Terror and Hope

Hope is a beautiful thing. In times of strife, it maybe the only thing that can keep us going.

On the night of 26^th November, ten or possibly more young men rowed towards the shores of Mumbai. What they did later would stun the world and our collective conscience. The bullets from their AK-47s cut short innocent lives at a railway station, a hospital (sic!), two hotels and a residential area. The reverberations were felt in the heart of every Indian.

Can anything be more outrageous than this? Surprise, surprise! Yes. The way our politicians acted and reacted after the terror attack was truly mind numbing. Sample this-

Even as the commandos were engaged in a fierce gun battle, one politician descended on the scene to announce the amount of money he will give to the deceased officers’ family (Talk about swift action!) The opposition leader thus spoke on his arrival : ’Me and the prime minister were supposed to come here together, but since he couldn’t make it on time, I came here alone, first’ (Congrats sir on winning the race!) A senior minister of the state actually said the following: ‘In a city as big as Mumbai, such things do happen….They had planned to kill 5,000 but managed only 200’ (How comforting! thank you sir, for your kind, consoling words)

I mean, we all knew politicians were corrupt. But we thought they were intelligent, in a perverse way alright. But, they are just corrupt. And heavily drunk on power. Even in such a delicate hour, they can’t see beyond their noses. This one up manship, corruption and carelessness has been the bane of our country for ages now. And in more ways than one has led to this particular attack. Where are the real leaders?

‘A nation gets a leader it deserves’ How very true! And those words point directly at each one of us. We know our leaders are corrupt, but we let it be. We know our system is corrupt, we let it be. We have got so used to the maddening chaos around us in our everyday life. We just let it be.

How did we get here? A nation which had so many great leaders during its struggle for independence, can’t find a single man or woman to lead her now? Why?

Well for one, during the freedom struggle every single person in this country- young, old, man, woman, child….wanted just one thing- Freedom! Great leaders were borne from this need and they too wanted just one thing for the country- Freedom! I think that is what we lack the most today –A common goal. A common direction.

That will start when each one of us stops letting things be. When we stand up for what is right. When we demand more.

I believe that change is coming about. Here are a couple of incidents that has happened in the aftermath of the terror attack- The widow of the officer who fell to the terrorists’ bullets, declines the cash offered by a minister, The father of the major who laid his life down fighting the terrorists, actually tells the chief minister on his face; ‘Please get out of my house, I have no respect left for you’ These instances also sums up the feeling of resentment that is frothing up inside the common man today.

In rallies held in Mumbai, which no political party or religious groups have initiated, the number of people pouring out to the street is said to be staggering. People walked in silence with a symbolic candle in their hands, but the real fire has been lit in our hearts and souls. I think we as a nation is awakening. I do not know what this will lead to, but I hope it will lead to something bright and beautiful. For if one billion people wish for a cleaner, brighter future, there is no way anything can stop us. We will get the leaders we deserve and a nation we can truly be proud of.

Those ten or so young men who came to Mumbai on the night of 26^th November might have unwittingly done more for this nation than any politician ever has. Don’t ever let that anguished reverberations die down in your heart.

Hope is a beautiful thing.

Three more illustrations

Three Illustrations

Three illustrations I did for stories by Pingu

Duggar and Racecoo

Meet Duggar and Racecoo.

I am illustrating a book, a collection of cute little stories written by 3 year old Pingu. These are two of the characters from the story.

ALONE - A Graphic Short Story by me

Point of View

This is an old story I just came across. If you haven’t read it, you should.

One day a very wealthy man took his son on a trip to the country with the purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spend a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son,

“How was the trip?”

“It was great, Dad”

“Did you see how poor people live?"

“Oh, yeah”

“So, tell me, what did you learn from this trip?” the father asked.

The son answered,” I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our foods, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless.

Then his son added, “Thanks Dad, for showing me how poor we are”

Fear of the Dark

‘Wait, finish this game and go, Sid…’

‘No, I am already late’, said the seven year old as he ran out of the football field.

Siddarth had to get home before sundown, that’s the promise he gave his mother while she let him go out to play with friends. He didn’t realize how fast time slipped by and now it was really late. His little legs were now paddling away furiously towards home.

