The Balloon

 

I was having tea at a roadside shop when something on the road caught my attention. When I tried to check what it was, I could see a big helium-filled balloon being carried by someone. The balloon was special, since it had a “balloon inside a balloon”, something I had never seen before! Then I tried to find out who was carrying it. Next few moments were bursts of one realization after another. 

It was a lady who was carrying the balloon. She was an overweight lady; really-really overweight. Then I realized that she was overweight like the new mothers who are taking care of newborn infants. She was carrying the balloon and nothing else and the big colorful balloon was floating in the sky. There was something different in the way she walked. What was it? I noticed that she was not looking up at all and had kept her eyes down while she walked, as if she was embarrassed or feeling shy. Her neck was also trying to sink. It became clear that since she was carrying a big special balloon all alone, she was feeling shy because she was a grownup lady and not a kid. It may be normal to see children carrying balloons, but not adults. So, to sum it up: she was a new mother taking care of a small kid, she would have gone somewhere and on the way back home she came across a helium balloon seller and hence she bought a big one for her child. She was walking feeling shy, for what will people think about her carrying a big balloon! She was also clearly excited imagining how her kid would react seeing the balloon and was trying to reach her home as soon as possible. Now, all this was too much for me, and I started getting tears in my eyes, and hence I looked away and moved on. But that special scene of an excited mother bringing balloon for her kid, got captured in my memory like a painting.

May God bless her and her kid.

- Rahul

The Accidental Prime Minister

 

The legacy of former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has been a matter of wide debate. Some rubbish him as a cowering and weak PM under whom widespread corruption and scandals happened, while some focus on the good things India achieved during his tenure. In year 2014, a book titled “The Accidental Prime Minister” was written by his media advisor, Sanjaya Baru, and it had generated a lot of attention. After few years, a movie was also made with story based on the same book, and it had also created lot of buzz. Somehow, I had missed both these buses. Until now, when I ‘accidentally’ came across this movie on Youtube (I don’t know if loading full movies is legal or not)

 

I really liked this movie; especially the role played by Akshay Khanna as Sanjaya Baru. But not only Sanjaya Baru; all characters and roles in the movie have been portrayed wonderfully. Not watching it for all these years was a loss.

After this movie, I searched about the book and about the author and got myself a bit updated on the political front. I would recommend watching above movie to understand what all happened for a decade at the highest power circles.  

- Rahul  

Lost Dog

 

Governments build nice and clean footpaths and sidewalks, but how many of us walk over it these days? I was walking on a stretch this evening for about two kilometers, when a funny thing happened.

I noticed a little shadow behind me and when I looked, I was in for a surprise. There was a dog following me. After I saw him, he came right besides me and started running or walking there with me. I felt strange. And a bit scared. Then I noticed that it was really a big size dog; white; and it had a rubber collar on his neck. While I was walking at a consistent speed, he was almost running for a while, and then going slow, then catching up. It was very clear that he was planning to walk besides me. I wondered if he was mistaking me for someone else he knew. I felt guilty of deceiving him and thought of ways to make it clear that I was not his friend. So much for clarity! After a while, it became clear that I did not need to fear him, since he was someone’s pet and he was purposefully walking besides me, perhaps seeking my protection. I also noticed that while running, he was looking at the buildings on the roadside, as if trying to recognize places. Was he searching for his home? Was he lost? Or worse, abandoned? I started feeling bad for him. It was clear that he was lost, and he was just going that way searching for a place he knew. I started feeling very-very sad for him. Then, it got worse.

We all know that dogs have territories. So, I and the lost dog reached a corner which ‘belonged’ to another dog! There were two of them. One of them had lots of furs, and again seemed abandoned since stray dogs can’t be furry I guess; while the other was lame, with one leg hurt, perhaps in some dog-fight or some drunk human tried to run over him just for fun. Those two dogs saw this big white dog walking besides me and started barking at him. My heart started pounding. Was there going to be a street-dogfight? Was I going to be the poor meddling victim in the war of the dogs? I tried to shout and shoo away those two dogs, but they were unfazed and came very close. I decided that no matter how much I empathized with my big white lost dog friend, I was not ready to get injured protecting him. So, I stopped and moved towards a tea shop on the roadside. The white dog was now all alone, so the two territorial dogs started barking at him from very close distance. A scuffle could start anytime; and then the big white lost dog also barked back at those two. He had a heavy voice! Certainly, this royal big white lost dog was up to his mark. The two smaller stray dogs got a bit scared and stopped chasing him; and he kept walking. After realizing that the place was now safe and I was alone once again, I left my hiding place and went on walking.

