Fool-proof

Optimism

In the dark night...
I sit under the star-crowded sky.
the moon smirks at me,
as I sit all alone in the cool breeze,
the breeze teases me,
as I sit alone without the warmth of love,
the waves frighten me,
as I sit along with my fear.

The next night...
I sit under the star-studded sky.
the moon smiles at me,
as I sit along with my happiness in the cold breeze,
the breeze embraces me,
as I sit with love for myself,
the waves inspire me,
as I sit along with my courage.

The next dawn...

the blaring clock woke me up...
singing,
the tasteless breakfast teased...
my taste buds,
the congested traffic taught me...
to be patient,
my boring life turned...
a fun ride...

Happiness filled every moment,
hope rushed into every sorrow,
challenge replaced all impossibility,
patience took on anger
as optimism i brought inti me,
life smiled back at me,
as pessimism i threw out
life became all beautiful...

posted by NikVad @ 9:08 PM 1 comments

MEMORIES...

Cool breeze blowing into my window,
bringing lots of memories with it,
both soothing and paining,
bringing a smile on my face,
smiling I am about those stolen moments,
tears rolling out of my eyes,
pining for those sweet moments,
thinking of the times when...
we shared...
we cared...
the promises we made,
the dreams we shared,
no moment will ever return,
this kicks me on my heart,
this pricking reality,
if only my dreams came true,
this breeze would make me sing...
sing for our love...
sing for our happiness...
nothing is 'our's now,
for together we are not,
even now i sing...
sing for your happiness,
sing from my heart,
long live! breeze...
long live! memories...
long live! love...

posted by NikVad @ 5:15 AM 0 comments

AN OLD MAN...

Walking was an old man limping,
carrying with him was he, his age,
his bitter and sweet memories.

Skinny was his face very,
fed up it was of crying,
tired it was of smiling.

Dull were his little ever-bright eyes,
that had been seeing all the evil,
had also seen a bit of good.

Deaf were his long ears,
told him which all those bad news,
whispered to him which all those great news.

Weak was his heart,
disappointments it could bear no more,
surprises it could take no longer.

Still carried him, his legs,
as they did all his life,
getting weaker did not matter.

Still smiled his face,
at all those little joys,
getting weaker did not matter.

Still showed him, his eyes,
all those beautiful things,
geeting weaker did not matter.

Still told him, his ears,
all those wonderful news,
getting weaker did not matter ,

Still beat his heart,
for all those surprises,
getting weaker did not matter for it tooo.

Lost hope did he never,
sweet memories exhausted never,
smile never grew shorter.

Does not smile back to him,
now does the world,
does not whisper to him now.

Ears struggle to get good news,
even when shouts turned whispers,
and whispers into unbroken silences.

Eyes struggle to show him beauty,
even when sun looks like moon
and moon never appears.

Heart struggles to beat,
even when the world does not surprise,
when death's the only surprise.

The world may not care,
his body does,
live he will till it does...

posted by NikVad @ 7:26 AM 3 comments

'TERORISTS' OR 'ISLAMISTS'???

