On behalf of all your (indigenus) friends abroad: A personal appeal

Please Read: A personal appeal from Datta (a name you can trust)

Friends... brothers...Kantrimen...
A terrible calamity has beset us all. A calamity not so much in itself, but in the very violation of ideals and ideas that we hold dear about foreign lands. A concept not only fermenting and frothing in our minds, but a concept much propagated and whored by the lands themselves.(fuckin Jersey Shore)

A friend of mine, nay, a friend of all, for he is a very gentle spirit, has traveled to a land far far away with the fire of unbridled promises gleaming in his eyes.
A journey for which he has toiled more than 20 years in the harsh lands of eastern "education"(the ones without happy endings), working towards each and every achievement (teacher's pet medal) just so that he may one day be accepted in the echelons of higher academia. But academia is not all that was promised, it enticed these impressionable minds with treasures of knowledge from the oldest of professions to the more modern ones, a journey sure to make a man of any mere boy.

And when that day came, he sailed (flew) from the shores of the land of spices and made his way through hell and high water (turbulence) to reach a port where he thought to have got his first taste of the much treasured promises of the land as he was lovingly caressed by the TSA. But no my friends, it was not to be, the TSA were but depraved souls themselves, looking for salvation in the promised land, caught in a purgatory they did not ask for, on the brink of heaven but resigned to be gatekeepers instead. And so they leer and paw as more innocent souls come through, making sure there was never a place that the sun did not shine on them, and when it did shine, they were right there basking in it's glory.

Enough of these depraved souls, we are talking of another. One more close to our concept of this free world. And so our man began his journey, looking to grow at last from the shackles that had withheld him in his native land, hoping to bloom like a flower, in the fertile promises the land held.

Then why is it that we stand here, on the edge of this topic, grieving for this poor man boy(?) (with our help, who knows?). He, ladies and gentlemen (and hoochie mamas) was promised so much more than academia. Promises that could not be taken lightly, promises tantamount to the sweat and blood put in to be accepted in this new land, promises wrought into the minds of the young hopefuls, who wanted nothing more than to relish within all that the land could make of them.

But what is this? There is an admission fee? And there are many of these indeed!!!
Oh Look! this poor lad has funding enough only for his academic dreams it seems!
It was never his fault, how could it be?
The Financiers never saw to all of the lad's glee!

And so here he stands, but on his knees, looking to the stark neon sign that says "Entry not Free"

But promises must stand as it ever should and though this land might have forgotten them, or has snobbed away at the idea of seeing them through, we as comrades of this shared ideal shall give this pub all the chance he can steal.
Then let this lad be bestowed upon the more promiscuous of the promises the land has made, and the one it uses most to lure their innocence in....

So I implore you, friends... brothers.. and hoochi mamas... contribute generously to the
"Send the Indian kid to the Strip Club" fund.

Let's put a smile on his face.

P.S: Also note the corollary to said fund.. the "give him spare change to be a patron in said strip club" fund.

25 things

1) Went ecstatic when a teacher from school (whom I respected) told me that I was always a Rebel !

2) I love my sibling no matter what! I Seriously pity only childs and I think a brother sister combo is usually the best.

3) I love the quote from "Lions for Lambs" when the Redford guy says something along the lines of "..... you won't realise you've become an adult with responsibilities unless your too far gone into it already" .

4) I have never used so many I's before.

5) Hates people who demand clarity within the government while practicing micro-hippocracies of their own .

6) I get a complex whenever I pass across amazing art , because I love dabbling with images and sketches. The ability to express a picture within one's mind on paper and to do so beautifully is something I'll forever envy.

7) Still remember the day when I was rewarded with a chocolate by my primary teacher for acing a test which i had missed (she quizzed me right there in front of the whole class) . The best part was when I was called back to the teacher's desk .... It was like a walk of fame with almost everyone cheering me on a bit,because I out-scored the geek in class by half a mark ( the geek in class was a she and not many liked an over achiever then..... nor do they now) and I was given the chocolate in front of everybody!

8) I'm starting to agree with the Joker with "Anarchy being Fair".

9) I'd rather command respect than fear.

10) I wrote half of this note during a blackout , while in the loo. I have finished reading more pages while in the bathroom than in any other 4 walled space and still continue to do so with utmost pleasure .. and leisure.

11) Nearly always finish off good books (and rarely movies) with a background score and a DBC at hand... makes it all the more momentous.