After about 10 minutes, when I reached a roundabout and took a turn, I saw that the big white lost dog was still walking straight while searching for some building or home. Since we parted ways, I can only imagine and wonder if he ultimately found his home or if he had hard time running like that being hungry and thirsty, and entering the ‘territories’ of other stray dogs one after the other. I don’t know how his journey ended; was it happy ending or not. But I remember how sad I felt for him. And for this world.

May God have mercy on all of us.  

- Rahul

Clueless In Cairo

While passing through on my bike, I came across a small kid, probably 3-4 years old. He was just standing there on the ground besides the road, near the small dwellings of his family, and was looking at some vehicle moving on the road. He was wearing only a vest stretched long enough to act as a lower garment too.

A few minutes afterwards, I came across another kid who was also looking at someone, with the same expression. I felt something was strange about both these kids’ expressions and then I realized what it was: both of them looked “clueless”.

I know that both were very small kids, both were boys, and their “clueless” expressions were due to their innocence. At this age, kids’ brains are still in development phase and hence they do not understand what is going around them, hence their faces look so innocent. And sometimes, expressionless, or “clueless” as I have put it.

But there was something which got me interested in their clueless expression. Are we all not ‘clueless’ in this world, in our own ways? Just think of our purpose of life, just think why we are doing what we are doing, towards what end goal? Are we really knowing who we are, what we are doing, and why? If you think about these, you will realize how pointless most of the things we take so seriously in our lives are!

I found the kids and their clueless expression as truly liberating. In a sense, those kids were not really clueless. They “knew” what was necessary to know, at that stage of life. It is we, most of the grownup people, who are clueless, because we know lots of stuff about pointless things and nothing about what really matters.

I am waiting to see until when the memory of those two kids and their clueless, innocent faces lingers in my mind. Until it fades and becomes pointless, in this pointless world.

- Rahul

Note: I have tried to name the title of this piece on the lines of movie titled “Sleepless in Seattle”, just for fun. 

A Pigeon At the Window

 

I noticed some activity at one of my bedroom window and when I went to check, I found out that a pigeon was trying to settle down in the gap between the window pan and iron grill, perhaps to assemble a next and lay eggs. I made sound to scare it away. The bird was back after a few minutes and hence I scared it away once again. This went for 4-5 times in next 10 minutes.

After a while, I felt a bit guilty for scaring away the pigeon. I noticed that I was not feeling bad about what I was doing, i.e. scaring away the pigeon at the time of its need. In my subconscious mind, I tried to find out why was not feeling sympathy of kindness for the bird. I realized that it was mainly because of the articles I have read which have convinced me that pigeons are bad for cities, are not real birds, these do not live on trees like other birds, produce lots of waste and spread several disease. In short, the knowledge acquired from reading had taught me to feel indifferent towards pigeons, if not outright hate those.

Although I understood where my behaviour was coming from, I could also recall the past incidents where I was sensitive towards pigeons, and I had even written few blog posts about those episodes. I wondered if remaining a bit naïve makes us enjoy life better. Knowing objective information about all things sometimes kills the fun which comes from a bit of lack of knowledge.

Well, one of the tragedies of growing up is loss of innocence.

- Rahul

Lonely Life of a Baby Bull: Conclusion

 

A few months back, I had shared the touching story of a baby bull from our village: Hills That We Climbed: Lonely Life of a Baby Bull (rahultiwaryuniverse.blogspot.com)

After I visited our village again, this time I did not see him around. I enquired and then got to know about the anti-climax of his life-story. It is said that the servant who was employed by the house to take care of cows took the baby bull with him and sold him to bad people (slaughterhouse agents) and made some money for himself. People say that the man would have got lot of sin for selling a bull which was donated in the name of Lord Shiva and was supposed to roam freely whole life. I am not sure if he would care, since such people have very different set of values.

I wanted to feel sad for the baby bull, whom I had seen enjoying life and freedom just a few months back. But at some level, I was feeling relieved that he had escaped this sinful world sooner than later. If he survived and roamed freely, perhaps he would only invite hateful bystanders who would chase him away, beating him with sticks. It is better that he got free from such abuse quickly, with a prospect of being born better in next life.

I know that Hindus have been demanding government to make some kind of arrangement to keep and maintain stray cows and bulls. The village economy of today’s is not such where such animals could live life of dignity; like they used to do a few generations back. Now, people do not hesitate to sell their old and unproductive animals to the agents of slaughterhouses who kill them for beef-trade. I think governments are not yet sensitized enough and overall; our nation needs to make enough economic progress to be able to support such animals.

This is the tragic conclusion of a beautiful baby bull’s life.

- Rahul Tiwary

Baby Mule

 

I came across an interesting scene recently.

