The Value of Rs.500

Yes, No, I Don't Know.

Every morning when I go through the paper, I start with the supplement, and then work my way from the back to the front. I somehow cannot start a newspaper from Page 1.
Maybe they should print the headlines on the last page. Would certainly serve me better.
Anyways, one of the last things I read in the paper is the popular Opinion Poll on some issue or the other. You know. Stuff like, " Should Lalu be given free train tickets?" or " Should Obama marry Oprah Winfrey on the Chandrayaan?" and such like.
Ok, I made up those questions. But its not the questions that are the issue. Its the answers. The answers are basically a multiple choice type.

A. Yes
B. No
C. I Don't Know

Please send an sms to 58822 with your answer. For Eg; If your answer is 'Yes', please type Choice A and send to 58822. Standard sms charges apply.

So everyone sitting on the pot, in the morning, send an sms or two with their choices.
And we get to see the results the next day in the paper.
Yes- 72%
No- 22%
I Don't Know - 6%

This is when I start having difficulty in understanding people. If you ahve a definite answer and you text it, it is understandable. Why the f**k would you want to send an sms saying, " I don't know" ? If you don't know, then why dont you just save that rupee worth of sms? You might use it to text your lover that one last cootchie-coo. Or maybe give a missed call when you are low on balance. Seriously. I think it should be made mandatory that everyone who sends an sms saying "I Don't Know' should be made to send across their names and phone numbers as well. And we can all bombard them with texts ranging form sympathy to abuse.

Cops?

Another caste war. I really wonder if we are progressing or regressing. Its a bloody shame that while ONE guy gets beaten up mercilessly, and then continues to get beaten up even after passing out, all the cops do is WATCH from a distance. How the FUCK will we ever have any sort of trust in cops? in humanity? in life?

I think they should probably get a new dress code for the Cops of Chennai. I would have suggested a sari and blouse, topped off with some bangles, but heck, that would just mean a real insult to women. What these particular gutless no-balls cops should wear is a string of leaves around their frontal genitals. And leave their rear exposed so that we can all give them a good kick. Shame on you Chennai.

smoke from the ears

This actually started of as a retort to a comment on one of my regular blog-reads, the Cow-Herd. And then it grew so long that I thought I might as well pen it down here.


Umm..
Avantika says why can't smokers be a li'l considerate? I have nothing against her. Infact I do agree with her, when it comes to people blowing smoke on your faces.

But one might ask, why cant the non-smokers be more considerate?
If they want smokers to move away fro a smoke (which a majorty of smokers do at any rate), why can't the ones who do not like others smoking move away too?

The ban is definitely welcome, but it is so 'hazy' that one is just not sure where is one allowed to smoke now. What sense does it make to ban smoking in designated smoking zones at workplaces? What sense does it make to ban smoking in restaurants which already have smoking and non-smoking zones demarcated? Pray tell me, how dos it make any sense to come out en-masse on to the street and have a fag, since its banned in offices, restaurants etc? The other day I went to Xtreme Sports Bar, and on reaching that palce I see this huge crowd outside, and I thought that no way will be able to get a table here tonight. But on going in, I found out that everyone and come out for a smoke and the place was empty inside. Ridiculous.

Smoking is banned in a public place, and the place is a public place if there are more than 2 people standing there. This is what the definition is, really. Apparently, if you are on a street and are alone, you can have a smoke. But if you have 2 more people standing with you, its a public place, and you will be fined for smoking. But what if there are 10 people standing and smoking and no non-smokers around? Will they all be fined? Because they are more than 3 and hence it has now become a public place? Ok, what if there are 10 smokers smoking away to glory and one non-smoker standing around? Will the smokers be fined? Isn't it the duty of the non-smoker to move? Or just because he is a non-smoker (poor inconvenienced soul) all the other 10 should stub it out?