'Terrorism' and 'Terrorists' are the two words we have been hearing in the recent past more than our own names! There has been a meteoric rise in terrorism. Has there really been? According to the intelligence agencies worldwide-YES. Or is it more correct to say that there has been a meteoric rise in the suspected terrorist activities?The creepy coincidence is that all the terrorists are turning out to be ISLAMISTS. In other words, all the arrested terrorists are turning out to be ISLAMISTS. The latter is however, the better way to put it. So, calling them TERRORISTS or ISLAMISTS boils down to the same damn point. An sms that has been doing rounds(acc. to outlook magazine)is "all muslims are not terrorists but all terrorists are muslims.".Yes this is very true. Terrorist groups like the LTTE and ULFA are not being called terrorists but the LeT, Hizbul are being called terrorists. The situation is now so pathetic that if a group of muslim students stage a protest aganist something 9.5 times out of 10 they are going to be shot down and branded TERRORISTS.
One of the most recent major happenings of the world was that of the- could have been bombing of 10-20 US bound aircrafts in mid air. A major terrorist activity had been averted. Thanks to the Paskistani intelligence that helped the British intelligence to avert a very big destruction.Now, let us throw some light on the facts of the incident. 24 suspects who have been arrested were supposed to blow the aircrafts in mid-air using liquid explosives.This is the fact that everybody has been told and everybody knows. Now,its time for some facts that not everybody knows. The liquid explosives with which the suspected were to blast the aircrafts have not been found more than 3 weeks after the incident. Hold your breath there is some more to come. All the 24 arrested donot have air tickets to board the aircrafts. Even the possibility of them buying tickets in the last minute has been striked off. Now , has a major terrorist activity been averted??????????? In a more recent incident, an aircraft made an emergency landing(escorted by two F-16 jets) due to the suspicious behaviour of a group of passengers. 12 passengers were detained and co-incidentally all the 12 were MUSLIMS! More co-incidentally they were innocent people. In another incident, 2 MUSLIM(Britain-born) students were not allowed to get aboard because thier co-passengers felt they were dressed out- of -place and had a beard!!! Do these incidents tell us something? The White race has started an ETHNIC or RACIAL discrimination.RACIAL PROFILING is the euphemism for this. If you are an Asian or an Arab, have a beard or is a MUSLIM then think twice before you decide to take a plane, you stand a very fair chance of being detained. The World or the White World have become paranoid and this paranoia is against MUSLIMS.
At this rate, the day when MUSLIMS will be denied admission into schools and denied jobs is not very far. Every MUSLIM is now scorned for the in-human acts of a small group of people belonging to the same religion. Is this fair? YES, this is totally fair because we are bothered about our own security. What if in this process they are denied dignity and honor? We need to understand that they are the biggest victims. But, instead we are increasingly blaming and suspecting them. They deserve better.
The US has been involved in all the terrotrist activities directly or indirectly. Be it the 9/11 attacks or the recent averted mid-air blasts or the more recent emergency landing.Even in the 7/7 attacks US was the target indirectly. UK, an ally to US had to face an attack. After the 9/11 attacks, it bombed Afghanistan and went on to bomb Iraq on the the claim that it possesed nuclear weapons. But, its acts are not called terrorist activities even after knowing that Iraq had not possesed any nuclear weapons because it is US and more importantly not a MUSLIM nation but a nation with the WHITES.
This whole thing, seems to me like a war between the US and terrorism(ISLAM) or can it be called a war between Christianity and Islam? Is this a war between two religions? I dont want to believe it is. But, it is increasingly taking such shape. If this continues for long then the world will polarise. The US for sure would rope in more support not because it is right but because it seems to be more powerful
(even otherwise it will threaten and draw in more support). THE THIRD WORLD WAR will then begin and the entire human race (except BUSH) will be reduced to ash.
Now the Trillion Dollar question is "FOR HOW MANY DAYS WILL WE BE SUCCESSFUL IN DELAYING THE THIRD WORLD WAR???" . Only time will answer this...

posted by NikVad @ 2:51 AM 3 comments

Hari I will miss u a lot!

PROLOGUE: Hari came to hyderabad from bangalore for vacation and was leaving. It was AUG-15 10.30PM.