How often do we see mules these days? I came across a group of mules standing on the roadside while I was riding my motorcycle. But there was one mule on the other side of the road, alone and it had just started to cross the road. Its both feet were tied in pairs and it looked weak while it struggled to walk, perhaps it was recovering from sickness or it was a female mule who recently delivered a baby. So, on the left side of the road, there is a group of mules and on the other side of the road, there is this female mule trying to cross the road.

By the time I crossed that part, I could see that from the other side of the road, a baby mule (it was much smaller in size and hence clearly a baby) started crossing the road towards the other mule. So, we have two mules moving towards each other, in the middle of ongoing traffic on a busy road.

After I passed them, I looked in the rear mirror to find out what happens next. What I see next was so touching. The baby mule went and reached the mother-mule and then turned back and started walking “alongside” the mother-mule. It was like he was trying to help her cross the road. And it was working, since the vehicles would pay more attention to two mules crossing the road instead of one. Despite being an animal, it still got this instinct to help the mother-mule out and it risked its own life by crossing the busy road and walked besides her.

While I moved ahead and the two mules vanished from my rear mirror, the heart touching scene had got captured in my mind for time to come.

- Rahul Tiwary  

Ganesh Puja 2022 - Pune

(C) Rahul Tiwary 

 

Your Face

 

“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”, the famous quote from Shakespeare is obviously very true. I got to see it recently. One of my nephews who is very fond of me, is at an age of curiosity and he asks too many questions. When possible, I tried to answer those in a manner which satisfied his curiosity.

Around that time, he was seeing elders take tea or coffee and hence he was asking about why people take tea at all! I explained to him that since he was too young, he did not feel a need to drink it, but when we grew older, our body felt a kind of laziness which went away when we took tea and that was the reason only older people liked to drink tea. He was satisfied, but then he said, “I think you won’t be needing it, because merely by looking at your face we can see that you do not feel laziness anytime!”

Well, I like tea too much and take at least 2 times a day. He said that because I used to play with him and hence perhaps he saw me as a kid like himself, and could not imagine me being lazy. But he said that about my “face” and I noticed that in his eyes, definitely my face meant something special.

Well, I can only feel his love when I remember this episode.

- Rahul

Some Movies - V

 

Uptown Girls (2003): a comedy about a reckless woman getting reformed when she started babysitting a little girl.

Jerry Maguire (1996): a brilliant rom-com starring Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger (both my favourites)

White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch (documentary): Interesting subject which tracks the rise and fall of this famous apparel and lifestyle brand. The original company founded in 1892 went bust in 1970s and was taken over by new management. Ultimately it saw its best time under CEO Michael Jeffries who positioned the brand for the popular culture of young boys and girls and it gained a cult image. The documentary mainly focusses on defaming the company for targeting mainly White youth which may not be accurate, but the company definitely was “exclusivist”. The documentary painted the company with so much accusations of racial and other accusations that it became too uninteresting and akin to propaganda. After finishing this, I checked out the company’s website and I saw that now all models featured on the website were non-Whites. Perhaps no one has any problem with that. I read that the company now targets older customers, hires mostly non-Whites, etc as an image makeover strategy. But the company is also struggling financially again and is making losses. Perhaps this has become a case study of how “excesses” can ruin the company and political correctness can not go well with businesses.

Fargo (TV Series): This is a gangster crime series with 4 seasons. I watched seasons 1-3. Loved first season most, then second and did not like 3^rd one much. First season of most TV series are much better as compared to later seasons. Fargo’s first season came in 2014 and is so great mainly because of its storyline and absolutely brilliant performances by Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman. I am a fan of both these actors. Second season came in 2015 and although its theme is good, but I did not like the way story is developed and particularly its ending.

The Kissing Booth (2018): A brilliant rom-com. Young actress Joey King is at her peak in this movie and the movie is able to move our heartbeats on a song. I got to know that sequels of this movie came out, but again, I would recommend only the original or first movie, because next ones are so repetitive.

The Pink Panther (2006): This is a hilarious comedy and one of the few films I can watch multiple times and loved every scene. The comedy is mind blowing. Steve Martin is an angel sent by God.

Albert Einstein

 

Have you noticed that we have limited imagination of great people from the history; about how they looked? We come across only a few pictures of them every time and hence we tend to develop an image about them in our mind, which sometimes seems injustice.

For example, here is a picture of Albert Einstein. When we think of Albert Einstein, most of the time we remember his white disheveled hair. How about this for your ‘memory’?

News Papers Are Best for News

 

Many of us have lost the habit of reading daily newspapers due to many reasons. One major reason is the convenience of ‘news apps’ and portals. If you use Android phone or Edge browser, it shows latest news at the bottom of the page. We are able to scroll through the news and get updated. Plus, if you use any social media platform, it is impossible to remain disconnected with latest major news whether in our country or globally. But, this has a pitfall.