I am not against the ban on smoking. I am against the gross stupidity and blind-stubborness on the part of the govt. Agonise-many Ramadouche is a dip***t who has no idea how to do what. Last year it was something else, this year it is this ban and next year it will be something else. It really seems like he is someone suffering from an acute case of ADD and pulls these stunts to attract attention.

Besides, for all our cry of being a democracy, we keep doing some random dictatorial acts which makes absolutely no sense. The other day someone said that If he is so worried abt smoking screwing up pur health, why doesnt he go ahead and ban colas as well. PLEASE DO NOT give him ideas!!! He probably might just do that.

I am not a smoker myself, but it's this very stupid laws which rattle me no end because of the slow poisonous sign of killing my freedom. For eg; whats with the blanket ban on dancing in Bangalore? Are you nuts? Ah, are our morals and culture at stake? This coming from you, the same person who took a Rs. 200 bribe to push a file. Or accepted a plot of land to clear the land-title for making that Club in the first place? Or giving Rs.10000 to get your son admitted in the poshest school in town? Get a life really. Oh, you are worried about culture you say? I am not even gonna retort to that Mr. Cultured-man.Not after spotting you in a three-some at the private room of the same club. Screw your fake worry for culture and morals. I am sure it has a price. What and how much is it? I guess a coupla lakhs and 10mins of showing your face on tv (to appease your ADD) should do the trick?
Ban smoking if you want, but do it in a systematic manner and not do it in such an ad-hoc manner as to come up with an idea that you probably thought up while smoking a ciggie on your pot. And while you are on the pot, you might as well think of getting better medical facilities and healthcare across the country. Open more schools that impart education and information about teh hazards of smoking. Show that you care, but do not bulldoze your way into our lives just because you have been given the authority.

Weird weird weird.

The Nano is everywhere.

Heh..came across this while reading my daily dose of comics




I can't believe its global now! I hope they export most of the cars and sell a minority here.Please buy them up, o America!


If its already everywhere virtually, I shudder at the thought of our roads.
I had written about this, and now I am even more convinced! Tata No-No!

What a con!

Ok, I was on facebook, as I am wont to do when I have nothing to do. And I see this banner on the right screaming, " Want to meet your perfect partner? Check out excitinglives.com" or something of that sort. So being single, available, bored and at home, I thought I should give this site a check. Actually I check all new sites, to get more ideas for my entrepreneurial mind. No I am not a narcissist. I am an Entrepreneur. ;p
Yeah, so I checked it out. Looked good. Till I came across this - Charcoal Portrait !
Are you kidding?! This really has to be a con. Or maybe people don't use Photoshop as much as they think. Or so this site hopes! :)
I am starting my own Charcoal services soon!!! Heck, if people fall for this, I might as well take advantage of it, you know.

Ok, see ya around soon. I am off to design my site now!

Awesome TV Idea

I just bought a 42" Philips LCD Tv and was looking around on the internet for a good idea to plagiarize and build a TV cabinet for it. Did find a few which I liked, especially from Ikea.com.
Unfortunately for me, they do not supply to India, and I have to make do with checking out for discount offers from the various furniture homes in Hyderabad.
What I did find on the internet was this video of an awesome solution to store your television.



The only trouble is, I guess since its so close to the eyes, you will need a lot of eye massage creams :)

Luck, Fortune, Dumb

Ok,
Let me first cut, copy and paste the definition of the central theme of this post.

Luck :
n.

1. The chance happening of fortunate or adverse events; fortune: They met one day out of pure luck.
2. Good fortune or prosperity; success: We wish you luck.
3. One's personal fate or lot: It was just my luck to win a trip I couldn't take.

Now lets come to a comment by Katrina Kaif that I happened to come across while reading a magazine today. On being asked about her rise to stardom and how she is now considered a 'lucky' mascot, She said [verbatim], "I don't believe in the word luck, I just think I was fortunate." Umm..Katrina, much as I drool over you, I gotta say, WTF?!! Oh, and when is your sister joining the movies. I gotta practice my drool.

