Nostalgia

बीवी, बहु, बुआ, चाची, मामी, मौसी ना बनकर एक दिन फिर सिर्फ बिटिया बनना चाहती हूँ,
अपने बचपन के दिनों को फिर एक दिन जीना चाहती हूँ...

सुबह सात बजे फिर एकबार स्कूल जाना चाहती हूँ,
अलार्म की नहीं, माँ की पुकार सुनके उठाना चाहती हूँ...

रिसेस में फिर सहेलियों के साथ गप्पे मारना चाहती हूँ,
पुरानी रिक्शा में फिर अन्ताक्षरी खेलते हुवे घर लौटना चाहती हूँ...
माँ के हाथ के गरम फुल्के फिर एक बार खाना चाहती हूँ,
माँ के बगल में लेट के फिर सारी दोपहर बातें करना चाहती हूँ...

गुडिया की शादी में माँ की चुनरी ओढ़के नाचना चाहती हूँ,

शाम को सहेलियों के साथ फिर सायकिल पे सैर करने जाना चाहती हूँ...

पापा के साथ बैठके फिर होमवर्क करना चाहती हूँ,
दादा-दादी के पास बैठके फिर कहानियां सुनना चाहती हूँ...

माँ की लोरी और पापा की थपकियों से फिर सोना चाहती हूँ,
अपने बचपन के दिनों को फिर एक दिन जीना चाहती हूँ...
बीवी, बहु, बुआ, चाची, मामी, मौसी ना बनकर एक दिन फिर सिर्फ बिटिया बनना चाहती हूँ...

My Best Friend Hetal

This is a dedication to my best friend in the world. Today is her Birthday. Her name is Hetal Parekh and even though today she is no more with us, she will always be in my heart and in the heart of every person she came in contact with. Especially her family. She was her father's darling, her mother's pride, her sister's and brother's friend and guide and her son's life. I shall not include her husband and her in-laws in this list because she lost her life due to them. I shall not go into details about how and why she lost her life but I know two things for sure. I can never forgive those bas***** for what they did to her and I would not wish such a fate even on my worst enemy.

I want to tell what she meant to me. To me she was the sister I always wished for and never had, she was my best friend, she was also my agony aunt, she was the one who used to scare away boys when they came after us, she knew more about me than my own parents and family and ofcourse it was vice versa. We shared every big and little secret and event of our life with each other since we became friends in the seventh grade. There was not a day in our lives since we met when we did not remember each other, however far we were geographically. Ofcourse after she got married, we could not meet or speak to each other as frequently as we would have liked because her in-laws did not like and for that I shall forever resent them and feel guilty on my part for not making more effort. But we were always in each other's thoughts.

Hetal was a very religious person and so I sometimes wonder how the God she worshiped with such faith and devotion could give her such a horrible, painful death, not to mention grief and a very great loss to all the people who loved her. It makes me question if there is really a god. I cannot really describe our friendship in words but I know for sure that whatever time we spent together will always be the most precious time to me and I am fortunate that I could call myself Hetal's friend. I really hope we meet again in another life, with the same affection and friendship but in happier circumstances.

I also want to request everyone to cherish their relationships be they family or friends because once a person goes away, there is no bringing them back how much ever you wish it to happen. So please pick up that phone and call your best buddy or mom-dad and tell them how much you love and appreciate them. I know I shall never be able to get over her death or the fact that I shall never see her face again, never receive her call on my birthday or anniversary, never sit gossiping with her in the evening on the terrace of her home, never go for a drive or pani-puri or bhel with her, never see her family whole again and it pains me to the very core of my heart. I just hope where ever Hetal is, she is Resting In Peace and her son keeps her memories alive in his heart and becomes the kind of man his mother would have wanted him to be.

For all those times you stood by me

For all the truth that you made me see

For all the joy you brought to my life

For all the wrong that you made right

You're the one who held me up

Never let me fall

You're the one who saw me through through it all

You were my strength when I was weak

You were my voice when I couldn't speak

You were my eyes when I couldn't see

You saw the best there was in me

Lifted me up when I couldn't reach

You gave me faith 'coz you believed

I'm everything I am Because you loved me

Thank you for being my best friend Hetal

Where are the bicycles?