The other day, while scrolling through news headlines on my mobile browser, I came across a news where a man had killed someone from his family. I tried to avoid going into details, but the second time the same news was shown, I opened the details and found that some laborer (manual worker) had killed someone from his family. Now, is that really the kind of “news” I would bother to read? In a typical newspaper, such news get featured on internal pages, like page# 4-5. National news appear on front page for a reason. If we have less time, we can also only read the first and last pages, in order to do catch up with major news. We normally do not bother to read localized crime news. But “internet news” often shows us such news without discrimination.

I know that we have options to choose what kind of news we want to read first, but if we open our browser many times a day, it is likely that the priority news would get exhausted and hence the service provider would start showing us such mundane localized crime news.

Newspapers provide more advantages other than arranging news as per priority and relevance which I told about. Newspapers are typically published after midnight and hence they have advantage of being able to do quality reporting based on the findings gathered all through the day. Internet news, on the other hand, often show us in a “developing piece” mode, where editors keep adding to the piece all through the day, starting with almost only a headline. Internet news also breaks a news into 10 different articles, in order to engage users more, which the newspapers would not do in their publication.

Reading newspapers has one more advantage that we can get through all the “important news” in those 30 minutes of time we are reading it and within those many pages. A good newspaper will never leave any important development through the previous day and hence can be relied upon, unlike internet news which cannot be relied since it is almost unmanageable to cover in a set of time.   

Therefore, from all angles, reading newspapers is much better idea as compared to reading internet news. But, reading hardcopies of newspapers results in trees being cut for making paper and hence this is one evil side of it. This can however be overcome if we read daily newspapers “electronically”. I am talking about “e-paper”.

Therefore, I think the best thing to do is to read “e-paper” daily. This will save our time, let us have a disciplined routine, avoid us from toxicity of random internet news, and even be environment friendly. I have started reading an e-paper daily and hope to continue it as a habit.

What do you think?

- Rahul

Making Mockery of Death

 

First phase of Covid pandemic in India (Y2020) will be remembered for mass migration and huge trouble and atrocities for the poor population. It was a pathetic phase for the ‘labor class’, who lost their jobs, did not get public transportation to return to their native places, had to become beggars to get food and were hated for merely being ‘visible’. A lot will be forgotten out of convenience, but the hell India went through can’t be denied. On the contrary, the second phase/wave (Y2021) saw mass deaths of middle and upper class young people where money could not save them; rich people begging for “Oxygen beds” at hospitals, and young people dying sudden deaths, as if in a random manner. If there was an apocalyptic moment in Generation X/Y India, that was it. Everyone saw with one’s eyes that death was a possibility and it was real. Although only in a few months after the second wave passed, life returned to normalcy, as if nothing happened. Only, if you come across a few social media accounts of dead/disappeared people, you get to stop and reflect, before moving on. I would recall two such cases.

First, there was a guy whose first name was Rahul. He was an assistant movie director, a bright young handsome Gujarati guy in his 30s, lived in South Delhi; was married too. I came across his profile only when people were using his name as a ‘Hashtag’ to pay their condolences. Scrolling through few of his last posts, it was understood that first he had Covid with breathing difficulties and he wrote many social media posts asking any politician or authority to give him any Oxygen bed in a hospital. He wrote few posts in Hindi, expressing frustration, including cuss words which perhaps were because it was totally “cool” to use those. In the end he got a hospital bed with Oxygen but by that time he was not improving at all. In a couple of days at hospital, his situation became worse. He wrote a post in the morning that “I could have survived if I got a hospital bed earlier”. And then he died by evening. It was shocking, cruel and totally inhuman. Out of his last few social media posts, several had cuss words. I guess he won’t have spoken like that if he really knew he was going to die. Perhaps he thought he would recover and survive.

The second person was a girl I came across in news only today. After she died, Anand Mahindra who is always on social media had written, “your death won’t go in vein”. She was again a bright young girl like the earlier guy. Initially she was not getting a bed in hospital too and when she was admitted to a hospital, her doctor wrote a social media post appreciating her strength and zeal for life and also posted a video where she was seen waving and dancing while listening to music and sitting in her hospital bed with her Oxygen mask on. It was pathetic. What kind of a doctor (she was a lady doctor, so perhaps tried to make a good feminist story out of her female patient) would do that to her patient? The social media post was expected to get people’s prayers for her life. And then there was a reply to that post from the lady patient’s husband or some family member, writing that after 3 hours post this social media post/video, her condition deteriorated fast, and she died. Once again news portals shared the same video and picture where the girl is singing, dancing in her hospital bed, with a title that the brave girl is dead. I don’t know what benefit the patient or her doctor got by posting that video few hours before her death. It was almost making mockery of death and of medical profession too!