So, I saw 'Shaurya -It takes courage to make right...right.' tonight. A pretty good movie. Ok, it was alright. It was based on the Indian Army, so I thought I must watch it ( a really mild sub-conscious way of appreciating my dad's continuing service in the army and, more or less, to feel some sort of connection to the Indian Army since I declined to join ;p)
Now coming back to the point. It is amazing that the movie is based on valour and the ethical code. It is amazing because of the superb perfomances by Deepak Dobriyal (who has, maybe, 3 or 4 words in the entire movie - give or take 1.) and Kay Kay Menon. Deepak Dobriyal is probably the next Nana Patekar. And Kay Kay Menon is already the Nana Patekar. Both of them were simply too good. And so is Nana Patekar. No, he is not in the movie. I just think he is a fantastic actor.
Now coming back to the point once again, what is even more amazing about this movie being about valour and the ethical & moral code is that the movie itself is a ripoff of A Few Good Men. Heh Heh. I love such amazing hypocrisy and tongue-in-cheek stuff.
What you will ask me, is that how does this tie in with the theme of this post - luck. Actually, it does not. In any major way I mean. The Major in the movie - Rahul Bose, is assigned to be the Defence Lawyer. And he is suddenly struck by the peculiarity of the case while driving on a highway with his crush. He stops the car and tries to re-enact the crime scene and asks the question, " Why did Javed shoot Rathore and Rathore only?! Why didnt he shoot anyone else?"
Ummm..Bose, you really won the case by pure luck, didn't you? If this is not in the first 3 questions that you ask as soon as you are assigned the case, and deem it correct to ask and mull over when I am already on the 2nd CD of the 2-CD movie, you better be darned lucky to crack your next case, son.

I crashed my car 2 weeks back. The left side of the car. Due to no ABS and EBD, taking a slight curve on a wet road at 60kph caused my car to skid across the road and crash into the pavement. The impact damaged the fender, the apron, the lower arm, the left supension, the wheel and my savings in the bank. ONE day after I finalised the sale of the car. And ONE day before the guy was supposed to take delivery.
THAT is a Pure Unadulterated Bad Instance of Catastrophe.PUBIC.
So Katrina, I was unlucky and not fortunate enough. When is your next movie coming out? *drool*

Profound Conversation

Here I was sitting, bored at work. Staring blindly at my Macbook, wondering how best to pass my time. Working night-shifts, pandering to gore clients had already taken its toll in terms of dark-circles and red-eye in addition to endless cups of coffee. So just as I was on the verge of boredom beyond no return, I got a call from a friend of mine who happened to be driving back from someplace. He was wondering if I could give him company for a smoke. I didnt want to smoke, but I wanted company. So it was a yes.

He came over to my office 10mins later, and we were both just sitting on the sidewalk. Right around now, his blood-count was probably 30%proof alcohol.

Talk started with work. Something like this:

JPT: So, wassup? How's work coming along?
me : It's kinda slow, but if I stick through this I am sure I'll survive.
JPT: Yeah. (pause) There is a friend of mine who is doing something similar, along with some of his friends. You should meet them. We call them 'Lungi gang'. You know why?
Me: Yeah..they probably work from home in their Lungis and PJs.
JPT: Haha..yeah. You should meet them.
Me: Yeah, I guess. But I am a bit of an anti-social. I don't like meeting too many people. I only meet friends now, and I dont even want to make new friends. Pretty screwed up eh?
JPT: No man, you should.
Me: Yeah, right! Look who's talking.
JPT: Haha. No man, you should. You must become an anti-anti-social.
Me: Haha.
JPT: Seriously. You know, in many ways, I think we are the same.
Me: Umm..
JPT: I might be wrong, but we are the same man.
Me: Dude...Are you gay?!
JPT: haha..no man..im not hitting on you.
Me: Thank god.
JPT: Haha. You know, if I think I know you correctly, you don't care about money. I know you want a bgger car, and all that stuff, but I also know that even if you don't have these things, you will still be satisfied.
Me: Yeah, I think you know me. Umm..are you sure you are not gay?!
JPT: Haha, yes. no. I mean I'm not gay.Anyways, the point here is : "If you are satisfied, You are fucked!!"
Me: (pondering over it)
JPT: That's what I have realised.


