The beautiful Andamans...

I had a chance of exploring the beautiful Andaman Islands in early 2010. It was a family trip and we spent six days and five nights in the wilderness and waters of The Andamans.

From blue-green waters to mangroves, from limestone caves to the mysterious Jarwa tribes, The Andamans is a small paradise surrounded by the Indian Ocean. It is an unexplored beauty which has not yet revealed all its secrets.

This picture was taken near the jetty while waiting for the cruise to the Havelock Island, a small island in the Andaman family...The travel comprised of being two hours on the deck on a high tide day with loud angry sea winds roaring, plus a sudden downpour that only ended up being the icing on the cake :)

Death can't take hope away...

I was sitting on the cold shore combining the sand around me, looking for shells. Dusk was falling. It was windy and the mist coming off the waves felt cold against my body. I looked at the ambitious waves, rising from the restless water underneath, and reaching altitudes to engulf whatever comes in its way. A small boat was struggling to move through the angry waters for a long time. The sight forced me to nurse a hope that the boat would make its way safely from the clutches of waves. A gloomy picture of fear and helplessness flashed in my mind. It made me recall something that was long forgotten.

I was in grade 10 then. It was the first day after the summer vacations. Everyone in the class was buzzing with excitement to meet each other after two whole months of boredom and prolonged naps. I noticed a boy missing from our class of 50. Initially, I thought it was the usual case of being absent.

Days rolled by but he never returned. Then one day our class teacher announced that the boy was suffering from abdominal cancer and had been hospitalized.

The class stood aghast.

Memories started cluttering my mind and finally, formed the image of a handsome boy. His name was Robin. He was a quiet boy. He was not among my close friends but I admired him for his kind and gentle persona. He looked nice with his jet-black hair and chiseled features. I knew him as a person who always helped everyone in need with all he could. I remembered how I always used to tease him about a girl whom he had helped once. I realized that my eyes had become moist and hot tears were rolling down my cheeks. I looked around only to see faces similar to mine. I was feeling choked. I tried to scream but my vocal cords seemed to have been paralyzed.

We all made ‘Get Well Soon’ cards and handed them to the teacher who was going to visit him. I hoped the vibrant shades would bring some hues to his fading life.

Meanwhile, Robin kept on going for chemo treatments once every week. We all were happy to know that he was showing signs of recovery and had also started having fruits instead of the regular glucose and saline water. Our class teacher, who used to visit him frequently, would often say, “I have never seen a braver boy than Robin. He studies the notes I give him and says, “Ma’am I want to, and would surely sit for the boards this year with all my friends.””

One fine day, just before a month before our exams, ma’am told us that Robin’s kidneys had failed working and now he was on dialysis, along with the chemo treatment. This news brought an end to our fresh hopes of seeing him healthy and with us again. That day we all went to see him in the hospital.

I could not recognize him at first. The evil disease had stripped him of his beauty and had made him bald and weak. It was painful to see the fading flame in his clear black but dreamless eyes, his hollow smile agonized by the dread of death. We held our tears back with a tremendous effort and chatted with him. We cracked jokes and laughed, and saw him laughing. We played some verbal games and them bid him goodbye.

Later that month, we got occupied with the final revision of the whole course. In the meantime, Robin’s health kept on worsening. We heard that his family was also going through an acute financial crisis. Our teacher told us that his father, who used to be a strong man once, was getting frustrated day by day. He was constantly making efforts to make ends meet out of nowhere. I wished God would save the family from crumbling.

A couple of months passed and one day I heard the news of Robin’s death. I cried in despair for the loss of a good friend and a better person. But I also thanked God for relieving him from the terrible pain. Just a week after his death, I came to know that his father had died in a train accident. It was said that while traveling somewhere, he fell between 2 trains in motion. It seemed to me more as an act of suicide than an accident. Perhaps, the man had wanted to lose himself after losing his all, the last and undoubtedly the best being his son. After this, Robin’s mother went to live with her parents with her younger son.

