2011's on run!

hi frns! long time! but a whole plethora of exams were lined up!  but now i'm back with full throttle!! it's already December and now only a few days remain for us to bid adieu to 2011 - the busy year!! 2011 has kept me on tenterhooks throughout and these last few days don't seem to deviate form the usual.....:-p

it's been a helluva time, seeing my transition from third year to fourth of engineering........ all of a sudden future looms dark..... job, career, masters , goal, achievements.... all these things go round n round in head and around coffee tables for discussions! hehe........ but i have been  having a gala time with frns....... these are going to be my best memories! with friends and family...i'm living it up to the fullest!! we will be students no more at this time next year...and before we lose this precious phase and part of life.....we want to soak ourselves completely in its demeanor and magic......... :-)

writing has taken a backseat since past few months but i'm definitely going to go back to it as soon as i get some quiet and patient time ...... January looks like a good time......

meanwhile i have read a good number of books this year and continue to do so right now.........
rest all is in peace...i'm in harmony with myself, content with my life and happy with the pace...... bless all. amen.

hi friends. i did mention about a blog that i had created some while ago. but, i have taken it off now. just this. and yes, if you are interested in knowing why haven't i put up some new couplets then let me assure you that they'll be up soon........actually in the past few days i have penned everything in hindi and i am not so confident with my hindi writing. hehe...so thought that not taking a chance will be good with this thing. anyway, keep giggling guys coz life's short and smiles and laughter only makes your living much more easy,much more easy......auf wiedersehen! :-)

folks....hi

hello all.
much time passes by between my consecutive posts. agreed. but as they say,what meets the eye is not always true. sometimes i'm absorbed in my own thoughts, sometimes i struggle hard to find time. sometimes i sit in leisure, not doing anything. sometimes i simply don't have anything to get started about. sometimes i have a helluva lot to write but can't fathom enough words which would express my state....sometimes i simply mirror my being into the words that echo here. it's all about time and situations. past few days have been troublesome, terrible if i don't fake it.. much to my agony, but life never stops! does it?? testing times are ON and i,being the silent observer i am, am trying to see straight and go straight. anyways.....i am longing to put up something good and fun here! hope to do that soon......meanwhile friends, i have started another blog besides promenade.....the links to it's posts are shared on the right side bar........the blog goes by the name- ...Digging Inside...
the interested may roll through it sometime.....

"It's the same sky, the same land but perceptions differ.

Iit's the same road,the same curve but journeys differ..."

People of both nations- India and Pakistan are home to people with similar facets despite their dissimilar names. People there long for freedom as do the people in India. Freedom to voice their views. Freedom for women to step out of home fearlessly. Freedom to dissect the ignominous face of abysmal poverty. Freedom to cross borders without being scrutinized through those torrid eyes which consider us potential terrorists. Freedom to chase corruption out of their country. Freedom to see their children playing happily with children baptized under other religion. Every family has its everyday fights; insignificant and significant, striving for a better life, a better future. The common man, the hoi polloi does not want war. We want peace and bonhomie. We want a future that would reflect the past, the history of 19th century...ONE  country, the golden bird, may be a INDISTAN or PAKINDIA..... On the signing note I  would echo the sentiments from a popular bollywood film-

 "panchchhi, nadiyan, pawan ke jhonke.......

koi sarhad naa inhe roke....

sarhad insaanoen k liye hai....

socho, tumne aur maine, kya paya insaan hoke......"

“aaj bhaagne ko ji chaha hai

is ajab-gazab si duniya se

jhilmil jhilmil ummedo se

toote, bhikhare kuch sapno se

veeraane se band kamro me

ojhal hoti hasti se

gumsum, chup chup in adharo ki

ankahi, dabayi kuchh baato se

dhundli kuchh beeti yaadoen se
hasti roti barsaatoen se
muskurati, ithlati angdayi ki
pyasi, utsuk saugaatoen se
bheege mausam ki nam aankhoen se

behte girte is pani se
aaj bhaagne ko ji chaha hai

is ajab-gazab si duniya se…..”

Crippled….