A long conversation ensued after this, which was quite interesting, and was also interspersed with some discussion of business. So to save you people from such torture, and in the interest of my business, I will not put it up here.

But our 4hrs of conversation brought us to the following conclusions:
1) If you are satisfied with your life, you are fucked!
2) See Point 1.

I agree wholeheartedly.

'Keep off the Grass'- A must read

Just finished reading 'Keep off the Grass'. A refreshing new novel by Karan Bajaj.

I picked up the book at one of the book-stores at the Hyderabad International Airport, while waiting to pick up my Mum. I ended up making my Mum wait instead. 

While the book starts off as any other book, it starts gripping you by the second chapter, and it would be nothing short of sinful to stop flipping the pages.

The book is about Samrat Ratan, a 25yr old Yale graduate investment banker on Wall Street. But only for a bit, after which he leaves all that behind to 'find himself'. In the process joining IIM-B, sharing a smoke with some Aghoree saints, getting stoned in the Himalayas and a trip to Dharamsala. 

Other key players in the book are Sarkar, a forever champion of getting stoned, while an remaining an enigma to others with his bafflingly deep insights about life and other assortments that come with it. And Vinod, an ex-Army officer. The book follows the (mis)adventures of the trio through pot and potholes of Bangalore.

I found myself closely relating to the protagonist and sharing his view-points about many a thing in the book. And it will definitely strike a chord with many corporate sluts who have always wanted to break away from the monotonous humdrum lives they lead. Living a few hours of that life through 'Keep Off the Grass' (especially if you read it during work-hours) is something I will advise to all and sundry.

The book seems like an amalgamation of the thought processes of Agastya Sen and Holden Caulfield, but is actually completely fresh and though you would be trying hard to find a line of similarity between the three, Karan manages to keep his protagonist a complete original.

If you want a great book to curl up with this monsoon, you have to read this one.

-Rohan Yeggina

PS: Don't be cheap, BUY the book. And get one for your mate too!

Baby Birth Bizzare

Came across some really weird stuff in the papers today.
The first one was :


Pregnant woman gives birth while hanging
Reuters
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 11:07 IST
PORT MORESBY: A Papua New Guinea woman gave birth prematurely as she struggled to free herself from a hangman's noose after villagers lynched her and her husband believing they were involved in sorcery, local media reported.
Nolan Yekum and her husband Paul were lynched in Kilip village in the jungle-clad western highlands two weeks ago after villagers believed they used black magic to kill a neighbour.
The villagers dragged the couple from their home and hung them from a tree and left them to die, Paul Yekum told The National newspaper on Wednesday.
"We managed to loosen the noose to get our feet on the ground ... we were able to free ourselves." he said.
"My wife, who was about seven months pregnant, delivered the baby while struggling to free herself. It was a painful experience for me and her."
For the next two weeks the couple hid with friends in other villages, but eventually decided to seek medical help at the Mount Hagen Hospital.
The couple, speaking from the hospital, said they did not practice sorcery and did not know why their neighbour died.
Hospital staff said the couple's baby girl and her mother were doing fine after they were admitted last Saturday.
Black magic is widespread in the South Pacific nation where most of the 5.1 million population live subsistence lives. Women suspected of being witches are often hanged or burnt to death.