Why is it necessary to share social media post till our last breath? Making a social media post for help to get a hospital bed is still ok, though lot of people won’t even do that, but to share video from death bed and trying to become famous that way, seeking blessings (as if those really work), are all so wasteful. Perhaps if the girl survived, this episode won’t be seen in the wrong light but now that she died (last year this time in May month), it looks all so bad. No matter what, she should have been resting and not dancing, and her doctor should be busy thinking about her patients rather than making videos of dying patients and posting on the social media. Such things make social media appear as a dark evil place which is not good for noble people.

Hope everyone moves on and social media users are more sensible about the kind of impact their posts and videos create on their audiences’ minds. Death is supposed to have some dignity and a personal event and making mockery out of it by posting stuff on social media from those last moments is wrong.

- Rahul

Movie: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is a Winner!

 

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is return of the classic Bollywood magic. It is entertaining and a laughter riot. At the same time, the horror is realistic and really frightening. The combination of comedy and horror has become magical.

Kartik Aaryan has given a champion’s performance. His comedy, comic timing, dialogues, expressions, acting and dance performances, all are superb. Tabu, whom I am not a great fan of as such, has also given a very powerful performance. She is really scary as a ghost and at the same time, some of the scenes have become memorable because of her perfect acting. Sanjay Mishra has created another magic with his performance along with many other characters who make the movie so enjoyable. 

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is also a family entertainer. There is not much violence or objectionable content and that is like the icing on the cake.

All the best to a winning movie from Bollywood we are all proud of.

- Rahul

Maalik!

 

Last year, around Holi time at our village, once a group of kids were passing by while I walked. There were about 20 kids, all of age around 5-7, making merry and enjoying themselves while going somewhere. And then I heard something and looked back. I saw a small kid of around 4-5 who was looking up at me and then he said, “Maalik! Pranam!” I blessed him and moved on. While I moved on, I was surprised and touched by the kid’s gesture. There was so much love and respect in his voice that I felt a bit shy. I wondered who the kid was and why he saluted me that day. I came to home and asked my mother who said he must one son of one of the laborers who work in our fields and hence paid his respect when he saw me. I forgot the incident until yesterday.

Yesterday, I was walking in front of our house when the same kid came in. He was accompanying another kid of his own age (around 5-6). The kid from last year saw me and said, “Maalik!” I looked at him and when he saw that he caught my eye, he just smiled in a way which melted my heart. This time, he did not say “Pranam” or anything else, but he just smiled looking at me. Who was this baby Krishna?

I smiled back and did not say anything. Then I saw that he took his friend towards the open field besides our house where goats and cattle graze and he showed the area to him. At times many kids come to play in that field and perhaps he was showing the field to his friend as a playground. Then the two kids returned and while they were passing besides me, I saw that his friend was continuously starring at my face as if trying to remember my face. That was touching too.

Every time I remember the kid and his “Maalik!” resonates in my mind, my heart warms up and melts a bit.

- Rahul

The Primal Influencer

 

In our village, a laborer was doing something in front of the neighboring house. There was some amount of grains which he was cleaning and keeping in a bag. I noticed that somehow a little kid, most probably his son was ‘watching’ him do the work. He would stand and look at what his father was doing. Then, the man took the husk and went to some distance to throw it away and the boy also followed him, saw him throw it away and came back. Then again he watched his father do some more work, followed him when he went to throw some dust at some distance and came back. The way this little boy of 5-6 walked behind his father and just kept watching him, without either saying a word, looked curious.

I remembered that when my son had come last time at around 4 years of age, he would do the same to me. When I came back from office, he would start following me wherever I went in the house. When I went to the bathroom and washed my hands and feet, he would enter and declare that he also wanted his feet and hands to be washed.

This phenomenon basically tells about the way small kids, especially sons are influenced by their father. And it is a lovely thing.

Three Musketeers

 

In our village, a bitch (female dog) gave birth to at least three pups recently. Kids from the village started playing with the pups and the pups also responded with equal enthusiasm. A boy hid the pups below a ‘bedhi’ (cottage for grain storage) and they made it their home for a few days. Once in a while their mother used to visit and meet them. Once I saw her approaching and even before reaching there, she sensed that the pups were safe inside the bedhi and hence went for sleep. Some kids from the village saw that and came nearby. They called the pups from inside and brought them near her so that they could start drinking milk. The mother-dog did not feel intimidated by kids and allowed them to handle her pups. After a few days, one of the three pups vanished and only two pups (in the picture above) were seen playing around. Watching them play was fun. As part of their game, they would just fall back on ground, roll over the ground and of course push each other to force the other fell down. Similarities with human kids were startling. After a few more days, those also vanished. Then, one day I saw all three of them at a nearby field and all three pups were playing. Then the bitch tried to bring one of the pups back to the original place (below the bedhi) but once the pup came nearby and saw it (as you can see in above picture), he ran back. That was the last time any one of the three pups were seen. But I am sure they are safe and playing somewhere and their mother is feeding them since they are still so small. 