When I had a happy bunch
Trust crippled me…


When I needed to express
Words crippled me…


When I wanted to run away
Sensibility crippled me…


When I vouched for freedom
Responsibilities crippled me…


When I intended to fly high
Love crippled me…


When I wanted to cheer sly
Expectations crippled me…


Forever through my life,
The one I looked up to
That friendship crippled me……

Unkempt life...

hello.....there are times when i see people doing well for themselves and their families...n i feel that if this guy/girl can do it,i too can do it! i am not that gone-case! then their are times when i feel that i can never make it to a decent place which could earn great pride and respect for my parents...then there are times when i feel life changes, may be a year from now and i will start seeing those changes around me....maybe life won't be that dull..maybe life won't be this unkempt.....maybe it would be fun and easy going still.....as it has been for the most part of my life........final year makes everybody restless and curious! i am no exception. the tingling thought that next year, this time i would be a student no longer ..... it shudders me and excites me, both leering simultaneously.... the rounds of various forms, exams and results will start soon and life is going to be upside down...untill of course the day which would see light in the fact that i am at least employed somewhere, earning something for myself and family, doing something worthwhile with my life whose most part has been a waste....

i have never been an extraordinary child or even an informed child....
when i passed tenth and parents asked me what option i was considering, i said science coz it seemed to be an automatic choice....back then i din't know abt the various options various courses u can opt for after twelfth.... i thought a child with 91% in tenth ought to be in science and so i landed up in the science section of school...... but by the time i completed my twelfth it got to me that i wasn't cut out for this......science couldn't do to me what literature could.... science was awful whereas literature was awesome! i tried my luck at convincing parents but may be i wasn't very persistent or may be my appeals weren't too strong and so i was left here, doing engineering.....EC. well....this aint too bad though...somethings are great to read,to know,to work on..but mostly it's a responsibility to complete this degree that makes me study during exams....... now with one year remaining in this tetrad, i am again at a loss of thoughts,the same way as i was after tenth or twelfth...... i don't know what will i do or where will i ultimately show up after i am done with this degree course...... but i have some positivism too....... given the optimist i am, i take myself to be at some decent place doing some fruitful work and making a mark slowly......a few years from now..........

all my mates are facing this dilemma....iam no different.....hoping to see most drems fullfilled......hoping for the best......all my dear friends......i just have to say that this anxiety, this restlessness is natural....but don't let it burden you or depress you.......all of us have a long way to go...and insha allah,we will go the happy ways!

THE POWER OF ONE!

Go tell them, I won't fight with my own brethren

    Less my mother will be hurt.

Go tell them, I won't kill the vigil humans

    Less my soul will spurt.

Go tell them, I won't divide this land and sky

    Less I'll be deprived of nature's beauty a sly.

Go tell them, I won't murder the humanity

    Less, never will forgive me my Deity.

 

This country is one; its people are one.

Our land is one; our home is one.

Our dharma is one; our karma is one.

Hindu is one; Muslim is one.

Love for God and power is one.

 

Go tell them to stop this tirade

    Against mankind

    Or they will have to suffer humility.

 

Tell them to stop terrorism

    Or they will have to fight the unison.

 

Go tell them to stop totting their gun

    Or WE will rise and

    Kill them as ONE!!!

U-turn

hi!
life took a u-turn and i am back here! doing something that gives me immense joy! writing....n blogging for the 'connect' to remain here forever......

i ought to confess that my last exam is remaining yet so i need to rush and pick up my books, but i'll be back soon, with a few new pieces of 'unkempt prose' fondly known as 'my poems'...:-)

sayonara!