And the second one being :

Pregnant Indian uses train toilet, baby slips out
Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:16pm IST

Pregnant Indian uses train toilet, baby slips out
AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) -
A newborn baby girl survived an ignoble birth after slipping down the toilet bowl of a moving train onto the tracks when a pregnant woman unexpectedly gave birth while relieving herself on Tuesday.
"My delivery was so sudden," said the Bhuri Kalbi, the mother of the infant, born two months prematurely. "I did not even realise that my child had slipped from the hole in the toilet."
Kalbi, a 33-year-old woman from a village in Rajasthan, fainted on the toilet seat after the birth for a few minutes before waking up and alerting her family.
"They stopped the train and ran on the tracks to find the baby," she said, speaking from her hospital bed in Ahmedabad.
Railway staff at a nearby station were alerted and soon found the newborn girl lying uninjured on pebbles by the track. She is now in intensive care because of her premature birth, doctors said.
Most toilets on trains are filthy chutes emptying directly onto the tracks.

WTF?!

TATA Nano or No-No?

I have just finished reading a few articles on the TATA Nano. The world's cheapest car. I am still pretty confused whether to be happy it, or to hate it? The Nano has been at the receiving end of, both and a lot of, adulation and criticism. And that is proof enough that TATA is definitely not trying to start a short-term fad, but is onto something rather BIG.

It apparently took TATA INR 1700crores ($425 million) for the design and development of the TATA Nano. That makes me laugh and shudder at the same time. It makes me laugh because from what I understand, TATA will have to sell 1.7lakh* Nanos to break even on the amount spent. And it makes me shudder because TATA will ensure that they sell 1.7lakh Nanos. And it won't be a very difficult task because the Nano costs a lakh. And then I shudder some more, when I think about the condition of our already clogged roads. I keep reading everywhere that our roads are not clogged due to too many roads, but more because of too few roads. But I feel that is not something we can help immediately. If the idea is to force the government into building a better infrastructure by launching a ton of cars, then it is laudable. But since that is something that is not practical nor sensible, why are we planning to choke the roads right now? But, as of now, the government is lauding TATA's efforts (which are no doubt, very laudable) and not doing a thing about the infrastructure.

The way I see it, I feel that the launch of the Nano should be put off for another year or so, and the government should start developing infrastructure that will support the population of a billion cars. Another solution is that the Nano be sold only in Tier-II towns and villages, and be banned in cities and metros till atleast the road network is developed enough to handle so many cars.

On another note, it does strike me as weird, that while the entire world is moving towards a greener environment, lesser pollution etc, we go ahead and launch a car and make it so affordable that almost anyone can own it and in the process completely neglect what it'll do to out environment.
Delhi has a Metro system, Calcutta has one, Hyderabad and Bangalore are in the process of building one. These are some exercises in encouraging public transport, so that we have lesser vehicles on the road, lesser pollution, a greener city and the launch of the Nano seems like one HUGE step backward. So far, except for its affordability, I do not see any positivity i the launch of the Nano. It's not that I am so biased against it that I am blinding myself to the positive traits of the nano, but I am just unable to get past the fact that its affordability is the biggest threat rather than an opportunity.

Commercially too, the Nano will have impacts on other car-makers. With the roads full of vehicles, where one cannot crawl past 5kmph, I do not see a lot of buyers for cars in the D-segment and above. People will stop buying a Mercedes, a BMW or an Audi, not because they will buy a Nano, but because it just wont be possible to enjoy a ride in the premium car anymore. I am not advocating driving at a 100kph, but whats the difference in being seated in a Nano and a Merc when both of them are stationary?
And what about the losses that bikemakers in the country are liable to suffer with more and more people moving from bikes to cars?

The TATA Nano is not the entire cause of such troubles. But it is definitely the catalyst. With the launch of the Nano, other car-makers like Hyundai, Honda, and every Tom, Dick and
Car-ry have announced on plans to develop similarly priced and platformed cars. And so have some bike-makers.

I do sincerely hope, for the sake of all commuters, that the government wakes up in time and takes some damage preventing action, in order to safeguard the future of the car-world.

