find ground underneath. I started to let myself be, without getting affected by emotions and trivial issues. This really helped me. I vividly remember the day when my friend told me the results of first year. I couldn't believe it. It was like school days back again. I remember mom telling me "itna acha to tumne school exam me bhi nahin kiya" I thought the I was back. Please excuse my hubris words, I was hardworking, focused and I was content. This continued for next three years. After college, I so wanted to go for MBA but soon I realized it wasn't something that I actually wanted, even though I cleared the exams but couldn't qualify the interview round.
Masters was the next thing that happened. To be honest I didn't like the place at all. But then with time I made few friends and two years flew by like anything. I applied for PhD and within few months I was at stony brook beginning a new phase of my life. Knowing I had to prove myself all over again I was out there doing the things that I was good at; working hard. It paid off and people who were outsiders where now my friends. It wasn't as easy it may sound. The course work wasn't that bad the real game started when I began my research. It was pretty darn tough considering I didn't have prior research experience. Only way to tackle it was to work hard, spend all my time in lab. I was immersed in work. I remember for days I used to be in lab doing things. To make things worse, nothing was working. It was extremely frustrating. By the time I found foot in lab, another obstacle came flying. People started cornering me. I don't know why, to be honest till this time I have never understood. At personal level too things were very gloomy. Love break up zindagi....to put in a simple word. After some time when people go through frustration for long they just stop caring and that is when the downward spiraling happened. I wish I could have stopped myself and got a hold of myself. I see Aroop who has done so well for himself and I look at myself. I haven;t achieved much, may be I could have but I didn't. I dont know why am I the way I am and how did I reach here? I should admit I am happy and content but at times I do feel frustrated professionally. I mean I am still stuck here whereas people have moved on to find something good professionally. It goes without saying that I am to be blamed for all this but I think I am doing everything that I can do. You know what actually pains the most; people telling me-"oh you are still stuck here"
However, at personal level I am happy. I just take some peace in thinking that "this isn't the end of world !!"
I remember my school days when I was so eager to do something big in life, never settle for anything less. But there were things that happened since then. It all started when I moved to Delhi in summer of 1997 to pursue my high school studies. To be very honest, it was one of the most difficult transitions. A transition from a small town of notorious state of Bihar to a cruel, crude and one of the most unforgiving state of Delhi. I was a rural bloke with a sharp brain full of naivety but no sense of personality. I was mocked for my bihari accent, for my crude behavior and for not having any ounce of sophistication. Contrary to my believe, at that time it seemed like these were the basic necessity of life, at least in a city like Delhi. I used to go to school with a constant fear of ridicule which largely affected my studies and and my outlook towards life. At an impressionable age like that it did nothing but fueled my frustration and introvert nature. In addition to that, a constant anxiety of not being able to live up to parents expectation had severe impact, keeping in mind money they were spending on me. Those two years were like an ordeal and I couldn't come out of it. Even my parents saw a downward spiral change in my approach and achievements without going in too much detail. Despite all this I somehow managed to pass 12th standard. Now was the time to shift the gear and make up for the loss time and hence, I decided to take a year off to prepare for IIT entrance exams. Things did seem to change for good. I was focused and was in the process to get back on the track. I cleared my prelims for the engineering exams. However I will be lying if I dont admit that a part of me has started to move away from engineering. I can't say for sure what actually was going on in my mind but I would say for sure that I was slowly losing my interest. The unknown interest was reflected in my failure to get into entrance exams. It was very depressing period. A time where I was not sure of anything and a fear of unknown was lingering in my heart. The only logical things for me to do was to get admitted to a college for my undergraduate studies. A year back I would have never imagined that I would be siting in one of the classrooms of St. Stephen's college, scribbling on white piece of paper, disillusioned and oblivious of everything. First few months were very strange. I felt like I didn't belong here. All of sudden, feeling of failure was creeping in. However, things started to get a little better with time, met new people, found that life doesn't end here. Many things happened in those three years of my college. The first year was an year of self discovery, year when I started to find ground underneath. I started to let myself be, without getting affected by emotions and trivial issues. This really helped me. I vividly remember the day when my friend told me the results of first year. I couldn't believe it. It was like school days back again. I remember mom telling me "itna acha to tumne school exam me bhi nahin kiya" I thought the I was back. Please excuse my hubris words, I was hardworking, focused and I was content. This continued for next three years. After college, I so wanted to go for MBA but soon I realized it wasn't something that I actually wanted, even though I cleared the exams but couldn't qualify the interview round.
Masters was the next thing that happened. To be honest I didn't like the place at all. But then with time I made few friends and two years flew by like anything. I applied for PhD and within few months I was at stony brook beginning a new phase of my life. Knowing I had to prove myself all over again I was out there doing the things that I was good at; working hard. It paid off and people who were outsiders where now my friends. It wasn't as easy it may sound. The course work wasn't that bad the real game started when I began my research. It was pretty darn tough considering I didn't have prior research experience. Only way to tackle it was to work hard, spend all my time in lab. I was immersed in work. I remember for days I used to be in lab doing things. To make things worse, nothing was working. It was extremely frustrating. By the time I found foot in lab, another obstacle came flying. People started cornering me. I don't know why, to be honest till this time I have never understood. At personal level too things were very gloomy. Love break up zindagi....to put in a simple word. After some time when people go through frustration for long they just stop caring and that is when the downward spiraling happened. I wish I could have stopped myself and got a hold of myself. I see Aroop who has done so well for himself and I look at myself. I haven;t achieved much, may be I could have but I didn't. I dont know why am I the way I am and how did I reach here? I should admit I am happy and content but at times I do feel frustrated professionally. I mean I am still stuck here whereas people have moved on to find something good professionally. It goes without saying that I am to be blamed for all this but I think I am doing everything that I can do. You know what actually pains the most; people telling me-"oh you are still stuck here"
However, at personal level I am happy. I just take some peace in thinking that "this isn't the end of world !!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)