GOSH!!!

hey folks! how have you been? long long time!
i am really not sure if i have some 'real' followers or not but being a blogger i sense the need of apologizing as  i have been damn callous about promenade this year......but what to do yar!! this sem's getting on my nerves already! it's hardly the second month but our university is playing havoc with us! already a short semester, it has been made even shorter...leaving no room for our beloved PL..(read as preparation leave)...a PL of  8 days. can you believe it!!! it took me moment to sink in the news...:-( i hope this sem doesn't turn out to be a disaster! i so dearly hope this!.....i won't cook excuses,i'll be direct. forget me friends. until my final exams get over.......will miss this place dearly! but it seems high time for sorting my priorities......

hi!

hi folks! it was on Jan 4th i created my last post! long time! but ever since that day i have constantly been on my toes! hopefully this weekend will see some new post...:-) prose or so..... 


a lot of things are playing on my mind these days, from politics to sports, sports to studies, studies to time crisis and time crisis to future! uff! and the BIG question! when are we getting our fifth sem result! if anybody cares to believe, trust me, among all the semesters i have completed, fifth was the one in which i slogged out days n nights in December (i.e. during the exams; that is the only time i study my engineering books.) the most! and again, if u care to believe me, trust me these were the worst papers i sat through! whom should i blame? my luck? no, not that. me? but hey i did prepare well! i really was in a good position but may be i need to rethink over what went wrong. as of now, the  "great expectations" are heading to a downfall....:-( 


anyway, sixth sem is very interesting! busy? yes! absolutely! but i am loving it! let us hope to rock this! 'thumbs up'!

RESPITE

An octave of periods at school

Followed by grilling tuitions pool

Badminton and dancing sessions in tow

Abreast with every news, wretched brow

Ceaseless sessions of books, classes and training

Gulping down the knots of ache

A timid little child wants to think

If only perfection could get some respite…..

Mugging notes, penning theses

Grasping basics, doing lab pieces

Sitting through a tandem of exams

Sweating nights marked by tension and psalms

Sitting by the window, a ‘bright’ young mind wonders

If only success could get some respite..…

Rearing children, raising a household

Doing dishes, cleaning, meals and mould

Caring for and teaching the young, the art of living

Making love to serve her husband beseeching

Connotating with a machine, a silent woman contemplates

If only my rights could get some respite..…

Tackling the office hoopla all day long

At home, doing the regulars along

Many schemes, many policies, many funds

Redeeming future and building present bunds

Burdened with responsibilities, a man yearns

If only obligations could get some respite..…

Multiplying trends, prying privacy

Blooming fashion, abundant diplomacy

Dying rituals, dying culture

Defying traditions, falsifying propulsion

Astonished by the changing times, an elderly pair of eyes feels,

If only modernization could get some respite..…

Several scams, several scandals

Heinous rapes, undying crime blunders

Honor killings, fetus dumping

Corrupt system, burgeoning terrorism

Witnessing the grim reality on television

An avid, an eager youth longs

If only my nation could get some respite…..

From the undying glances and crisp ooh-aahs

Constant murmurings fill as the air pooh-paahs

When a girl and a boy go places together

They become a sensation, no bother!

Gazing deep into the eyes of each other, both try to fathom why,

If only love and emotions could get some respite…..

Toiling in the heat and cold alike

Laying the bricks and mortar on the road

Reminiscing over his constraints and plight

Wondering what the day’s earnings fetch?

Will they suffice the needs of his family etched?

Brooding in the daylight, a laborer gasps

If only poverty could get some respite…..

Sitting in a plush office, conference ongoing

Bone china and files, the table adorning

Away from home, lovely children and wife

Filing tenders in the business beehive

A rich veteran silently ponders

If only making money could get some respite..…

Racing to reach the pinnacle of success

Every man changes, owing to worldly demands obnoxious

Innocence, honesty, patience, all virtues denounced

Sighing, where the world is now pronounced!

Digitalization and greed rampant, observing, I wonder

If only development could get some respite…..

A thousand awry emotions!

A bundle of propositions!

In today’s pacing life, humanity lost

I only dream, how at any cost!

I would express. I would care.

I would give. I would sleep.

I would smile. I would dance.

I would love. I would live.

If only living could get some respite…..

If only I could get some respite…..

A man of Deeds...a living inspiration- Tiwari uncle

   Simplicity and sacrifice are rare virtues in present times. I find myself lucky to have known a person who has exemplified both these traits in his own plain ways. From the first memory I have of him, what I recall is that I must have been some 5 years old He is a tall man. Built - light. Hair - pitch black. Dressing - plain enough to be similar to the ones which our actors from the olden days did. White shirt, black pants. Half sweater to shield from the cold. Smile- as simple as that of a newborn. Language tone- Hindi with a tint of eastern UP tone. Name- Mahashay Tiwari. That is how I picture my uncle. 