I am sorry Mr. Ratan Tata, I have nothing personal against TATA, and I greatly do admire the company, in all its zeal, acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover. And also the new design Indica. I do appreciate the great new heights India is reaching on the global stage due to you. But at the same time, if you know where I live, I am changing my address. :p

*Ofcourse TATA does not have to sell all the 1.7lakh cars in India to break even. A good sized chunk will also go on export.

Look Ma, I'm rich!

Received the following email a few days back. So far I must have received around 20 such emails.

--[
From: James Dale
Private Email: j.****22@hotmail.com
Tel: +44 702-***-8380

Subject: Inheritance Fund
Date: Jan 13TH, 2008.

Hello,

I apologize if the contents hereunder are contrary to your moral ethics, but please treat it with absolute secrecy and personal courtesy. I am James Dale an Auditor in a commercial Bank, in the process of auditing our bank accounts this quarter, I and one of my colleagues recently discovered that there is a dormant account valued at the sum Ј10,000,000.00 (Ten Million British Pound Sterling) and after due verification of this account we discovered that the account owner is late and that is why the account has been dormant and as such a Ј10,000,000.00 has been lying in the bank unclaimed.

The idea of presenting a foreigner to act as his next of kin came into our mind, as you know the said deceased is a foreigner as well. Hence, that is how and why we have contacted you to present you as his next of kin, so that the Ј10,000,000.00 will be paid to you and we can both disburse the fund according to the percentage we will agree upon.

In view of this, I am seeking for your co-operation and understanding to stand as the next of kin to our deceased customer, to enable us claim the fund from my bank.

Hence, if this proposal is OK by you and you do not wish to take undue advantage of my trust, then I hope to bestow on you. Please kindly get back to me immediately only through my personal contact email; j.****22@hotmail.com

On getting your response, we shall agree on the percentage ratio on which we shall disburse the Ј10,000,000.00 between us, as we intend to invest part of our own share in real estate or any lucrative business in your country, and we would appreciate if you can put us in the right part where we can invest our own share in your country. I will not contact any person or company until I hear from you, so as to enable me decides on what to do next.

Be rest assured that this business is 100% risk free.

We wait for your prompt response.

Best Regards,

James Dale.
Private Email: j.****22@hotmail.com
Tel: +44 702-***-8380

NB: PLEASE NOTE THAT IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU ARE NOT RELATED TO MY LATE CLIENT OR NOT; THE FUND WILL STILL BE PAID TO YOU, SINCE I AM PRESENTING YOU AS HIS NEXT OF KIN. ]--

So by calculation I should be a millionaire sheikh buying oil wells and driving Continental GTs.
Ho-hum. Well, I am off to shop for a Bentley.

Fly or Cry?

Bangalore International Airport (BIA) now announces everyday flights to Singapore,New York, Greece and Pain.

That is what the new announcements should be saying soon. Bangalore Govt decides to open a new world class airport. Very Good. Bangalore Govt decides to start daily flights connecting Bangalore and India to various countries of the world. Excellent. Bangalore Govt decides to shut down HAL airport.Wrong move. Bangalore Govt...What Bangalore Govt? Bangalore doesnt have a govt anymore. WTF?!

But what I fail to understand is the logic behind the government deciding to move all operations from HAL airport to the new BIA. This is probably another classic case of the human race progressing but our esteemed indian politicians regressing. Why in heavens name would I travel 3 hours to travel 35kms so that I can catch a flight that takes 1 hr to travel 900kms?

People moved their mode of travel from rail to air not just because the fares had come down but also because it was much more convenient in terms of time taken to reach point A to B. Now with the time factor becoming comparable once again I would rather take the train. Let me put it in perspective :

Scenario A: Business Analyst Tanya Dhurai who works for Sinfosis has to travel to Hyderabad for a client meeting on 16th Jan. Her flight by Queenfisher Airlines from the HAL airport is scheduled for departure at 1900hrs. She also has to attend a meeting with her tech team at 1600hrs which would last for approximately 30mins. So she attends her tech team meeting at 1600hrs, leaves office at 1645hrs. Takes a cab to the airport and reaches the airport at 1730hrs, checks in, goes through the security check and boards the flight at 1800hrs.