Lonely Life of a Baby Bull

 

In our village recently, I saw a funny scene. A boy was being chased by a calf. He was trying to outrun it and failing in the job, when the calf was stopped in its track by someone else who shouted at it. The calf backed off and started looking here and there. Then it made a sound “baaaaan” two times. After a while, it turned back and disappeared.

Later in the evening, the boy was seen chasing the same calf by beating it with a stick. Life had turned full circle in half a day!

Later, I got to know about the whole thing. The calf was a baby ‘bull’ and here is its life story.

There was a death in one of our relatives’ families and as part of the custom, a milk giving cow and a calf were given away to Pandit ji. The Pandit lived in nearby village, so the cow and its calf were taken there. But the calf was ‘male’, which means it was of not much use to anyone. Since the bull was given away, no one could keep it or convert it into an ox. So, after a month when the ‘baby bull’ was big enough to survive by wandering, he would have been abandoned and set free to roam. Or may be the bull was supposed to be left wild as part of the custom. Now, somehow after being sent away from there, the baby bull had traced its path and come back to its old home in our neighborhood! Since this family had given it away, it could not keep it or feed it. So, the baby bull became an uninvited guest and no one’s liability.

The baby bull kept living on the land outside its original house. There were 3-4 other cows in the house who were fed and being taken care of regularly. The baby bull tried to go near them. Those cows didn’t resist; perhaps they remembered it from a month ago while it also lived here. I never saw those cows resisting or getting scared when the baby bull went near them. So, every once in a while, when the baby bull felt like, it would sneak into the cowshed and eat whatever green grass and other stuff the cows were eating. But its real enemies were the men and boys who were employed to take care of cows. They would chase the baby bull away whenever they saw it. And the baby bull would go away, make a full circle of the house and come back right where it started. It was an endless game which is going on even now.

On several evenings, I saw the baby bull walking away towards the fields and vanishing. And when it was morning, it would come back to the house. Its skin and fur which was originally so shining white, became spotted with soil here and there. Its body language was also confused though steady. The baby bull did not know its place in this world, and it was painful to watch.

One morning, the baby bull rose and went away from the house towards the fields, and then made sound “baaaaan” two-three times while looking towards the house. Then it went towards the fields and disappeared. I wondered if the baby bull had finally given up and left forever. But it came back again just after a few hours!

Although all stray bulls live a lonely life, I had a closer look at this baby bull’s lonely life only now. No one cares about it, no one feeds it, the other cows also do not interact with it, and the small boys from the village start beating it with sticks whenever they see it. On a few occasions, the baby bull attacked and dragged a few people, but so far it has not caused any real damage to anyone. I wonder how long will the baby bull live here. Certainly, it won’t be allowed to live here forever. May be, they are waiting for it to grow up more and then chase it away. Where will it go after here? Wherever it goes, will that place be better or worse than here? Will anyone really care about it in its current life?

On these thoughts, I shall leave this story open. May the baby bull get to live here for a little longer before it goes away. And may it enjoy a healthy and safe life and does not attack anyone else too. That is all I can wish.

-  Rahul

Leela Naidu on Hinduism

 

Recently, I came to know about late Leela Naidu, a former ‘Miss India’ (1954), actress and socialite. She was the daughter of Dr. Pattipati Ramaiah Naidu, a well-known nuclear physicist of his time and Dr. Marthe Mange Naidu, who was of Swiss-French origin. Leela Naidu grew up in Europe, went to an elite school in Geneva, Switzerland, and later returned to India.

I happened to read some magazine articles written immediately after her death, which focused more on her marital history (she had got married and divorced twice) and on her last years during which she suffered from alcohol addition, health issues and lived a reclusive life in Mumbai. This is natural because the readers are in that somber mood after learning about a famous person’s death and writers and journalists try to feed to his curiosity by talking more about the “last years”. I think this is a huge injustice to the deceased. When we look at a person like Leela Naidu’s whole life in totality, we would find them as winners. But if we focus on multiple divorces, drinking problem, and pitiful death in the end, we lose perspective and are deceived. Therefore, by making this argument, I am trying to dispel all the negativity that was fed into my mind by those journalists and writers who wrote sober obituaries of a splendid person like late Leela Naidu. I can say that after knowing about her life and times, I felt empathy and respect for her.