   

   I know him coz my dad knew him (easy to guess!) coz they shared their trade in the force (IAF- proud to be hailed from that background!). As soon as I recall him, I recall his many children with whom I played from dawn to dusk, almost every day, until they didn’t shift to Subroto Park. They were three, no four. I was single back then, the only child of my parents. And together, we were a full army! Feisty, furious five! He he… I was too small then to know that out of those four, only two were his children (Archana and Ajay). Rest two- one, his younger brother (Manohar bhaiya); two, his elder brother’s son (Ajeet bhaiya, fondly called Lala). So he had a big family to look after. 

   

   With limited earnings, he dared to bring Ajeet bhaiya and Manohar bhaiya from their village to get them educated. My uncle is a strong preacher of education. He believes that education only can redeem one’s bright future. And yes, how true he is in his beliefs! A man of discipline, mornings in his home meant 4 O’ clock! Upright at four, out of bed, barring my auntyji, everybody knew just one meditation- books. They read and they read. All four. Every morning, every noon, every night. Evenings were meant for play. So my dear uncleji did preach a healthy way of life. After all, he had heard that all work n no play makes jack a dull boy. And he could never ever have made his children, his beloved children a dull jack or Jill! 

   

   I was in fifth standard when I first got to know that Lala bhaiya and Manohar bhaiya were not his children. But being made known to this fact didn’t make any difference. Both of them were bhaiyas to me. And the way they commanded love and attention at home, no one could ever have a sly hint that the four brother sisters weren’t from the same set of parents. Everything was smooth. And Lala bhaiya was a gem! He marveled at anything he did! Sports, academics, curricular, you name it! Always the one to be awarded scholarships, he was a perfect example for his siblings to follow….Manohar bhaiya was the respectable one who studied decently and went on to build a decent life for him. He joined defence too. A proper gentleman’s life. And he owes it all to my dear uncleji. Next in line, Lala bhaiya, placed in a multinational firm today, completed his graduation from IIT, coached on scholarships in Jodhpur, topper in boards; he too owes it all to my dear uncleji. When I left Delhi, coz dad got transferred, what I faintly remember is that, uncle had brought another child from his village for schooling. Though I haven’t met that child but I know he too ought to be a good natured, sincere child now. Coz the every environment of that simple household is godly! Everything in place all the time. No excuses ever. Studies were the priority, of course but no child was forced into it. May be the weight of being under the guidance and blessings of Tiwari uncle inspired all the children, who were reared in his home, to excel in the thing they were called to city for. 

   

   Last heard on phone, he had brought two more kiddos from his village! Can you imagine that? It’s heavenly! Coming from a man of this age! Where most of the people are selfish and think for only their family and children! And never ever could anyone make a guess on compartmentalizing the children. No one can ever tell which two are his actual children. Coz never ever has any child been left out or been marginalized. No child has ever enjoyed an edge over the other in his home. 

   

   And what to say of my lovely auntyji, who has stood by her man of principles like a pillar of strength and support! Every time my uncle brought a child, she hugged the baby like her own! Fed the baby like her own! Cleaned the baby like her own! 

   

   Sacrificing everything, their little joys of new clothes, new things, even a vehicle (coz throughout his life, uncle has been cycling) and probably all those little pleasures, uncle and aunty have modeled so many innocent lives into reinforcing success stories. Any child he brought has paid his/her gratitude in the best possible ways- by being a good student, by being a respectable citizen, by being a well cultured man/woman. 

   

   The very air of that home is placid, calm, simple, refreshing……. So many lives made, Tiwari uncle is simplicity personified in all true senses. He is a mighty soul, a prophet in disguise. He is a messiah for those whose lives he ensured culminated into well living. Along with this, he is an example for every person in being. Arre aaj ki duniya me toh log apni zindagi nai savar pate aur unhone ne toh kitno ki zindigiyan bana di…… 

   

   Hats off to him! Kudos to this man who has inspired so many people around him in many ways and continues to do so…..may he lives through many more years to come. And may all his children bring him back many laurels he deserves to be rested on……….may god bless him and his family. 