Where the road curved, Siddarth slowed down - Through the main road, it will take ten more minutes to reach home. Or he could take the short cut on his left, which will get him there in half the time. But the narrow path led through an abandoned estate area and not many people frequent this way. An image of his angry father by the gate popped up in Siddarth’s head and he was already running through the estate road.

The dry leaves creaked under his feet with every step he ran through the deserted forest. It is really surprising how much sunlight trees can cut down. Siddarth realized it that evening as he got inside the estate; what was a late evening while he took the turn had suddenly transformed almost into night. He looked back, it was dark all the way back too. An owl crooned from above. A chill spread across his heart. His small feet slowed down, as he tried to make his way through the darkness. The tall tress and thick bushes around seem to suffocate him. Siddarth stopped dead on his tracks and listened. He heard heavy breathing.

‘mmmm......I smell human’, an eerie voice rang out.

‘Yes, so do I’, an equally eerie female voice announced.

Siddarth’s heart beat uncontrollably and his mouth went dry.

‘He’s mine’ Roared the male voice.

‘No, he’s mine’ the female voice echoed.

‘I saw him first, I will drink his blood first’

‘No, I will’

Fear paralyzed Siddarth. Though he wanted to run, he stood there frozen for a minute. Somehow, he managed to get behind the nearest tree and he slid down amidst the bushes, and lay there, hugging the root of the old tree ... waiting for the inevitable, not moving, not making a sound. All the while the voices kept circling around him like an invisible fog.

Then, the voices went quiet. Siddarth waited in the darkness. First, he thought he imagined it, but then he heard it - someone was calling out. He slowly peered from behind the old tree- he saw light. He waited. Now he heard his name being called out, loud and clear. It was Kunjan, their gardener. When Kunjan, with the lantern in his hand came close enough, Siddarth ran towards him, hugged him tight, and started sobbing.

‘What happened, Little Siddhartha?’ Kunjan asked kindly

When the sobbing subsided, Siddarth said, shaking:

‘There are two ghosts there, and they were going to drink my blood’

Siddarth told the whole story.

‘Come let’s have a look’ said Kunjan taking Siddarth’s hand in his and the lantern in the other.

‘No, don’t go there Kunjan’ Siddarth cried.

‘Its alright Little Siddartha, see I have my sickle right here,’ he said pointing to his back where his sickle was perched close to his body. Unsure, Siddarth followed Kunjan, holding his hand tight. Through the dim light of the lantern they saw a small worn out hut on the other side of the road. Just as Kunjan started opening the gate, a voice roared:

‘Now I will drink both your blood’

Terrified, Siddarth hugged Kunjan . They stood still.

‘Yes, now we will have a feast’ the female voice joined in.

Kunjan took out the sickle and walked forward, into the house, closer to the source of the voices. Siddarth followed him, shivering. They entered the verandah of the house and could sense the voices right next to them. Kunjan held up the lantern and let the light fall on an old ragged man, almost naked, lying on the floor. It was the madman who used to roam about the town.

‘I will kill you both’ he said in the same eerie voice

‘No, I will kill them’ he said now in the female voice.

‘See, little Siddhartha…’, Kunjan said

Siddarth slowly emerged from behind Kunjan and watched the man talk in both voices.

That night in his bed, Siddarth peered into the darkness and smiled. From that day on, Siddarth was never paralyzed by fear.

The young Siddarth was one of my fathers’ managers who told this incident to his team. My father told this to me when I was very young and somehow it has stayed with me. Even now, whenever an unusual sound is heard in the middle of the night, I don’t panic- I go after the source. Once you know the reason, there is no reason to fear. It is the unknown that fills us with fear, know it – and the fear vanishes!

It is a different story that known everyday fears are harder to master. Ghosts, I can handle. It is normal everyday people that still baffle me!

Us and Them

I think I am on the monkeys' side now.

(I started my first blog by re counting an incident of two monkeys invading my home and the ensuing battle of species)

Why are we humans so cruel? We kill animals, take their tusks, skin and whatever else that can be sold for money. Sure, animals kill animals too, but only for survival. The money the tusks and skins too buy food, some may argue. Not true. This money buys big cars, big lands and more big money ...you see, its big business. No hungry man has ever gone and killed an elephant, pulled out its tusks, sold it and had bought his meal with the money and said: ‘ Ah, I have my stomach full now, am satisfied’. Far from it, it’s the opposite of satisfaction that’s at work here : Greed.