Hari boarded the bus. It was time to bid good-bye. I felt something. Something deep in my heart. Was it a kick or a pinch? It probably was a bit of both and something more. Tears flowed into my eyes waiting to come out and drop onto my cheeks. But, they did not. Probably I held them back. It was a very tough moment. We lived almost every hour together for atleast two years. We ate together. Be it day or night. It really was not easy especially when I knew that it would be months before we meet again. I was helpless. I could not go with him. I could not stop him. He had to go. All I could do was stand there and watch him go away. Time was stealing all those moments between usand I could not do any thing about it.This kicked me even harder and it did right in the gut
I knew for sure that even if i opened my mouth words would not come out in that pain. I took out my mobile and typed a message. It read like this:"this time i dont know why but i feel very strongly that i will miss you more than ever.love you mama.happy journey. i will stay here for somemore time." I did not bother if the sentences were syntactically correct. I was frantically searching for words that could convey my feelings. These were the only words I could find. The bus had not started yet. He got off the bus and came to me. We exchanged a nice warm hug. For a few seconds I felt better and this feeling ended along with the hug. We then told eachother "good-bye mama" but, we did not mean it.We didnot want to go but... I waited till he got back into the bus. He went to his seat and waved his hand as I waved to him. I could not stay there. I fail to understand how my walking away before the bus started would reduce my pain but I thought it would and did it. Neither he nor I talked about the message. We probably didnot have the courage or probably there was no need.
As i walked back,those inseparable memories reeled before me. Those nights we(I,nikhil mohan and hari) spent in my home.Those lunches and dinners we had together.(We even ate in a single plate.)Those endless discussions we had in cafeterias etc.. All these moments are special in their own way. We donot share the same bloodline but we have the same shadow. We cared for eachother and most importatly we loved eachother (unconditionally). We could (and can)forgive eachothers mistakes without any complaints. The best thing about us three is that we are always together however far we may stay from eachother.
Nikhil Mohan, please come back to hyderabad soon. I really miss you. I cannot drink tea in 'victoria cafe' all alone without gossip. We(3) may really miss eachother but we have enough of sweet memories to bring a smile on our faces for atleast ten more years.I know that those college days will never be back and this is what makes all this more difficult. But, we hope to make the best out of every single time we meet.

LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
'YEH DOSTI HUM NAHI TODENGE....
TODENGE DUM MAGAR TERA SAATH NA CHODENGE...

posted by NikVad @ 4:12 AM 1 comments

THE NEHRU TROPHY BOAT RACE

The traditional boat race in Kerala also known as Nehru trophy boat race is held every year in association with the festival Onam. This race is held in the backwaters of kuttanadan in Alappuzha(also known as Allepy). Winning this boat race is a matter of prestige for every boat club in the state. Also the prizes are also very attractive with more and more sponsors coming every year. This year 52nd Nehru trophy boat was held on 12th august.

History

The History of Nehru Trophy Boat Race is associated with the visit of late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India to Alappuzha. The first race was an impromptu one conducted in 1952 in honour of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who visited Alappuzha. In that race of snake boats, ‘Nadubhagam Chundan’ stood first. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who was thrilled and excited by the performance of the oarsmen, jumped into the ‘Nadubhagam Chundan’, forgetting all security arrangements. The boat proceeded to the boat jetty carrying the Prime Minister. After his return to Delhi, a few months later in December 1952, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru donated a silver trophy, which is a replica of a snake boat placed on a wooden abacus. The trophy bears the following inscription above his signature; “To the winners of the boat race, which is a unique feature of community life in Travancore - Cochin.” This trophy later came to be known as Nehru Trophy, and in fond memory of great Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the people of Alappuzha celebrate the Nehru Trophy Boat Race every year.

Boats and Composition of the team

The boats of Kerala are known after their shapes, sizes or purposes. The Chundaanvallam is so called because of its pointed prow. The term snake boat comes from its stern, which represents the raised, the hood of a snake and its length . The front end of this type of boat will be tapering in shape and the rear end will be very high from the water level. They have a length of about 60-65 meters and a capacity carrying hundred to hundred and ten people during the race time. The stern is majestically caparisoned and decorated with a flag and brass ornaments. Silken parasols are arrayed along the entire length of the boat. There will be almost 95 oarsmen, 5 Amarakkar (Controllers) and 10 'Nilakkar' (persons supposed to enhance the vigour and enthusiasm of the participating oarsman). It has got a resemblance to the shape of a snake, when it advances in a competition and hence became popular as snake boats. Snake boats are the traditional battle vessels of Kerala known as Chundan vallams . They were originally designed as a naval vessel used for battle.