I wish to get my story published in Chicken Soup for the Indian Entrepreneurs Soul in association with BlogAdda.com

https://promenadeforyou.wordpress.com/

hey friends, that's my blogpage on wordpress.

Life is Meaningful II

What is happening within?

Why is something shivering within?

A conflict, a medley of emotions

A kitche of feelings and shaking devotions.

A turmoil, a feud;  advancing and shrewd

Between love and hatred

Between fear and strength

Between sadness and rejoice

Between loneness and chorus.

My brain thinks, my heart feels.

My lungs breathe, my heart sinks.

My eyes see, my brain envisions.

My heart and mind, together take decisions.

Love versus hate, as I said earlier,

Never give rebate.

Why this happens, why these sordid emotions?

People here are born, people torn,

People loved, people snubbed,

People praised, people razed,

Is this why people exist, love , feel???

Heart feels, remember?

Sometimes it is devastated!

But why to think what’s amiss?

Why not rejoice for what is bliss?

Why stake love for hatred?

Be joyful, be strong

With every single moment dawned.

Don’t fret. Don’t frown.

Don’t lose hope, don’t be down.

Just remember,

I am here. We are here. All are here…and

Life is meaningful. Always …wherever, whenever, forever…




Life is Meaningful I

Love vs Hate

A Martyr Never Dies…

A mix of green and brown on clothes

Shirt, pants and a cap to don with

Legs saved by boots, a belt to match with

Rifle in hands, bullets in pockets

He is a soldier.

He knows no games, no consoles

Save the game of life and death.

He knows no joys save the joy of winning,

Winning by sacrificing.

His eyes have seen blood.

His eyes have seen degrading carcasses.

He is a soldier.

A challenge to death he gives

Defying nature, he guards the frontiers.

Terror, he knows not!

Fright, he holds not!

He fights. He kills. He saves. He dies.

He is a soldier.

Memories of home keep haunting.

Son shouting, “Dad, be back soon! We’ll beat Adi’s team!”

Mother weeping,” Don’t go child. Stay home.”

Father cheering,” Go ahead. Your country needs you.”

Wife uttering a silent,” Take care.”

Perched on a sand sack,

He is silently crying.

He is a soldier.

Day and night, dusk or dawn

Braving the cool breeze and frightening storm

Fighting the hot blows of air or snowfall

Facing every weather, every pall

He keeps vigil, the surveillance always on.

He is a soldier.

A battle breaks, a war is born

Scuffle all around, all his brethren are torn.

Blood oozes out.

Wounds and sores open up.

He never gives up. He keeps saving.

He keeps on. He fights valiantly.

He is a soldier.

Stream of bullets, rounds of firing

Explosion of bombs, arms tiring

Drenched in blood of comrades

He never ceases his escapades.

Battling his country’s foes

He sacrifices his life, his soul.

He is a soldier.

A shot rings through the air

Reaches him, rips him off!

In parts he falls, down in the lap of motherland.

A tinkle of shine in eyes

A smile on lips

All faces cloud his vision

Slowly, he shuts them down. He loses his breath. He dies.

He becomes a martyr.

Back home, the puzzled son asks,

“Mom, is Daddy dead? Won’t he ever be back?”

Amidst tears, the mother smiles.

“My child, your daddy was a soldier.

He can never die.

A soldier saves his country.

He saved us, he saved you.

He saved many like us.

He is a savior.

Oh come on son! Don’t you know?

That a savior never dies.

He only saves. He’ll keep on saving.”

Amazed, the little boy utters,

“The other day you asked what I wanted to be. I got it Mom!

Dad became a martyr coz he is a savior.

And a savior never dies!

I want to be that!

Yes! I want to be a martyr too…

Coz a martyr never dies…..”