Bicycle. Does the word ring a bell? It looks as in the above picture. The dictionary says 'The bicycle is a pedal-driven, human-powered vehicle with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other.' But it is not only a simple vehicle used for getting from point A to point B. It also saves fossil fuel, reduces pollution and global warming, facilitates easy movement in heavy traffic, saves money in taxes, maintenance, parking and gym fees, comes in lovely colours with wonderful accessories, gives an awesome workout, is long-lasting and you don't need a license to ride it. All this at only a fraction of the cost of a motor-bike or a car. Now how cool is that!

I wonder when we forgot to ride bicycles. When I was a kid, I couldn't wait for my parents to get me my very own bicycle. Then when I went to high school, it was suddenly not cool to bring a bicycle to school. You were only cool if you owned a motor bike. Why? Why did we forget to cycle? Today in this day and age when we talk of global warming and sudden weather changes, do we pause and think how we are contributing to it and how we can reduce it? Have you ever paused and thought what is the reason for the Latur & Gujarat Earthquake, The Tsunami, Mumbai flooding, Hurricanes in the USA, the China earthquake and the many other freak weather conditions? Let's face it. Humans are the biggest contributors to these natural disasters. Every time we drive our car or motor-bike, use electrical home-appliances (in most countries, electricity is produced by burning coal which not only contributes to global warming but also gifts the cities with smog and miners with cancer), fly in airplanes, eat meat or light a bulb we are contributing to Global Warming.

Imagine a hot summer afternoon. The temperature is more than 40°C degrees. You are on your motor bike, stuck in traffic, dying to get home and drink chilled juice or buttermilk but you can't move ahead because of the traffic jam. You are caught between two big air-conditioned cars, with their dark windows rolled up, cooling on full blast inside. But you are outside and can feel the horrible heat coming from the cars and it is intolerable, isn't it? Doesn't it feel like hell taking the sun's and the car's heat at the same time? If you can feel it, the earth can too. For you maybe its only for 5-10 minutes, but for our planet its day after day, year after year. For you, its 1-2 cars but for our planet is zillions of cars and motorbikes not to mention other causes.

You have a Choice...

The biggest contributor to global warming is the burning of fossil fuels and yes each one of us contributes to it when we ride our shiny Kinetic Honda or Karizma. Why is only riding a motor bike cool? Why isn't cycling cool? At a time when our planet is facing the biggest environmental crisis that mankind has ever faced, should our mantra not be 'RRR' - Reduce, Reuse & Recycle? Do you know that the actors who endorse the motor bikes themselves ride bicycles to keep healthy? Now a days its one car one person or one motor-bike one person in the case of smaller towns. Why can't we convert it to One Bicycle One Person? Not only would it solve the traffic problem to a very big extent, it would also contribute to reducing global warming in a big way and make the riders sexier from the workout.

http://www.bikeszone.com/forum/index.php
http://mnes.nic.in/
http://www.renewingindia.org/
http://www.zenithenergy.com/
http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/default.asp
http://www.climatecrisis.net/thescience/
http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/benefits.htm
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/
http://www.indiasolar.com/
http://www.mithradham.org/

Smokers : Stupid or Selfish?

There are vices and then there are vices but the big daddy of all vices is Smoking. I really can’t decide whether smokers are more selfish or stupid? I mean who in their right mind would pay for destroying their own health? Are smokers ignorant or plain stupid? It is a known fact that there are more than 4,000 individual chemicals in tobacco and tobacco smoke. Among these more than 60 chemicals are known carcinogens (cancer-causing agents). Manufacturers do not usually give out information to the public about the additives used in cigarettes but HELLO? What use is your education (on which your parents have probably spent a very big part of their earnings) and Internet? If you have a death wish then go and lie down on the train track or jump from a building or in the sea or something. Why do you wish to endanger life of other people due to your vice?
But then I know what would be the counter argument of a smoker (Most of them are defensive about their bad habit). He/She would say, “Do you really think its only smoking that destroys health? What about other vices like chewing tobacco or drinking or even overeating for that matter? What about the various toxins, chemicals and hormones that contaminate our food and water? What about the polluted air that we breathe in our cities?” To them I say that it is true that other vices are equally harmful but can we really help it if we have to smell the polluted air or eat the contaminated food. There are some things which are beyond our means. Of course we can try to reduce our carbon footprint and eat more organic food but what we can definitely do is to stop vices like smoking which not only pollute the environment and the smokers’ lungs but also the lungs of innocent people who are forced to be passive smokers.

