This is a poem that I read when I visited the Balanand home for underprivileged kids. It was put up on their green-board, and I thought I would share it:
Legacy of an adopted child
Once there were two women
who never knew each other
One you do not remember
the other you call mother.
Two different lives
shaped to make yours one,
One became your guiding star
the other became your sun.
The first gave you life
and the second taught you to live in it.
The first gave you a need for love
The second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality
the other gave you a name
One gave you the seed of talent
the other gave you an aim.
One gave you emotions
the other calmed your fears
One saw your first sweet smile
the other dried your tears
One gave you up
it was all that she could do.
The other prayed for a child
and God led her straight to you.
And now you ask me through your tears
The age-old question through the years.
Heredity or environment, which are you the product of?
Neither, my darling,neither.Just two different kinds of love.
Elaine Gubish
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
It all Boyles down to this.
We've sold ourselves.To the first gora who came along.Christian Colson(not sure about his name, though) , that is.
Saying the truth is one thing.Shouting (possibly) one man's truth (or not even that) to a firangi public that will readily generalize this notion to all of India is wholly another.Right now, there is some fat ***ed American munching his caramel popcorn, thinking "Man, these Indians are backward.Religious riots, children begging in scary numbers on the streets and garbage all over."I don't know about you, but my blood boils just thinking about it.
We had tried Lagaan-ing,even tried Paheli-ing, but the golden lady was eluding us.There was only one way out.Put our garbage-filled railway stations and cockroach-infested kitchens up for global entertainment.And now that we've smiled, posing with the award, we're happy.Happy that a bunch of foreigners approved of how dirty our country really is.But we don't think about all this.We've got Indian cinema on the world map, they say.At what cost?, I say.
There are loads of nice things about India.Every aerobics class that makes the people perform Suryanamaskar must thank us for it.Every time they pick up a Deepak Chopra, they should remember us.Forget India, let's talk about something closer to home.Dharavi.No one talks about love stories unfolding while waiting in queue for using the common toilet.And the fact that the kids at Dharavi know better English that you'd imagine, thanks to adventurous foreigners who visit Dharavi for a whiff of the real Mumbai.There was Kalpana Chawla, there was Rabindranath Tagore and then there was S.Radhakrishnan.I don't see movies being made on these.
I know we're all tired of the "snake-charmer, mystical" typecast on us.It is gone for good. But if we just sit there, there is a new typecast ready to take its place.Which will take long and lot to erase.
Saying the truth is one thing.Shouting (possibly) one man's truth (or not even that) to a firangi public that will readily generalize this notion to all of India is wholly another.Right now, there is some fat ***ed American munching his caramel popcorn, thinking "Man, these Indians are backward.Religious riots, children begging in scary numbers on the streets and garbage all over."I don't know about you, but my blood boils just thinking about it.
We had tried Lagaan-ing,even tried Paheli-ing, but the golden lady was eluding us.There was only one way out.Put our garbage-filled railway stations and cockroach-infested kitchens up for global entertainment.And now that we've smiled, posing with the award, we're happy.Happy that a bunch of foreigners approved of how dirty our country really is.But we don't think about all this.We've got Indian cinema on the world map, they say.At what cost?, I say.
There are loads of nice things about India.Every aerobics class that makes the people perform Suryanamaskar must thank us for it.Every time they pick up a Deepak Chopra, they should remember us.Forget India, let's talk about something closer to home.Dharavi.No one talks about love stories unfolding while waiting in queue for using the common toilet.And the fact that the kids at Dharavi know better English that you'd imagine, thanks to adventurous foreigners who visit Dharavi for a whiff of the real Mumbai.There was Kalpana Chawla, there was Rabindranath Tagore and then there was S.Radhakrishnan.I don't see movies being made on these.
I know we're all tired of the "snake-charmer, mystical" typecast on us.It is gone for good. But if we just sit there, there is a new typecast ready to take its place.Which will take long and lot to erase.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Me
Following this whole "25 things about me" list that all Facebook users are making nowadays, I started thinking about what i would write if I had to.I'm going to try, but friends reading this can help out.I need it.