As the superior species it is our duty and right to save and protect other beings and nature. But what do we do? We go ahead and destroy them, little realizing that we are digging our own grave.

The following piece of dialogue from the movie ‘The Matrix’ rings so true in this context. In the scene the robotic villain has Morpheus, the human leader in captive and chained to a chair. He is sermoning about his dislike for human beings. Listen to the dialogue without prejudice:

“Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops an equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply…and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism in this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease. A cancer of this planet. A plague. “

You’d say, ‘I’m not like that, not all people are like that.’

True. But what is also true unfortunately is that, as a community, the above observation is not too far from the truth.

Beautiful World - Lyrics

'Beautiful World' is a song I had composed sometime back. Its a sarcastic look at the way we humans live in this world - without a care for other beings, concerned only with 'my beautiful world' Here is the lyric; someday I hope to present this song and the video!

It’s a beautiful world,

Dark clouds above.

I’ve got blood on the ground,

In my beautiful world.

So much to win,

I’ve got nothing to lose.

While you’re running away,

From my beautiful world.

Look in my eyes,

Do you see what I want.

Now you give it to me,

‘cause its my beautiful world.

What do I care,

What do you want.

I just want it my way,

In my beautiful world.

Global Cooling!

Global Warming is a hoax!

That’s the other side of the story. Interesting.

This is a good thing while you do an online search, we get to hear both sides of the story.

The story goes something like this:

The warming is not caused by humans, it was caused by sun spots and solar flares in the 80’s and the 90’s and it stopped by 1998. And in any case, earth will take its course of warming and cooling. In fact, these people claim that earth has been cooling for the past Ten years straight. Global Cooling, anyone?

If that may be the case, then why would anyone cook up Global Warming theories?

The answer according to the Global Cooling theorists is that, global warming is a devious wealth-redistribution plan by the UN and the rest of the world against the US! Basically how it works is like this: The taxation on carbon emission will be higher for developed nations (read US) than others. The tax amount collected thus will be utilized for the betterment of developing nations. This, they say is what Karl Marx would have approved of happily, in other words this is the modern day version of Socialism and Communism according to these group. No wonder then that US and Australia are the only two nations which has not signed on the Kyoto Treaty (It’s a treaty which commits industrialised nations to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, principally Carbon Dioxide, by around 5.2% below their 1990 levels over the next decade.)

As it is we are overwhelmed by the concept of Global Warming, now we have to deal with the politics of it all too? Well, this is my line of thinking. True, earth will take its own course, a law of the jungle if you please. But, the fact also is that, we humans are blessed (or is it cursed) with brains! Our intelligence has developed so much that the law of the jungle does not apply to us anymore. Just as we marvel the progress of man kind, we also need to look back and see the trail of destruction we leave behind in the form of extinct species of animal and plant kingdom, thanks to our greed and ignorance. Our greatest ignorance could be what we do to the earth itself.

Leave the politics aside. Think for yourself. Be kind to mother earth.

An Inconvenient Truth

Have you seen ‘An Inconvenient Truth’? I just did. If you haven’t yet, please do watch it. It is a movie- a docu feature rather, on global warming presented by former US vice president, Al Gore. The content is so engrossing that soon you don’t care if it’s a ‘movie’ or a ‘documentary’ It is presented simply and clearly- with visuals and graphs that would jolt your consciousness. Are we all really sitting on such an important issue and not realizing it?

This is the crux of the matter: The Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere forms a shield on top of the atmosphere, trapping the reflected sun rays off the earth to stay around us. This in itself is not a bad thing. In fact it helps to maintain the warm living condition that we all need to survive. The problem is, off late there’s been so much carbon dioxide up there, that it is blocking too much of the heat from escaping out of the atmosphere. This obviously means earth has been getting hotter, ice has been melting, sea levels have been rising, animals trying to get away from the heat have started moving towards the poles, many plants have already died…all this and more, while you and I were sleeping. Of course when we wake up, we do read about the hurricanes, floods, heat waves, the droughts. And we go, ‘Isn’t it all happening more and more frequently? Or is it that I started noticing all this only now?’ You somehow think it’s the latter and move on. But as per the facts and figures Mr. Al Gore presents, the truth is not that. The truth is rather inconvenient.

