नेति नेति

तत्त्वमस्यादिवाक्येन स्वात्मा हि प्रतिपादितः ।
नेति नेति श्रुतिर्ब्रूयादनृतं पाञ्चभौतिकम् ।।

tattvamasyādivākyena svātmā hi pratipāditaḥ /
neti neti śrutirbrūyādanṛtaṁ pāñcabhautikam //


नेति = न + इति means नहीं है इतना that is beyond description. That means the God can not be defined in words.

In This Caravan Of Life

In this caravan of life people come and go but seldom one touches the soul
Who'll hold a candle in your darkest hours and stand by you in your lethal wars
Solving the complex riddles and the symphony of chaos & confusion in your head
The caravan of your life taking its bearing and course on words they have said

Alas she's none of it!!

She's the 'been through there' & 'done that and got bored' girl you'll encounter
So probably she'll unlit your little false lamps of hope & mock you as a jester
She'll add her own chaos in 'E Minor' to yours making symphony a rhyming rap
And all the bearings you took from her will have you ending up in Devil's lap

Alas she's not so evil!!

She rebelled against the world a long time before she even gained her senses
Claimed her independence from the society in which she pretends to be within the fences
All these million rules and laws lie shattered & broken in a corner of her head
If they read the minds she'd be outlawed long ago saying 'wanted alive or dead'

Alas she's not Che Guevara!!

She's as enigmatic as some Scorpio can be
Smiling at the lesser souls trying hard not to get preachy
Setting her own ways for sailing through life breaking free
May many more birthdays compound your joys and shopping spree


HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICHA SINGH!!!

Turning A Kid Again And Indian Comics Industry

To turn a kid again, innocent, simpler in this convoluted consumerist world is nothing short of a miracle. The mind now filled with thoughts, desires, regrets, past, future. It is difficult to push them aside and remember "I'm not my thoughts, I'm not my desires, I'm not my Mind"

Lately I have been a kid again - reading comics, playing video games, watching cartoons (from chotta bheem to  fullmetal alchemist) reading YA stories.

Vimanika Comics

Buying comics (indian and western) & graphic novels (indian, manga, DC) is no kid's play. I'm sure kids today can't afford these comics with their pocket money even if it's adjusted with inflation!! Maybe they can if they their father is a 2G Raja or they inherited a fortune as vast as Uncle Scrooge or Richie Rich.

Vimanika, Jump10, Campfire, Pop Culture Publishing, Raj Comics, Amar Chitra Katha, Holy Cow, Top Cow, Virgin Comics, DC, Marvel, Manga. I have been laying my hands on every kind of comics/Graphic novels I can lay my hands on. But at last the days of Indian comic industry look as bright as the sun shines on a clear day in mid-June over Delhi (The city which recently hosted the ComicCon India) at 02 00 PM. The only dark cloud that might come floating by is the 'Price Tag' of some of the comics and DC/Marvel graphic novels which might eclipse the bright sunshine but then these comics are also for adults like me.

a cutout at ComicCon delhi

It's not that the price deters people like me from buying but usually it's the new customers/fan who'd like to give it a shot but give it up after seeing the price tag. The comics to be successful has to reach the masses creating a cult like following.

The quality of the Indian comics(except some)  is undeniably at par with the west. The story line, the art, the concepts, the details, all is worth spending your time and money on. I have stumped to see how the Comic-industry in India has risen from the ashes re-inventing itself. Most of them borrowing from our own mythology but then we are the country of original superheroes. Krishna, Ram, Shiva, Hanuman and kick ass bad guys and monsters. We just need not to invent them!!

The disappointment however for me has been Raj Comics which after all these years have failed to move on the next level. More on this well another time.

Read comics. Support the talented Indian artists.

Time To Change... Accept Acceptance, Reject Rejection

We live in a world constantly rejecting it. Look around - we reject almost everything around us! Rejecting, rejecting and rejecting! In fact, rejection has become the root cause of all our displeasure, pain, and insanity. We reject our imperfections, our less than perfect bodies, our kids who can’t get 100/100 in every subject, our spouse who seems too self-centred, our politicians who are too corrupt, our society which is inherently flawed, and our bosses who are too insensitive! In short we keep rejecting every other thing in life!

If I could change one thing around me – I’d make people “accept” themselves and their surroundings. 


Accept acceptance. Reject rejection.