Team effort

For many of us team effort is when India wins a cricket series. But I feel this race has team effort more than any other sport. There are about 95 oarsmen all of whom have to execute their job simultaneously. If not done simultaneously, the speed won’t be maintained and also the boat will become difficult to control. For doing this simultaneously there is no synchronization clock as we have in our electronic circuits, It is the Vanchi pattu(the boat song) that helps them to execute simultaneously with the group. It is really very interesting to see all these people rowing simultaneously as if it is some machine that is working. 5 people who steer the boat are also of great importance and their action is to control the direction of the boat. In case when the boat has to go straight and if among 95 oarsmen, one of them makes a mistake, it is the controller’s duty to rectify it immediately otherwise it may cumulatively change the coarse of the boat.

Then come another 10 people who do nothing directly to the boat but are in fact extra weight in the boat. These ten men are responsible lifting the morale of the team. They sing songs at the highest pitch they can even if their boat is at the last place. Apart from this, it is their song that helps people execute their job simultaneously.

VANCHIPATTU (SONG OF THE BOATMAN)

These highly rhythmic songs were created to keep up the spirits of the boatmen. The rhythm of these songs blends perfectly with the movement of the oars and to keep up devotional, mythological or relating to rustic life styles. Every snake boat has about ten singers keeping time with traditional percussion instruments
One famous song I can think of goes like this…
Kuttanadan kunjayille’
kochu penne’ kuyill alle’
kottu vennam kurall vennam, kuravva vennam
oh thi thi thara thi thi thaye thi thaye’ thaka thaka thom.
(these lines are repeated at different tempos… from slow to fast)
Let me try to translate it in English…
In the back waters of Kuttanadan
There lived a young girl and a young guy who was a good singer too.
There should be drumbeats, people shouting in the background (for what occasion, even I’m not sure because I don’t know the full version of the song).
Thi thi thara… is the rhythm they are all shouting…

Watching this race from the gallery is a real treat to both our eyes and brain. I was really enthralled by watching so many men in action in such a good manner. Their team effort is indeed a lesson to learn. The most important that, I’m sure, will remain in my mind and heart for a long time will be the ten 'Nilakkar' (persons supposed to enhance the vigour and enthusiasm of the participating oarsman). Never before I realized the importance of such people. Their song is still on the tip of my tongue. Kuttanadan kunjayille’….

posted by Nikhil @ 1:29 AM 3 comments

CHILD LABOUR....

That children are the most gentle, the most innocent and the most pure hearted beings is not a debatable issue at all. But, what is debatable is the ban of child labour w.e.f october 10, 2006. Some see no reason in debating about this issue because it restores their work-free childhood but, does it neccessarily mean a happy childhood. The debate begins...
Many of the child labourers face abuse physically, psychologically and sexually on a regular basis. In an incident in Mumbai, a domestic child labourer was beaten to death by her employers just for trying on some lipstick. This ban would surely lessen (by a huge amount) the abuses these children go through. But it doesnot ensure them a happy childhood.
Most of the children who work are forced to do so by their circumstances. Circumstances such as an ailing or dead parent or a huge family or insufficiency of income of the parents etc.. Such children when stripped of their jobs and salaries will starve (in some cases entire family will). Some of them may even be driven into crimes. Childlabour gives them benefits such as food, clothing, shelter and a salary that (in some cases) an entire family lives on though it makes them more vulnerable to abuse.
The ban of child labour has larger issues to it. This ban must be strictly enforced and violators should be prosecuted. Most of the times (esp in India) laws (such as these) are not enforced strictly. Surprise inspections should be conducted in all the potential places. Another thing that should be done for this ban to be more effective is cutting off the supply(of child labourers). This can be done by providing free and compulsary education for all children under 14(a constitutional obligation), then children cannot be at other place except school. Now the question that arises is: Are there enough schools (state-run) for providing education to all children ? It is sad to believe (that it is true) that 42000 state-run schools donot have their own buildings . Not only this about one lakh schools have only one classroom. How will so ill-equipped schools provide education? With even the basic amenities like blackboard, furniture and toilets missing these schools are unfit to provide education. It would be utterly foolish to expect these freed child labourers to join private schools. Now the question that arises is what will these freed children do? They will resort to begging or crimes to feed their stomachs and their families.
One way to help these children is to allow them to work while safegaurding them against abuse. An association for child labourers should be formed and a set of rights and rules for behaviour towards them should be set and the government should take responsibilty to regularly conduct inspections and punish all the offenders. Thus, even these poor little chaps can work with dignity of labour. The other (for all the obvious reasons a better) way out is that the government should pump a lot of funds in order to improve the infrastructure of these schools. The constitutional obligation of compulsary and free education should be strictly enforced. The govt. should provide means of earning for these children after school hours. The children should be assigned suitable work for pay. This way the exploitation of children can be checked while providing them income. Both the solutions are practicable only if the govt. realises its responsibility towards these children. The laws(reg. child labour ) should be strictly enforced else this ban will be of no good.
We all have grown up listening to the saying "TODAYS CHILDREN ARE TOMORROWS CITIZENS" and it does not require great brains or logic to realise that children are the future. It is high time for the govt. to realise this and work for eradication of child labour and provision of free education to all the children, in other words for a better tomorrow.

