The confessions of a clueless mind

It is believed among the Hindus that the Himalayas are the abode of the Gods. In fact, Mount Kailash is believed to be the mythological Kailasa where Lord Shiva resides. Accordingly, the Hindus also believe that these mountains are the resting place for the spirits of their dead ancestors. The Hindu association with the mysticism of the Himalayas doesn’t stop at that. It is also believed that one cannot go to the Himalayas until their destined time. Of course, a pragmatist would dismiss these beliefs as just mumbo-jumbo. And I set out to do the same as well, when some of us friends went on a Himalayan trek a few months ago. We planned to start our trek from Solang , and go all the way to the Beas Kund , the source of the Beas River, where, as the legend goes, the great Hindu sage Veda Vyas (also known as Beas ) wrote the epic Mahabharata . What followed, however, was a series of events that seemed to warn us to not proceed on our expedition. Call it coincidences, or omens. But they d...

Continuing with the Independence Day fervor, my good friend Maverick has an interesting list of things that will make India an icon in the next 60 years. Click here to read the article. While I agree on all of those, I also have a few other points that I think are equally, if not more, important in curing India of its ills. 1. Ban Caste/Religion based politics and policy making This has been the bane of our system ever since independence. The country has not been able to overcome the strong caste/religion divide, and politicians, in their vote-bank appeasement policies, have exploited this to the hilt. Minority appeasement, for example, has reached such sick proportions that one wonders if it is a crime to be born in the majority community. Further, the lack of a uniform civil code has reduced our secular credentials to a farce. The so-called intelligentsia has always turned a blind eye to such critical issues as these, but pounces upon irrelevant issues to garner press and mileage ...

As Independent India is about to turn 60, here is a list of 10 things about our country that I absolutely hate, and desperately wish I could change. 10. People who make an appointment, and then forget about it ( Some of us are lousy about our punctuality and professionalism ). 9. The Bangalore Auto-rickshaw drivers ( everything about them makes me see red ) 8. People who park their vehicles in front of garages/street corners/congested lanes with no regard to the inconvenience caused to others. 7. People who argue without even attempting to use their brains. 6. The Right Wing Politicians who forget their basic ideology, and put " Jai Maharashtra " above " Jai Hind ". 5. The Congress leaders who claim to love their mothers, and yet, at the slightest opportunity, sell their motherland. 4. Communists who live in India and worship China. 3. The ignorant Islamic Fundamentalists, the ones that are taught in the Madarasas that killing non-believers is their path to salvati...

The Crumbling Wall, The Gaping Hole in the Wall, the Sycophant, Traitor, Toy-Captain, BCCI agent – These are all the names that are being used to describe Rahul Dravid in recent times. You can find these and many more abusive nicknames for Rahul on the Rediff forums where people, especially those hailing from the eastern corner of the country, take it upon themselves to blame Rahul for everything wrong about Indian cricket, and sometimes, about everything wrong about everything in the world. As an ardent admirer of Rahul Dravid, both for his cricketing talent and his unerring composure and decency, it is appalling to read those abusive comments about our captain. But in a country where each and every one of the one billion plus population thinks he/she is then only authority on Indian cricket, it becomes impossible to please everyone. And just as true is the fact that it is the unhappy lot that makes the most noise, and therefore, it is this abusive section of our cricket fans that ma...

“ Ooooooooh Ooooooh……… ” If you have lived in India during the last couple of years, you’d recognize that nasal humming instantly. The capped-crusader has been everywhere since early 2005 when Aashiq Banaya Aapne (ABA) was released. That was the first appearance of Himesh, the star. For those of you who were following Zee’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 , you’d know the startling image makeover in Himesh before and after ABA. The shoddy wig gave way to a hep cap. The dumb gujju look had been smartly replaced with a grunge stubble look. The soft, shy Himesh had metamorphosised into an aggressive, confident, vociferous personality. HR had arrived! Since then, he has gone from strength to strength, churning innumerable hits, as a composer and as a singer. The nasal twang in his voice is very pronounced, but the masses simply loved it, and lapped it up with open arms. The so-called connoisseurs of classic music dismissed HR’s singing as cacophony, and sniggered at his success. But that di...