I also came across a book which was written by Leela Naidu co-authoring Jerry Pinto, titled ‘Leela: A Patchwork Life’. It is interesting to read a portion where she recalls her earliest memories and thoughts on religion. Here is a page where she describes what she thought about Hinduism and how Western people misjudged it.

Leela Naidu on Hinduism:

After reading this, we can only agree with her and feel proud that she had the courage to argue with her instructor at the Catholic school in Geneva and she came out in flying colors! How can some people from other religions brush off symbolisms in Hinduism by taking those literally and then praise their own religions’ similar practices as things of great value?

I hope you enjoyed reading above page from her book. You can find the book here.

- Rahul Tiwary

About Scams and Scamsters

Watched a documentary on Gerald Cotten and it did seem that sometimes real life stories are more interesting than fiction. You can read about it here: 

What really happened to Gerald Cotten? Netflix’s new true crime documentary, Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King, looks at the millionaire’s mysterious death | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

Attached to above article, I found below one about another scandal. Tells how we are all living in the midst of frauds. 

What happened to Sarma Melngailis from Netflix’s Bad Vegan? The former raw vegan restaurateur from Pure Food and Wine is keeping under the radar, but will she open another eatery again? | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

Reminds me of another fraud story I read a few months back, about Anna Delvy

Who is Anna Delvey? The true story of fake socialite portrayed in Netflix’s Inventing Anna (yahoo.com)

Talking about scams and scamsters, recently a businessman tried to dupe me of a large sum of money. I was not foolish but I was not cautious too and now I am going to the court to sue him. I have thought about how I could be duped because I know that we should not easily trust people, and I have come to the conclusion that at the end of the day, I did not value money over human trust. I had a suspicion about what if the person does not return the money as promised, but I still went ahead with the transaction because somewhere I did not "value" money that much. I have tried to tell me that it is a weakness and I need to get over it. But, at the same time despite all our precautions, scamsters do scam us with their nice words and all once in a while.  

Of Crying and Cry-Babies

 

While passing through the neighborhood, I came across a small child who was with his mother and he was crying. The mother and the kid were sitting on the staircase in the shadow of their house. It looked like the kid’s "crying session" going on for some time. It reminded me of my childhood, about kids crying in general and one of the articles I had read recently about why kids cry a lot.

I think kids just start crying when they do not feel like. They are not bothered about how they look or appear in others’ eyes if they cry. Crying is an expression for them. After a while, they also use it as a tool or a weapon, to force adults into agreeing with their demands. But perhaps small kids and babies just cry when they do not feel well about anything, without applying any thought. When we are grownup, we have several other ways to express ourselves and we look at crying essentially as a sign of weakness and lack of control, and hence it is the last option if we have to exercise it. Most of adult crying is also babylike; except that it does not last long. And expect those con-artists or actors who can cry at will.

I think I was not a 'cry-baby' in my childhood; and I don’t remember myself crying  a lot when I was small. But I do have memories when I used to be very angry in childhood. When I was angry, I would stop eating. Then mother would have to try too hard, telling me stories and tricking into making me eat. But I won’t open my mouth to eat. And if forcefully fed, I would just not swallow the food but would keep it stuffed inside my mouth. My cheeks would get stretched and pained, keeping the food stuffed in my mouth for too long. I think all kids do such stuff.

World is certainly a better place since adults do not usually cry. Otherwise imagine the chaos we shall have each day. At the same time, we can envy the kids ability to cry as an act in itself, since it would take a bit of self confidence to be able to cry, not bothered about what others would think about us. In that sense, crying can be a healthy thing in kids who are growing up.

- Rahul

Some Quotes

 

Things. You can acknowledge their presence in your home. You can even express your gratitude to them for being with you during tough times. But you can't get attached to them. I remember I had a friend in college who would talk to his things. For instance, his fav earphones stopped working. He got a new pair. He simply said to his old earphones that you were of great service. Thank you for being with me for a long time through thick and thin. May you rest in peace. Then he carefully discarded them in the trash can and moved on to open the new pack. If only life was this simple.

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Twitter is more like my silent friend, which simply tells me jokes, scary stories, news, gossips, etc. I read it, sometimes process it, and try to forget my existence.

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All you can do at this point is try to fulfill your duties as much as you can.

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You are worrying to much about the future. We don't know what's gonna happen in the next 5 years. You have thought about 20 years.

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With time people change

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I love pizza and MONEY is needed to buy it.

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I believe that the minute someone insults you, JUST leave. I mean jahan respect nahi wahan you can't expect a decent relationship to grow and prosper.