This incident filled me with questions that troubled me for days. What had Robin done to deserve death? Why did his parents had to go through the incurable trauma of losing their child? Why is God so brute? I never found answers to these questions. But now I realize that the people, whom we love and care for, never die. They become immortal in our memories. I believe Robin is there, not in person but in presence. Death takes the physical life away but it can never erase the essence of living. Robin fought the battle of life and I feel he tasted triumph in his own way.

My thoughts got interrupted as cool, salty winds hit me. I looked at the small boat. It had fought to sail through the waves and was gliding along the sea that was now calm and defeated. I threw the shells that I had gathered, into the water, and started off for home.

Blog - from being a personal diary to a brand booster...

I was boggling my mind for some time thinking of things to write for my blog. And then came the idea of blogging on 'blogging' itself.

Blogging has been there for a while now. Something knows as 'Vlogging' or video blogging also appeared a few years ago. But I prefer sticking to my old, simple and ever effective blog.

Ever wondered what a useful medium a blog is? It can be as small as penning down your daily diary to writing and maintaining an all professional blog for a company. There are so many blogs on so many different topics. Fashion, food, technology, environment, politics, personal problems- just think of a word under the sun and you have many great blogs on each of them. There is something for everyone out there.

Let me tell you my story. I have always been a loner and for me blog has been a great friend. I don't fancy sharing my feelings with many people. I prefer a personal diary to jot down the happiest and the most painful moments of my life. Now why not go digital instead of scratching your pen on a paper diary. No worries of running out of pages. You can also attach all sorts of multimedia with your posts- images, videos, songs and much more, all that you could not even think of putting in a paper diary...And the best part, it's a lot of fun too.

Think of maintaining a company's corporate image and goodwill, and a blog is a great way to boost your brand. Plus it facilitates two way communications in the form of comments. This is very important from Corporate Communications perspective.

So all those people out there who don't have their own blogs yet, I would be happy if you feel motivated now to create your own personalized digital space.

Trust me, it is a great device. Happy blogging!!!

Blog revived!!!

Hi there...

I am back to blogging after over two years. Then it was solely a desire to write a digital diary. Now it is a part of my school assignment. Whatever it may be, it is as interesting as it was and I am happy to revive my blog all over again.

A very short brief on myself- I am a Journalism graduate and a Corporate Communications & Public Relations student. I like writing, watching movies, social media scanning and net surfing.

For the next two months, you can expect to see some posts on anything and everything of random interests and some related to Corporate Communications and Public Relations.

So that's about it at the moment....Have a happy reading and of course commenting!!!

:)

Man peeing at a road side: A common sight, still fascinating just for the message it carries...So please check out the video!!!

We had our departmental fest called 'Journo Junction' on 23rd and 24th September. The last session of the last day ended with a workshop on Mobile Filming, in which we were supposed to go out n shoot a 30 sec-60 sec film (based on any issue) in a duration of an hour.
I am attaching the video or film our group made:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvtZ16cbDD0

It catches A MAN PEEING AT THE SIDE OF A ROAD.

Its a bit blurred and perhaps not proper as it is made at the spur of the moment and by using a mobile phone.
Though i agree its a pretty common sight, yet i feel its worth viewing as many times as possible, just for the social message of keeping our city clean. And as it raises a very relevant question- of the dirth of public urinals in the the capital of India. In a nation where population is in billions, we seldom find urinals even at significant public places like markets, big bus stands like that of Dhaula Kuan, etc. We blame the govt and the system ceaselessly for umpteen reasons, still its ironical to see an issue as important as the nature's call going unseen and unheard.
So please check it out and send your comments.

How much more can I cry over the scarred world?

Cant 13th September take the form of the last straw?