12) If any part of my life till now were to be put into an eternal loop... I'd wish it to be the five days of the Madras trip.. especially the train ride home.

13) I really don't mind kids as long as they are not my own. In the sense its easier to be fun as an Uncle than a father. (I'm quite good with them apparently and I'm a pretty "cool" uncle too, thank you very much)

14) I was a Swimming Coach for 4 months in all when in 10-11th!

15) I think Apple has come up with pretty average fare of innovation (IPhone was indeed a marvel of technology if not mind numbing in certain respects) And if your IQ is less than 80 then I really think OSX is for you.. no really it's just a prettier face dammit and the propriety that goes behind it! (yeah.. screw you Itunes) But kudos to their Marketing team man.... WOW!

16) The principle any where remotely close to religion I believe in is "Karma", "What goes around comes around".
I think religion was an awesome method of control during the dawn of civilization. But it's turned out to be the bugger with the highest number of death toll and is proving to be so time and time again.Now I wonder if ever people will see the light.

17) I always like to be the "go-to" guy..maybe it's a method of satiating my "ego" (whose concept is over-rated) but still the feeling of being a block in somebody's life is pretty darned good.

18) I really do appreciate the humorous side to people and take to it naturally. Whether it be a pun on me or the other way around.. if it's good, I'll " LOL" at myself anytime . Like the time I was heard by my sister saying "If i don't return this book to my friend he'll screw me", pat came the reply "Well atleast you'll get some action" ... I didn't even get mad! I just bloody laughed at the joke too!

19) I usually love power cuts at night... all the more if it's raining ! Seems even life pauses for electricity sometimes. Had one awesome moment with my Dad wherein he got me a glass of chocolate liquor while he helped himself to a glass of whiskey and we were out on the balcony with it raining outside. We just enjoyed our drinks and small talk and shared the sound of silence.

20) I'll think my woman to be fat if only I can't literally sweep her off her feet,even still I'll consider myself a weakling first.

21) I'm not sure why some people think I toot my own horn a bit too much, I usually do so as a satiric pun on myself which others just don't get (and I really pity your IQ and am glad of it at the same time).
But really, face the facts isn't my toot the most fun?

22) I think Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" could possibly be the most soul stirring music I've ever heard. Especially a lyrical one at that. The next to take such spots could be the Requiem for a Dream (the Battle version from LOTR) and just a few other instrumentals.

23) I absolutely love High-Fantasy genre novels (LOTR, WOT), even more if they are the "medieval" . Things would have been so much more simpler then (well or so I'd like to imagine) . You could be a man based solely on your own talents or prowess , fight for your rights and take or win what you want as yours and prove your mettle through sheer force if need be . And the wars are the best part,filled with comrarderie and brutal emotions , the only point I think apart from the brink, when who you are comes to the fore.

24) I really get irked when people gobble whole letters and such when typing things out especially when they have a big-ass keyboard at their disposal. And vehemently hate sms texting. Numbers and letters are different do NOT mix them. ENUNCIATE!

25) The next time any bugger tells me I need to grow up because I listen to Linkin Park still , will have his skull caved in for him.

26) I think that once you grow above age 18 and such... "Elephant in the fridge" jokes become less funny than they used to be.. hence the existence of "deviant" jokes at certain age levels. If you can't appreciate the humour in it but go on living in the possible causes and effects of such deviance , really do the gene pool a favour and do not reproduce.

Wow! An extra randomness! For Justification read point 1

(This is kind of a Chain-Email sorts of things which I was the victim of in Facebook... The person tagged in the note of the same nature is to write a Note with 25 random things about oneself and again tag 25 other people , so on and so forth. But I am glad I was tagged as it kinda made me look back on my life till now in retrospect.. and thankfully didn't get too creeped out! )

Creative Writing?

Ah well.. had been to IIT Saarang, and on a whim just entered the "Creative Writing" competition more for kicks than anything else . It was shit crazy. Not completely so.. but for a first timer it was like WTF?
Anyways it had a poetry section of sorts and given various choices with specific lines to begin with and/or end with and points for "rhyme" and "meter".
Given the lines, I could only think of the WOT (Wheel Of Time) series of books and gave a war theme to the poem... Here's hoping it comes through decently enough.
Also the first 2 lines were those that were given and I had to continue from there on.