20 things about me:
1. I love my brother more than my parents, or God, or myself.
2. I was underweight when I was born (yeah yeah I know, I was shocked too, when my mother told me. Ironically, my mouth was stuffed at that time.But then again, when isn't it?)
3. I don't REALLY know what "ironically" means.But I use it in sentences anyway.
4. I have a dramatic monologue going on inside my head, and I absolutely LOVE imagining potential conversations between "namoone" that I get to see so often in buses.
5. I despise the idea of anyone calling their parents "Mom and Dad".C'mon, they at least deserve better than THAT.Westernized idiots.
6. On the same note, I think the most beautiful word that ever was is "AMMA".Kinda makes me feel all warm and tingly every time I say it.
7. I have more best friends than some people have friends.
8. I'm judgemental about people who dress well.Don't ask.
9. I have a lot of little beliefs that keep coming and going.Like -"If a 92Ltd. comes along in the next 1 minute, I'll do well in today's test".
10. I'd like to think I'm one of the cooler nerds of V.J.T.I.
11. I HATE my cellphone.And all cellphones.And the fact that people use them only for messaging at 3am and for getting out of an awkward conversation by faking a call.
12. An hour of sports makes me feel thinner.Just feel.
13. I love talking about religion, God and the abstract with my mother.
14. I start crying when a song matches my mood EXACTLY.
15. Oh, and I cry only when I'm alone.
16. I hate it when people use sms language in their blogs. Or anywhere, for that matter.
17. I can listen to Chandler Bing all day long, if that's possible. It's love.
18. I'm sarcastic to the core. More so at home, where people are greatly annoyed by it.
19. I love punning with words.Though it doesn't come voluntarily.
20. I've always dreamt of a wedding with me in jeans and a comfortable t-shirt.
There,I've said it.Go ahead, change it, comment,suggest, criticize. Whatever.
20 things about me:
1. I love my brother more than my parents, or God, or myself.
2. I was underweight when I was born (yeah yeah I know, I was shocked too, when my mother told me. Ironically, my mouth was stuffed at that time.But then again, when isn't it?)
3. I don't REALLY know what "ironically" means.But I use it in sentences anyway.
4. I have a dramatic monologue going on inside my head, and I absolutely LOVE imagining potential conversations between "namoone" that I get to see so often in buses.
5. I despise the idea of anyone calling their parents "Mom and Dad".C'mon, they at least deserve better than THAT.Westernized idiots.
6. On the same note, I think the most beautiful word that ever was is "AMMA".Kinda makes me feel all warm and tingly every time I say it.
7. I have more best friends than some people have friends.
8. I'm judgemental about people who dress well.Don't ask.
9. I have a lot of little beliefs that keep coming and going.Like -"If a 92Ltd. comes along in the next 1 minute, I'll do well in today's test".
10. I'd like to think I'm one of the cooler nerds of V.J.T.I.
11. I HATE my cellphone.And all cellphones.And the fact that people use them only for messaging at 3am and for getting out of an awkward conversation by faking a call.
12. An hour of sports makes me feel thinner.Just feel.
13. I love talking about religion, God and the abstract with my mother.
14. I start crying when a song matches my mood EXACTLY.
15. Oh, and I cry only when I'm alone.
16. I hate it when people use sms language in their blogs. Or anywhere, for that matter.
17. I can listen to Chandler Bing all day long, if that's possible. It's love.
18. I'm sarcastic to the core. More so at home, where people are greatly annoyed by it.
19. I love punning with words.Though it doesn't come voluntarily.
20. I've always dreamt of a wedding with me in jeans and a comfortable t-shirt.
There,I've said it.Go ahead, change it, comment,suggest, criticize. Whatever.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Waaat you doing, da macha?
Ek chaturanaar, bada hoshiyaar...
Frankly, I have never heard this song fully.Know why?Coz I can't. When I see Mehmood dressed in a dhoti with ash all over his forehead, and screaming Ayyo Ayyo after each alternate breath, it disgusts me.To see how Tamilians are portrayed on-screen.Or anywhere else,for that matter.