Scenario B: Business Analyst Tanya Dhurai who works for Sinfosis has to travel to Hyderabad for a client meeting on 3rd April. Her flight by Queenfisher Airlines from the Bangalore International Airport is scheduled for departure at 1900hrs. She also has to attend a meeting with her tech team at 1600hrs which would last for approximately 30mins. So she attends her tech team meeting at 1600hrs, leaves office at 1645hrs. Takes a cab to the airport and reaches the airport at 2000hrs,cant check in, and cant do anything but go back, because the flight has already reached Hyderabad.

So if you have to reach the new BIA from the Infosys campus, it takes you a good 3-3.5hrs. Add to that another half hour for check-in, security check and boarding. SO that makes it 4 hrs. So at the barest minimum I have to spare a good 4 hrs to take a damned flight. There is no direct flight between two cities in India that takes more than 2.5-3 hrs.

While on the airport talk, BIA was earlier scheduled to be fully functional in 2015. Then the Bangalore govt (?) wanted to speed up things and directed them to make it fully operational by 2010. And now the buzz is that its scheduled to open on April 2, 2008. How are they managing something like that? I mean come on, this is not how we politicians function. We are supposed to delay the process, make a few extra, sorry, make a lot of extra bucks, stall some more, raise objections,set up a dharna so as to enable the local corporator who is related to the wife's cousin's chacha's daughter's milkman can also make some dough. So it is quite surprising to see something this far ahead of schedule. I won't be surprised if there is some conspiracy behind this and one day we hear of the BIA collapsing due to weak infra. Yes, I am a cynic.

On the other hand we have the Hyderabad International Airport which is coming up 30kms from the city centre too, but the access to which is being tackled proactively in the form of a new expressway which makes your journey to the airport a matter of a 45min drive. Inspite of which they havent yet decided to shut down the airport currently being used, though talks are still on.

Anyways, I have booked my train ticket to and from Bangalore. I hope you have too.

The Purpose?

What is the purpose of our life? No, I don't want to sound like an old revered sage, nor am I looking to enlighten any of you reading this. It's just something I was wondering about the other day.

Right from my childhood I have seen my relatives, distant relatives, not-related-at-all relatives, irrelatives, friends, foes, me, everyone, every single one of us and them grapple for space, for greatness, for wealth. We are exhorted to excel. Be one up on the other. Be the numero uno. What a bloody waste of our lives. Why, in heavens name, if I cant enjoy the wealth, the fame, the greatness, should I covet it so much?

We can't take the wealth with us. And if you ask Why, you'll be told that in this world you will be saluted only if you are something. You counter with a, "Man, I dont want to be 'salaam'-ed!". Which is countered with a, " Don't you want your kids to have a good comfortable life?". You tell them, " Why in hell should I give a damn about my kids who aren't even around right now? And why should I slog my hands to the bone for them anyways? They want a good comfortable life, let them slog once they arrive in this world!!".
(Ed-To be honest I dont want kids. But more about that later.)

Wouldn't you honestly like to live on the mountains, being the fat of the land, eating off the fat of the land? A li'l hard-work to get by and provide for the 2 room cottage. Two nice shady trees, a hammock, some music?

You try for a while. To live they want you to. It just doesn't cut it for you. So you try living the way you want to. This is when they start looking at you as a deviant. And maybe it is true. Maybe some of us are deviants. And I can bet a lot of money that there are millions out there who WANT to be deviants too. But the society, peer pressure, greed has caught up with them and maybe they are a little too late.

[This post really doesnt make any sense. And this not an indication or a precursor to the rest of my posts. Its just something I wanted to vent out. Frankly, I dont know if I am a deviant or not. Maybe I am simply a hypocrite.]