13th September 2008, my mum stepped in the 46th year of her life. Quite an ocassion of celebration for us, or was it? We had decided to spend the day shopping and eating out in Cannaught Place. To be more specific, Central Park. We were strolling on the streets when we saw a blood donation camp erected by Blood Bank. Not that we were less interested in the cause, but in my mother's presence it becomes inevitable for me and my dad to go for it ( just to mention, she cant donate blood owing to her high blood pressure tendency), as she feels its the best thing we can gift her and to the humanity as a whole. Anyway, it so happened that the whole thing took around 20 minutes and we came out of the camp at 6.30 PM.

Many things happened in the spur of a single second- an ear deafening noise from a short distance, may be across the road; scary screams of the crowd; people running everywhere in chaos; terror in every eye (perhaps mine also), and last but not the least torn-scattered body parts and blood. I am not pasting any pics or putting any link for the pics on my blog as I believe that is too trivial a thing to embody my blog in such an instance. Its reported in newspapers that 'Grass turned red at Central Park'. The only addition that I can make to that is indeed it had.

It is suspected that Indian Mujahideen SIMI cell led by Abdul Subhan, the techie jehadi from Mumbai and one Qayamuddin are the master minds behind the multiple blasts that rocked the capital. The email confirming the responsibility of the blasts were signed by them. The hate mail is captioned 'Eye for An Eye, The Dust Will Never Settle Down' and says "To dreadfully terrorise you this time, by the Will and Help of the Almighty Allah, we are about to devastate your very first metropolitan center, your most strategic 'Hindutva hub, your green zone-yes! Its your own Capital'". It also boasts of the capacity of the group to strike anywhere.

I dont feel like hitting them hard, nor does my blood boil on such frivolous and worth-laughing-at justifications. I just feel a gelid frustration that- are these minds termite infested to such an extent that they in no way can make out that this can never be an answer to whatever injustice and opression that has been meted out to them? This can never be 'Jihad', as they term it. "No, it's not perpetual war against non-Muslims, but the struggle to do good on earth for the sake of God. Jihad literally means “struggle” or “striving.” It is not, as some have claimed, the “sixth pillar” of Islam." An eye for an eye and so on can never be a solution to any problem. It is just a handy way of injecting animosity in each heart, soul and in many cases the blood of innocent people. It is a vicious cycle that has no end, no goal, just terror and hatred and propaganda. That's what it is.

Recently I watched 2 movies- Mumbai Meri Jaan and A Wednesday. Both of them deal with similar issues. I had a question burning in the gut of my heart. Isnt it really time we actually clean our home off cockroaches? Religion is redundant. Every living being who plays with the laws of nature is a cockroach in this case. Anyone and everyone who kills for his/her own vested interests is a non-believer and someone who defies the rules of the Almighty. That is BLASPHEMY, I believe. I am not a social worker, nor am I some religious fanatic. I am, as Naseeruddin Shah states in the movie A Wednesday, a part of the crowd which consists of the common man who is angry and engrieved to the extent of being gelid, actually. Who is the one who suffers such collateral damages, irrespestive of his religion, caste, color and every ugly distinction which divides and takes over the soul essence, that is HUMANITY.

Unchained Desire

"Unchained Desire , like melody, flows ceaselessly, irrespective of the 'dynamic' time....still with two beautiful differences....that it does so silently and yet reverberates..."

Someday, somewhere......he would be with me

Let the world be anywhere, he would be with me

Where I'll be, there he'll be

And where there would be..... just our feelings

Where dawn will break, where sun would shine

In the flashes of your eyes

Where I would sleep in your arms

Under the sheath of pale moonlight

Dont know where this world of ours is

Dont even know if it exists (or not)

A world where this life of mine

Has not turned its back on me.....

Somehow, somewhere.....there is an intoxication in our unity

Like the the life gliding from your lips to mine

Yet our thirsty hearts cry, moan and pine

For that singular world

That nests our esoteric oneness......our UNCHAINED DESIRE

There the sky burns, and the land screams

Where are you ...... my joy, my smile, my life?

Someday...... somewhere......somehow......

He'll be with me..............