posted by NikVad @ 5:23 AM 1 comments

The number you have called is busy please stay on the line or call again later

As on every other day his mobile rang to wish him GOODMORNING. No,it was not the alarm on his mbile. He never wakes up for the alarm. It was a call. His day began, as every other day would,filled with phone calls. His mobile rings only once or twice in a day yet he is all day talking on his mobile. No,he doesn't make all the calls. You must be wondering...How this is possible? But there is a way. He always has a call waiting, so he hangs up one and takes the other. So,his mobile doesn't ring. Do you think am exaggerating? You will say am not when I reveal the name of the person am talking about. Am talking about none other than nikhil mohan (member of this blog- fool proof). Now you know very well that am not exaggerating. All of those who have called him have always heard the busy message(mentioned as the title of this post).

Lets try to solve the 'who he talks to mystery?' He frequently gets calls from his father,mother and sister(younger). But you know what! Even they have to wait for him to end the previous call!!! Lets assume that he always talks to his friends. Let me tell you before hand that he has a lot of friends and too many of his friends are girls. But even they are put on call waiting. Then,he must always be talking to his girlfriend. Nope even his girlfriend waits. Who does he talk to all the time? He continuosly talks to all of them. There is a lot of competetion among all the three categories mentioned above. Now guess who wins?............................................ THE LUCKIEST!!!
Now coming to the 'what he talks?'mystery. Well you can hear him talking about real estate, politics, jobs, business, scams, history, films, music, stock market, emerging technologies, exams, people, events and the list goes on. He talks everything from the most sophisticated to utter rubbish. You can even hear him talk in many languages... sometimes english, sometimes hindi, sometimes telugu and sometimes malayalam(for those who donot know he is from Kerala).
And now for the 'why do so many people want to talk to him(inspite of 'call waiting')?' mystery. He is one of the sweetest persons you will ever meet in your life. I say 'you will ever meet in your life' because persons as sweet as him are very rare to find. He is the first person you would like to call in case of any problem(once you know him). He is one of the persons you can stand by and trust in any circumstance. Talk with him and you can talk for days and you will not run out of conversation. He always has the right things to tell you at the right time. His words are so cushioning that if you get used to them you will call wait endlessly to talk to him.
Many researchers have claimed that mobile phone is injurious to brain or whatever. I call upon all the researchers to conduct their examinations and researches on nikhil as there are a very few people in this world who use their mobile as much as he does.

LONG LIVE NIKHIL!! LONG LIVE HIS MOBILE!!!

posted by NikVad @ 2:53 AM 1 comments