The city of dreams which never dreamt of

I have injured my right hand and I am going through a lot of pain. But more than my hand, it’s the heart which is in real pain. My heart is crying for the people of Mumbai – ‘The city of dreams’. The city, whose dreams were shattered by few evil ‘elements’. The city which was brought to its knees in no time.

Ayodhya in the 80’s, the 1993 blasts in Mumbai, the 06-07 local train blasts in Mumbai, the Delhi blasts this year.. The list is big. And 26th Nov saw the worst ever terror attack on the financial capital of the country. When are we going to find a solution for this brutal state of terrorism?

Today I am really angry. As a responsible citizen, I am worried and concerned. I feel the city was brutally ‘raped’ and we were clueless. It was a complete breakdown of intelligence. How long are we going to tolerate this? I was always thinking that ‘roti, ‘kapda’ and ‘makaan’ were the basic necessities for surviving. But the most fundamental necessity has now become ‘suraksha’ (security). ‘Roti’, ‘kapda’ and ‘makaan’ will be meaningful only when there is ‘suraksha’.

The spirit of Mumbaikars will bring them back to normalcy in no time. But the question remains, how long are we going to take this? It’s time we raise our voice. Why should a politician be given a ‘Z’ category security? For me the security of people is more important. I want those hundreds of security personnel to guard the people instead of guarding the politicians when they visit a city for a rally. A group of 15 people cannot cross the waters and take charge of the most admired monuments of the city – The Taj and the Oberoi Trident.

During this worst moment of tragedy, it was a commendable job done by the Mumbai police, the army, the navy and most importantly- the NSG. I salute the 200 commandos who did their job with thorough professionalism. I salute Hemant Karakare, Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte. These cops have laid their life for the people of Mumbai. Jai Hind!!!

Whom to blame?

Most of the people in India belong to the so called 'middle class' society. For the youth, the focus by far is on the most simplest way - get a degree and land up in a job which will earn them 'green notes'. I know those green notes are enough to survive in this 'mean' world. But I feel the race to earn 'green notes' has some where supressed the dream of the middle class youth.

Individuals who wanted to join the Air force or navy or wanted to become models are not allowed to pursue what they wanted to because there was a huge 'risk' involved in terms of their future. In most cases, they are forced to take the simple path - a degree followed by a job. We are restricting the creativity of a fantastic brain and the energy of the youth. Whom to blame? Parents or the situation ? I guess both.

I feel, "I am happy but not having fun". People feel when we are happy, we are also having fun. But I would want to differ.I want to make a distinction between being happy and having fun. Getting a degree, getting a job, being with parents is happiness for me but doing something 'unconventional' is fun. Doing something 'unorthodox' is fun. I am yet to discover what is unconventional for me.

Life is all about taking 'calculated' risks. Only risks can give you greater dividends. I am tempted to quote Steve jobs here - 'Stay hungry, Stay foolish'.

Best F1 season and the emergence of Lewis Hamilton - A loser

On 02 Nov,2008 - the best ever F1 season ended.

It was yet another cliff-hanger as was witnessed in 2007. Felipe Massa almost did a 'kimi' this year. Remember what happened in 2007? Kimi won though he had the least probability of winning the championship. A true 'master' - the 'ice man'.

But this year, Timo Glock made Hamilton win the championship. I will never give the credit to Hamilton, because he did not win on his own. For me he was never a great driver. He truly in all sense does not have the 'spirit' of 'sportsmanship'.Hence he does not deserve the championship, but we need to congratulate 'the born loser' for winning the championship somehow. It will anyway be considered as a win in the history books.

Nevertheless, it was a great season where till the end, the champion was not decided. It was the final two laps,that decided the championship.

Ferrari’s consolation was to win the constructors’ world championship but, ultimately, and in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable, this was Lewis Hamilton’s and McLaren’s day.

I have never witnessed such a race (Brazil 2008) in the history of F1. The most impressive driver for me was Sebastian Vettel. I see a lot of Kimi Raikkonen in him. Like Kimi, Vettel is a cool and an agressive driver. I see a world champion in Vettel.

It was truly the best F1 season with the emergence of a 'loser' - Lewis Hamilton.