Diary of an engineering student nearing exams.....

it's again the time of the semi-year when i have to get indulged in books the most! university exams are approaching and all my time needs to be devoted to my books now. hah! that aint practical,i admit but you know! when you are at home and your parents know that you have your university exams 15 days from now, they tend to get nosy! and i am no different! hehe. although i must thank my stars coz my parents' anxiety regarding my exams has mellowed down by scales since the time i have completed my schooling. how i remember what i had to go through when i was in school,especially during the boards! huh! hours of grilling with books! and more than that grilling with the thoughts and anxiety which was of course rubbed off on me by my beloved parents(no pun intended) and the scores of visits by very respected uncles n aunties! with each knock on the door  came a swarm of suggestions,"beta, don't worry... just keep studying... answer the questions properly in exams... start from the answer you know the best... take care of handwriting.... attempt this section first.... when i was in tenth, it so happened.....when i was in twelfth,it so happened....blah blah blah!!!" hehe...in those times, i used to wonder, how intelligent all my uncles were!! blessed brains! hmmm...those were innocent and wacky times.......


now that am doing engineering and face my university exams every six months with multitudes of tests held in between( mid-sems,submissions, viva,seminars, presentations,class tests...huh!), i have somehow managed to acknowledge that finally my dad thinks i have matured up a little and don't really need constant coaxing for studying. he well knows and understands that when i sit with books, i do study and when i am in no mood for studying, no soul on earth can make me do that! and coaxing would just lead to time wastage, electricity wastage and of course,'peace of home' wastage as even if i am somehow led to my book, i won't be studying it! just flipping pages or may be day dreaming about the next get together that i have planned with friends or the next fest to be held at college....wondering what would i wear that day...or may be planning which next movie should i plan with mom or friends...et cetera...et cetera.....huh! well.....that's what today's youth is all about! rebellioun! anyways, be however 'mastikhor', i certainly am getting aware of the ticking clock and the passing days....yesterday only while i was sitting at my uncle's house and as he popped the question, "when do you have your exams beta?"...i realized that i am certainly gonna land in trouble!!! gosh, it's just 15 days from now!!! and i haven't yet started!!!! i am dead!!! as soon as i reached home, i changed and settled myself on my bed with a copy in hand and guess what the copy was for.....scheduling...!! now which student on earth has ever followed his plan??? i am no different. see, how seriously i took my study plan and all those restrictions i posed on myself, no FB, no blogging until my exams get over......that's the irony of life! you keep realizing things....but you can't bring yourself to mend your ways..especially when you are an engineer whose university exams are nearing....coz ultimately, after 5 semesters in college, you kind of get used to this! to the anxiety, to the restlessness, to the fits( of scheduling and not following) and of course to the 'callous attitude'.....! but you see, i am definitely gonna study from today onwards........bas ye post karke,i 'll be off......and yeah, of course a little twitter and FB too...and my mails...surely after that.......and wait, there goes my mom, saying something....


"sweety, aaj shaam ko pooja aunty ke yahan chalna beta, thodi der baith ke ayenge....tujhe bula rahi thin ghar bohat dino se..."
"oh yeah mom, theek hai..chalenge......vaise bhi chhuttiyan hi toh hain.......PL hai toh kya hua......"


see, how i wish i never get changed! after all, this is the fun of life!!!! 


happy days ahead friends....i'll be back after a hiatus of about 25 days.....toodles......
and wish me luck for my exams......:-)

Sometimes it's good to let go...