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I can dissect a person just by having a conversation for like 5-10 minutes.

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He is the kind who thinks that only lazy people go through depression. But don't you think even a strong independent person needs a support system?

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If the concept of escapism exists, then it holds value to it. Nothing is useless in this universe. Everything has its meaning.

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This is your chance to shine!! Try practicing patience during such small moments. This is how you learn to remain calm and patient during difficult times.

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- Unknown

New Patriotic Songs

Janani (From "RRR") Song Online - Janani (From "RRR") mp3 song download | Wynk

Jann Gann Mann (From "Satyameva Jayate 2") Song Online - Jann Gann Mann (From "Satyameva Jayate 2") mp3 song download | Wynk

JaiHind Ki Senaa Song Online - JaiHind Ki Senaa mp3 song download | Wynk

A heartbreaking little pup story

 

I was traveling in a car and while approaching a secluded intersection, we noticed a small puppy. It was a totally black little pup, chubby and jumping around a totally white dog which should not be its mother. The dog and the pup went towards left side. When we also took left turn, we noticed that the dog and the pup were going towards something and seeing it broke our heart.

There was another small totally black puppy which was lying on the road with blood splashed over its head. And a third small black pup was sitting near it, prodding it to wake up. Now whole picture became clear. The three little black pups should be playing on the roadside when one of them got hit by some vehicle or object and died. While one pup tried to make it alive again by prodding, the other pup noticed a white adult dog nearby and went to bring it there for help.

In a glimpse, I could notice that the little pup which was dead looked as if it was just sleeping and someone had splashed red color over its head. Since it was not crushed, which is usually the scene when dogs meet road accidents. I realized that I had never seen a dog’s blood before and only now I got to know that it was also red.

We had passed by and while I was struggling to stop tears flooding my eyes, I was also angry at this world for creating such a brutality. At such episodes, we can only take note that life is so fragile. May the little puppy be safe in its next life and always live happily.

- Rahul Tiwary

Yearly Updates and Other Stuff in Life

It is a new year again. For a few years, I used to post a kind of ‘yearly updates’ on new year eve, as it gave me a sense of satisfaction as well as pride, that I achieved a few things during the year. Of course, I would share only what is ok to share in front of extended friends and some strangers. Then, around mid-life crisis stage, two years back, I realized that life was in a status quo and I did not really have much updates. I skipped it for a year and then next year, I did not even feel like reviewing the year in my mind. Perhaps the best years of life were over and now it was a slumber. Small achievements did not feel like achievements and some changes like job change or location sounded like a hassle when thought came to consider those as updates.

I think each phase of life has good and bad things and the current phase we are going through feels like worst. Then, a few years would pass and when we look back, those years would feel like very good times, or at least much better than the “new current”. This is why life is called a mirage (mrig-marichika in Sanskrit/Hindi). There is nothing that we are discovering about life, our ancient Rishis had experienced all, pondered overall, and had given a verdict on all things we call life. If we think about this, we get to again question why we are wasting time on earth anyway.

Coming back to yearly updates, I think the year passing by was one of the worst on health front. I remember I had fallen sick only once seriously before in life immediately after marriage, but when I think about that phase, now I do not remember any pain or suffering. I was young and at least my spirit was not broken by then. Year 2021, perhaps because it is too recent as of now, fills me with anger. Why was I to fall sick and why should I take so long to recover? I know that with age, recoveries take longer time and we can feel hard time getting accustomed to aging. But the worst part is when we do not feel that we are changing, from the inside we are still the same, but things are indeed changing, I guess. This is why, immortality is one of the greatest themes of ancient Hindu scriptures. Personally, I do not want to be immortal; and for some time I am mentally ready to go anytime; but that is because of my life experiences and I do not recommend this defeatist attitude to anyone else. We were born to life and fight, not to give up.

I am happy that year 2021 is over and by its end, I was fully recovered too. Now I am like I was at the beginning of 2021 and one year seems to have just vanished with no accomplishments for the count.

I do not want to have a wish-list for the new year 2022, except that I would definitely like it to bring no more troubles or surprises for me and I want time to just forget that I am alive, if it can help. All I wanted from life was to have an ordinary happy life with my family but now I suspect life has some plans to make my life appear like a tragic novel full of twists and turns, which I simply detest. Sometimes it feels being a rabbit in a jungle may be better than this mess called life. Nature has given us a heart, a mind and a conscience, all so that we can suffer better. In next life, I would rather like to be a pebble at the bottom of a river, because I think even that is better than what humans have created in the name of our life on earth.

With hope of some mercy and kindness accidently coming my way, if God allows it in a better mood.

- Rahul