That brings me to the Selfishness of smokers. They smoke everywhere. On the road, in restaurants, malls, pubs, coffee shops, queues, bus stops, railway stations, airports and even in buses and trains sometimes. They do not care that their smoking might be dangerous for or repulsive to others. Every country has its fair share of selfish smokers. I have seen people light up in presence of babies and pregnant women and these are not people from the so called third world, uneducated countries but people from the so called first world or educated western countries. Equally irresponsible are the parents who expose their kids to second-hand smoke.

Before lighting up has a smoker ever looked around to see if there is a baby, a child, a pregnant woman or an elderly person present or for that matter any person who might be allergic to smoking? NO NEVER. Now are these people not selfish? When a person chews tobacco or drinks that person is harming himself/herself or his/her immediate family but a smoker harms all of the people around himself/herself.
WHY? That’s the question? Why should I pay the price of someone else’s stupidity or selfishness? Why should my baby, my nephew or niece, my parents, my family, friends and neighbours pay the price? What is our fault? Why should the smokers’ kids, spouses, parents, friends or neighbours pay the price? What is their fault? Do smokers really think that they look cool or suave when they smoke? NO they don’t. They look and smell disgusting.
Smokers please look around you. Maybe today that baby, that child, that pregnant woman or that old lady is not related to you but tomorrow it might be your son or daughter, nephew or niece, spouse or parent. Please have some consideration for the feelings and preferences of others because who knows what shape your smoke will take for you tomorrow.

Every person has a right to breathe in a smoke free environment so please don’t hesitate to tell a smoker if his/her smoke is bothering you or your loved one. It is your right. Remember SECONDHAND SMOKE KILLS. As for the verdict, though I know for sure that smokers are both stupid and selfish, I still can’t decide if smokers are more stupid or selfish so if you can please let me know. Some links to let you know the dangers of smoking and second-hand smoke:
http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/nicotineinhaler/a/cigingredients.htm
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Cigarette_Smoking.asp
http://www.nsra-adnf.ca/cms/
http://www.no-smoke.org/getthefacts.php?id=13
http://whyquit.com/whyquit/BryanLeeCurtis.html
http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35422

Living outside India

Hi everyone. Welcome to my blog. A saying goes 'You can take an Indian out of India, but not India out of an Indian'. This post is named "living outside India" because I want to share experiences of all the people living outside India for the first time (like me) or for a long time.

When a person moves out of his/her country, he/she misses what I call the 4Fs very much : Family, Friends, Food and Festivals. We move out of our country for various reasons - education, work, money, with a spouse or parent but I am sure there is not one Indian who doesn't miss India and I am sure that wherever in the world an Indian is, he/she has created an India for himself/herself there. I really really miss India. All that masti, dhamaal, festivals, food, people and there are times when I wish I could sprout wings and just fly there but there have also been times when the people of Beijing have made me feel very welcome.

All of my friends have a twinkle in their eye when they tell me they are going to India to visit and they just can't stop talking about what they are going to do there. I am sure you all have an interesting little story of your own and many many questions and suggestions too. So I invite all my fellow Indians to share their experience with everyone about their life outside India. Your experiences are valued and appreciated.

Bhagwa, safed, hara, jeevan chakra mera,
Karma, satya, dharti maa, inhi mein main pala,
Bhartiya main jana, bhartiya hi jala,
Bhartiya main jiyu, sada bhartiya rahu,
Bhagwa, safed, hara, jeevan chakra mera.
Vande Materam. Jai Hind.