We are FOREVER called Madrasis, not that we're all from Madras, but who cares?All we do is wear really colourful lungis, go to temples all the time and say things like "Poda rasscalaa".May I point out here, that Rajnikanth, who made that phrase a household affair, is a hard-core Maharashtrian.And how could I forget!Our language,Tamil can be pretty much summarised by 2 words(I can't even call them WORDS), Andu Gundu.
I can understand if people cannot differentiate between the four different southern languages.But at least recognize the fact that there are more than 1!And that Tamil does NOT have any words like Andu Gundu!And that we eat things other than Idly and Sambar!I am proud to say that I can at least differentiate between Gujarati and Kachhi.And between Bengali and Oriya.Maybe someday in the (hopefully near) future, Bollywood will stop stereotyping us "Madrasis" and recognize us for the truly modern community we are.
Frankly, I have never heard this song fully.Know why?Coz I can't. When I see Mehmood dressed in a dhoti with ash all over his forehead, and screaming Ayyo Ayyo after each alternate breath, it disgusts me.To see how Tamilians are portrayed on-screen.Or anywhere else,for that matter.
We are FOREVER called Madrasis, not that we're all from Madras, but who cares?All we do is wear really colourful lungis, go to temples all the time and say things like "Poda rasscalaa".May I point out here, that Rajnikanth, who made that phrase a household affair, is a hard-core Maharashtrian.And how could I forget!Our language,Tamil can be pretty much summarised by 2 words(I can't even call them WORDS), Andu Gundu.
I can understand if people cannot differentiate between the four different southern languages.But at least recognize the fact that there are more than 1!And that Tamil does NOT have any words like Andu Gundu!And that we eat things other than Idly and Sambar!I am proud to say that I can at least differentiate between Gujarati and Kachhi.And between Bengali and Oriya.Maybe someday in the (hopefully near) future, Bollywood will stop stereotyping us "Madrasis" and recognize us for the truly modern community we are.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
My Blog Title
I am _________.
Few months ago, I didn't understand it myself.But now that I did, I agree completely.
Our life experience has taught us that a sentence like "I am" HAS to be followed by some word.And all our lives, we do things or wish to do things that will fill up that blank after " I am".
For example, we VJTI students study day and night so we can say "I am a ten pointer".
Or we remove time to do things that we love to do.That's when you can say, "I am happy".
Our life is only a collage of experiences:good, bad, and the ones you just can't remember how you felt, but you remember having the experience.You eat an icecream, you like the taste.You read stories out at the old age home, you like the feeling it gives.And you talked to your new neighbor yesterday.Turns out she's really sweet after all.So that's our life.A bunch of experiences.Experiences that help us to put a couple of words after "I am".
But when you're done with all this experience business, you will realize that life is really not about filling up that blank.It is about how long you can go without it being filled at all.And the sentence STILL making sense.
I am.That's all.I don't need a word to describe what I am, who I am, what I do, or anything.In technical terms, this is called the AWARENESS or CONCIOUSNESS.And the day that we stop doing things to fill in the blank, we will be complete. We will be happy.
Few months ago, I didn't understand it myself.But now that I did, I agree completely.
Our life experience has taught us that a sentence like "I am" HAS to be followed by some word.And all our lives, we do things or wish to do things that will fill up that blank after " I am".
For example, we VJTI students study day and night so we can say "I am a ten pointer".
Or we remove time to do things that we love to do.That's when you can say, "I am happy".
Our life is only a collage of experiences:good, bad, and the ones you just can't remember how you felt, but you remember having the experience.You eat an icecream, you like the taste.You read stories out at the old age home, you like the feeling it gives.And you talked to your new neighbor yesterday.Turns out she's really sweet after all.So that's our life.A bunch of experiences.Experiences that help us to put a couple of words after "I am".
But when you're done with all this experience business, you will realize that life is really not about filling up that blank.It is about how long you can go without it being filled at all.And the sentence STILL making sense.
I am.That's all.I don't need a word to describe what I am, who I am, what I do, or anything.In technical terms, this is called the AWARENESS or CONCIOUSNESS.And the day that we stop doing things to fill in the blank, we will be complete. We will be happy.
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