I had to write such a poem within a span of 10-20 min, so I'm kinda cool with what I was able to come up with. Brace Yourselves


Rumble in distant skies,
Echoing of the spaces
A guttural howl sounds the night,
Draining blood of their faces.

That a handshake will not mend,
A slight of honour is to be met
The fence is broken or so they say,
But who indeed shall take that bet?

Soldiers true and Soldiers Might,
Glance across the shadows
A palace of gold or a charnel house,
By Victory or by meekness.

By the moon's shine shall the deed be done,
That much is but plain
But the butcher's bill will have to be paid,
By the Victor or the Slain?

-NSD



(and yes you indeed can do maths... this post is made 3 years after the first, the timer on my cryo-stasis unit got screwed)

Raj said...

Yeah agreed. Since the world is stewing up some serious bullshit like terrorism and jehad.. but then, if we fight back, they also increase the internsity of the fight. So will the cascading effect not lead to more violence?
Are non-violent methods completely out of the question?

Ok as you have brought this up,with the given idea of the workings of 'jehad','terrorism',dont you think any ahimsa method will be recognised as a sign of submission? You stop fighting them and then they'll again quote non-existent chants saying that if an enemy submits then he is ours,its like 'you keep what you kill' or in this case that which you bring down.

Take the example of the reporter who was beheaded(Daniel Pearl),was he up in arms against the forces? Although he was not openly fighting them he was just doing his job but still was a victim to such a gruesome act.To people who kill innocents to strike fear,should they not experience fear as well?

And for Ahimsa to work the enemy must have a fixed goal,all these acts of terrorism are done by different groups and with different agendas,most of whom are just little groups of frustrated men who want to show the world that they are somebody and are not nobody.With these kind of people where is the way of ahimsa?

And if one of the groups is dealt with lightly all other groups expect not resistence but tolerance,at this point in time their hearts dont melt and go "Oh i think I'm doing the wrong thing,let me give up",No they will be more like"Ha, we'r not getting any resistence,lets take this to the next level".

Let's just fast forward to the real word shall we?
Gandhi's idea of showing the other cheek when one is slapped just does'nt work anymore,this is one of his general ideas that I'm quoting of-course.Even the ones discussed in the movies have either been overly simplified or applied to simple everyday happenings.


A rough idea of Gandhigiri can be given as

Gandhigiri denotes modifying one's principles and lifestyle reflecting the moral principles of Satya (the Truth), Ahimsa (passive non-violence), Sahishnuta (Tolerance) and Ekta (Unity) as practised in real life by Mahatma.

But such principles were accepted by the so called 'youth of the nation' creating a 'stirring' , and 'awakening',and all words which can spice up an article or give a sense of false hope to a lost cause in a lost world. I am referring of course to the reaction to the recent movie 'lage raho munnabhai'.
To tell you the truth i haven't watched the movie nor do i intend to as this is not a review of a sort of misleading film but a discussion or rather my strong opinion of an idea which just cannot survive in this world or that which can't be applied to all aspects of life,or in most cases the important parts of life.
Gandhi proposed these values to a world lost in time,i use this phrase not for effect but to tell you that there is a humongous difference in the world of that day to the world of this day.In the time of Gandhi there was a cause which everybody was fighting for, the cause of freedom,freedom against a foreign reign . But now although the cause is mostly the same but in different forms, everybody is not fighting for it as one,the system is one sided,the enemies are among us or of us and openly oppose us.
They say 'We need a Martin Luther','We need a Gandhi',but will they be able to save a world gone so wrong? Where ideals do not exist? Where its no more a question of black or white,but how much grey? How do you lead a world or give guidance (as no one man can lead a world,no matter how great he may be considered or no matter how great he may invoke the spirits within us) to one which does not know where it is headed?
Such a leader's ideals or ideas are but a new 'thing','a fad' in the modern world which craves for anything or everything which they think might save them from an event they are not sure of.
How long can you keep on showing the other cheek? How long will your tolerance hold? How long?
Which one event in this world has gotten enough response or enough of a 'stir' to bring about a phenomenal change in our society? None.

A simple idea such as Gandhigiri cannot be adopted to complex situations.


This world is not divided into people who have morals and those who do not,but into those who weild power and those who crave for it and those who are powerless.After all morality is relative while power is not.
But the principles of the Mahatma have 'morality' as their crux and rely on the notion that another person may realise the humanity within him,what if that other person is not moral as it is defined by this age's society,then where do those principles go?