This is only the beginning. What really is scary is what would happen if this goes on. We see graphs with projected rates zooming off the charts, which when translated into words would mean that within next Fifty years a million species will be extinct, There wont be much ice left at the poles, Many of the major cities of today would be gobbled up by the rising seas (told you, its scary!) Life on planet earth would cease to exist as we know it.

About this movie, Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times wrote “In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are, You owe it to yourself to see this film”

He is right. Go see it.

Clear and Present Danger

I was worried.

‘What would you do if a superior creature came in here, drove us away from our home and started living here?’

That was the thought that got me thinking and worrying. Just like how we drove away the monkeys, cleared off their homes and started living here, which superior creature will come and drive us out? Nothing and no one. We are the superior beings here. So, no worries, we are safe.

But are we?

Wherever you are in the world, you would’ve said these words more often off late: ‘Damn, its hot!’ No, I did not just read your mind, but that is what is happening- The world we are living in is heating up. The hottest ten years ever have happened after 1990. This heat is driving many animals towards the poles and will eventually to extinction. This heat causes ice to melt and sea levels to rise. Hurricanes, droughts, wildfires are all on the rise because of this heat. Needless to say, many plants are already affected by it. I did a little research and got to know of all these facts. And these are not just written facts, it’s a reality you and me feel everyday already. And its only going to get worse. The message is loud and clear: There is a clear and present danger.

What is causing it?

1. We have been progressing rapidly, creating more and more industries that cough up more and more smoke into the air.
2. We have been cutting more trees as part of our progress, eating away into the green of the earth and chasing away the original inhabitants off their home.
3. We have been riding more vehicles in our pursuit for happiness.

Due to all of this, the CO2 has been increasing and this forms a cover on the periphery of atmosphere, trapping the heat of the sun.

I hope you haven’t missed the fact that all the three points listed above starts with ‘We’

I have also found the answer to who will drive us away from our homes one day – ‘We’!

Monkey in my Head

‘Poor things!’ My wife was talking about the monkeys

‘What?’ I asked, wanting to make sure I didn’t have a hearing problem

‘What would you do if a superior creature came in here, drove us away from our home and started living here?’ She asked.

I couldn’t believe, barely hours after the war was won, my dear wife reveals that she was with the opposition all along?

‘I am not having monkeys walking around in my home!’ I said, still very much in combat mode.

Later, when things cooled down and common sense made its way back into my head, I thought about it all. Why would the monkeys risk their lives and come into our homes? Turn the time Fifty years back, and I guess the forefathers of these very monkeys would have been living where I am now. It could have had its home in a big flowing tree right where our apartment stands now. I can see these monkeys happily swinging around the branches around me with their loved ones- some lying lazily on the branches below me, while another playing with her little one. In the cool shade, surrounded by the rumble of shimmering leaves all around, the monkey family is enjoying another beautiful day of their life. Suddenly, they all stop. All of them turn and look at me.

Who is the intruder here?

Tora! Tora! Tora!

‘Thud!’

I sprang up from the bed like a spring coil!

‘What?’ my half asleep wife asked

‘Shhh…’ I replied

‘Oh no,’ she said, as she read my mind and turned to the other side.

I slipped out of bed stealthily and slipped into my battle gear in near total darkness. Soon, I was all done. Before leaving the room, I whispered to my wife:

‘Whatever happens, don’t open the door’ Sounded like a dialogue from one of horror movies, just before the final confrontation scene. Without making a sound, I opened the bedroom door and peered into kitchen.

Darkness.

Should have left the lights on. A tactical mistake, I realized. Can monkeys see at night? Damn, I did not Google that one! Too late now.

I tip toed towards kitchen, strangulating the baton in my hand from time to time. I could hear my heavy breathing amplified inside the helmet. Slowly I reached for the kitchen light switch and flashed it on, ready for the final flourish. But, the kitchen was empty. False alarm. ‘Thud’ the window banged against the wall, confirming it.

As I turned to go back, something I saw scared the life out of me! Standing very near to me was a creature, possibly from outer space. It had an oversized, black, shiny head and a puffed up upper body with a long, thick stick in hand! I almost swung the stick in my hand involuntarily before realizing it was my reflection and I was about to crash my mirror!