many a times in life, you feel so helpless, so pitied, so anguished that everything else blurs... u lose ur strength and decision making ability. u kind of get shattered. no way out in vision! my dear friends, it happens. n the turmoil which u are going through, can never be understood by any other soul on earth! if at all someone understands a part of it, it is ur best friend or may be that one person to whom u are the closest. in my case, it's my best friend!
jisne bhi suna yahi kaha k let it be yaar! just forgive and forget. nobody can understand what's the real turmoil going on within. but you know, from whatever i could understand and i could gather, sometimes we must let go...let go the one who was very close, very important....sometimes we ought to let go ....for their sake...for our sake...coz what could be the point in carrying forward a relation which would see constant accusing, back biting,  blah blah blah....no one intended to do what happened but circumstances bring out the angel or the devil inside you. no one intended to break it, no one intended to fight with th other...but sometimes we don't have control over what happens, over what dooms to happen, over what is looming near, over you fate, over your anguish, over your love........we must learn to let go...only for the sake of those lovely things which were there in the past, only for those beautiful sordid emotions that had resided in the past, only for those shared smiles and moments that went on to become lifelong memories....memories that will always be cherished, always be reminisced......nobody wants to lose a friend....a good friend.....but sometimes....it is good to let go......and trust me on this....coz going through the same thing again and again becomes a hell lot aching and painful....for both sides.....if only both would let go...at least the memories of happy times stay intact..... or else they too get dimmer and fader with time......the reason why i am writing this here is that every time someone gets to know that something has happened, he/she keeps advising, get back! don't do this. don't do that. just let it be and carry on... phir se dosti kar lo............ for all those reading this post, i would like to clear that at i have never let the friendship depart, i just let my friend go....... toh phir se dosti karne ka koi sawal hi nai uthta......... i can't show what i have been through but i can assure that memories of this friendship will continue to ever inspire my and bring smile on my lips..........one can never stop loving a friend but sometimes...you have to let go that friend......sometimes it is good to let go......

Oh-Obama!

so...as the three day visit is concluding today, both India n US are enriched with some bonding moments...whether it be the First lady of US dancing with small kids in Mumbai or Mr. President Obama doing a jig with students in Delhi, each of those moments will be fresh in millions of minds for long..... not to forget the tough pulling by students of Xavier's, Mumbai! some really nice questions were put upfront to Obama which had him nervous for a while before answering......i must confess it was fun to watch it all! that a person of such stature is pulled up by small anonymous pupils, it really gives me a high.....not that it was in the case of Obama but every time i see any such incident or dialogue, i have a funtime! and i must agree to the fact that Mrs Obama is a such a sport! dancing the koli style with kiddos...so sweet of her! i have always read in papers about how good a homemaker this lady is! she keeps a check on everything, be it her kids' online connect or their studies or Mr. Obama's plans...everything n anything! and with this comes a surge of respect and applause for the first lady of US. anyways...what i was actually speaking about was the 'Oh-Obama' phenomenon! Mr. Obama visited us,our pleasure but it turned out to be their pleasure as well! with all those snaps n pics being flashes in various news channels, what i could gather is that it was a "serious" fun trip for the Obamas... aint that great! packed with dancing, dinner eminent personalities from Bollywood, sports, music and of course cabinet, it was nothing less than a wholesome tour for the first family of US. and i appreciate the way we, india, handled it. i mean, that is what we are known for all over the world! our hospitality. ATITHI DEVO BHAVA. that is imbursed in our culture, our core set of values and ethos. i am definitely impressed by how we have tended them but at the same time i also sense the contrast between their and our culture. when our prime minister n his wife visits them or our president visits them...this is not the kind of attention and embrace they draw. but anyways....in India Mr Obama is definitely a phenomenon...one who has totally rotated the US policy making scenario! at a time when US commanded the world, they saw crowning of Mr Barrack Hussein Obama as their president and this president changed the whole picture! for a change we have a US prez who loves peace and who follows Gandhi, our beloved Bapu........we have a prez who wouldn't mind shaking a leg with kids and who wouldn't mind facing a tough session wit open minded students and who has a wife, Michelle who invites much more respect when she says that,'i urge you to ask my husband some very tough questions a give him a tough time.....'.....oh Obama!

EXAMINATIONS!

Pulsating heartbeats, soaring BP

Sleepless nights, minus TP

Sweating foreheads, quivering hands

Blinking eyes & aching glands…

All but few succumb to the fear

Dreadful & afraid of the ‘danger’ looming near

Restless still motionless, sitting on chair

An internal battle of calculation with a flair!

When the D- day comes

All notes n sums

Get tied in buns

And fought with for runs!

I knew this! I know that!

I had surily read that! Pat!

Oh! What is this? What is that?

No idea on earth. Dhatt!

Somehow, over gets the exam

Now I need a massage n some balm

Need to hold onto my pain n calm

N come back tomorrow for the next exam!

Oh poor me! Poor world!

Always answering the questions hurled!

That’s the beauty of examinations

It witnesses critical times n sundry emotions….