I checked my look in the mirror in various angles and poses and finally smiled. I knew just how to scare the monkeys next time they come around! Ha!

This Means War!

Since our little one is on the way, we reformed our care free eating habits into a meticulously planned diet. This led to stacking of our home with fruits of all kinds, a gold mine for the starving monkeys. By afternoon, they tried to break in again, but failed. They could come back, and this means war!

I promptly Googled, “How to attack a monkey”. And Google asked me, ‘Did you mean How to attach a monkey? Or adopt a monkey?’ I said, No, I did not want to attach or adopt a monkey, I just want to attack a monkey! In return I got loads of articles on ‘How monkey attacks man’, ‘how to prevent and survive a monkey attack’ etc. and nothing on how to actually attack a monkey! The situation, I realized was grave. But I did get some valuable tips:

1. Never ever show your teeth to a monkey, for them it means a challenge and would definitely attack you! (Ok, mouth shut)
2. Only pretend to throw things at them and never actually throw. They might throw stuff right back at you: faster and more accurate! (Ouch!)
3. Don’t show fear and don’t freak out. If you scream, wave your arms and run, they will attack you!( Ok, no running away. It’s a fight to the end, till the last man or monkey stands, as the case maybe)
4. Do not underestimate a monkey’s strength, they are stronger than you! They will bite, scratch and inflict other bodily harm on you. (Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!)

And what is the damage that could happen in case I get scratched in this fight? I read just one sentence ‘There are numerous viruses associated with primates which have unknown or uncertain pathogenic potential’ and stopped. I need to prepare for battle.

For the next half an hour, cupboards were open, boxes were pulled down, cloths went flying around…until, finally I had my battle gear ready. It included one long thick stick, one helmet, a pair of gloves, thick leather jacket, jeans, shoes and some pillows for extra protection. I had it all readied in my bedroom. My wife, who was watching all the proceedings, was convinced that I had lost it.

Monkey in my Kitchen

I was enjoying the 6.00 A.M stillness in the air, sipping my tea and getting ready to write my first blog, when I heard some movement behind me, in the kitchen. Pleasantly surprised at the thought that my wife had got up earlier than her usual time, I wheeled around towards the kitchen to greet her, but the sight that greeted me left me open mouthed and stuck for a moment- Two full grown monkeys were casually climbing down the kitchen slab on their way out, with a bunch of banana held safely in one coiled, protective arm.

I recovered from the initial shock by the time they reached the work area through the kitchen door. The next emotion I felt was rage- my house was under attack, and I had to fight back. Almost involuntarily I ran towards the assailants making appropriate noises. I reached the work area and saw one of them still sitting inside the grill and lovingly munching into a banana. Four feet separated us, a raging human and a calm monkey. He looked at me casually and went back to his breakfast. I felt almost insulted, how dare he, an inferior species, come into my house, rob me in broad daylight (well, almost) and have the guts to eat it right in front of my eyes! I let out a loud roar, which if translated into monkey language should mean something like ‘get out of my house, you monkey!’ He stopped eating, looked me in the eye and jerked his upper body in my direction and said, ‘hmmrrrrrrbbbbb’, which if translated into human language should mean something like, ‘Buzz off, you human!’ I immediately retaliated just like any superior being would in such situations- withdraw!

I watched him from behind the kitchen window. He caught his reflection on the mirror in the cupboard and made another jerking motion and said ‘ Urrrrrpp’ He then made faces at himself, obviously admiring his handsome personality. The slim black fingers went around the knob of the cupboard and pulled it open! That one action send a chill in me- I am not dealing with just another animal here- this is an intelligent and capable being, and that was intimidating.

I summoned the security guard of our apartment who eagerly swung into action, swinging his baton and mouthing the same unintelligible words I said to the monkeys earlier. This time they fled. Not because he screamed any louder than I did, but because the monkeys easily recognized the danger when a human being was roaring at them with a weapon in hand, as opposed to a human being just roaring. Common sense!

But everything is safe now, I secured their entry point by closing out the grilled area. I can once again breathe easy in my beautiful world.

Checking out !

Trial blog, ...just checking out.













Christmas 2007, just the two of us.