"You as much as anyone else in the world deserve your love and affection." ~ Buddha

Accept yourself - not just the good and the beautiful component, but every bit of yourself - the good, the bad and even the ugly. What you keep discarding merely keeps on going brawny. Accept the petite cunningness in your character as much as you accept your childhood innocence.

Your body is a temple for your soul. 

Accept your body - too-thin, too-fat, too-short, too-tall, too-plump, and too-skinny. Whatever it is – it is partly your responsibility and partly your genes. Celebrate the body but first accept that you want to change it for better. The perfect gym-toned body with perfect figure can only give you happiness if you first accept the body as the temple you live in. Your body is a gift to yourself.

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” 
― Albert Einstein

Accept your kids - they have not been sent to earth to further your goals and desires or to achieve your dreams. They are not corporate acquisitions from which you expect and demand high performance and soaring returns on the shareholder’s value. They are little human beings of infinite possibilities and dreams. Don’t make a fish climb a tree nor ask an elephant to catch up with a cheetah!

Accept your friends - they may have taken not-so-good decisions, they might have wronged you a few times, but they’re only human... they have their own shortcomings and follies. Accept them like they have accepted you and then only can you realise the potent force of friendship and acceptance.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.

Accept your rejections how many times were you left heart-broken, teary eyed by your love? Someone didn't accept you in their lives, rejected you. Someone threw you out of their lives after a seemingly prefect paradise relationship. Accept the rejection which may or may not have been fault of yours but it did happen and it can’t be changed. Only by accepting can you transcend it.

The best way to cheer yourself is to cheer somebody else up.

Accept your responsibilities - towards yourself, your spouse, your parents, your country and finally to earth and humanity - in reverse order.

Love is a better master than duty.

Accept your spouse - he/she is one you have already accepted to your intimate core and in turn opened yourself for wounds and scars which can take eons to heal. Only by accepting the other person in all his/her profundity, complexity and darkness can you transform him/her and transcend the shortcomings he/she harbours deep in his/her psyche.

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.

Accept the society - it is what it is. It is because of the actions, inactions, choices of people like you and me who constitute it. It is a reflection of our collective consciousness. If it seems mad to you it is just reflecting collective madness of everyone including us. If it’s evil and corrupt it is because too many of us are evil or silent... indifferent and scared to fight against injustice.

And last but not the least…

“The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.” 
― Albert Einstein

Accept women - it’s strange to live in a country that worships Goddess Lakshmi for money and prosperity but burns its wives and daughters-in-laws in the name of dowry. We worship Goddess Durga but liken the girl child to an ugly demon, thus slaughtering it in the womb itself. We rape our own women! We adore Sita’s chastity and end up hanging our clothes in some dirty brothel! Even though we all came from a woman, we end up being a husband torturing our wives - beating them, killing them slowly... mentally, spiritually, psychologically and physically. We all were inside the womb of a woman for nine months and came from her - then why this anger and hatred against something that God gifted the power to create something as beautiful as life itself?

If I could change one thing around - rejection would be it.

This post has been written for Indiblogger's "Time to change! contest" - If you could change something around you, what would it be?. To participate or know more, click here.

to know more click here:

http://facebook.com/sftimetochange

Flipkart.com Vs. Bookadda.com

I first noticed Flipkart.com at World Book Fair 2010 New Delhi. They had a big stall of which I walked past by quickly glancing with the side of my eye since the stall, as far as I remember, had no books and it wasn’t a publishing house. Later I stumbled upon the website after reading a blogpost about it and discovered the unbelievable, plethora of books at rock bottom prices add to it superb packaging and FREE to home delivery.

The love affair with the much applauded and hugely successful website followed before it became the household name. Till recently almost all my online transactions had been through flipkart. The discounts were so tempting that I stopped buying books elsewhere. A person who loves bookshops more than anything turned into a tourist at bookstores. Noting down name of the books only to order them later through flipkart. 

When flipkart went multidimensional selling everything from electronics to books et al. it did pinch me somewhere. It killed the thought of relating flipkart as an exclusive bookstore fanning my fears that somehow it will dilute the book business. Going through books in the books section of say big bazaar is such a sham. It’s there for the heck of it. Colouring books rubbing shoulders with chetan bhagats , shiv kheras, chicken soups and other extremely popular titles. Superficial and skin deep.

Somehow I started ordering computer accessories from flipkart.

Some days before I had to order Samit Basu’s The Simoqin Prophesies for refrence purpose which was for some reason not available at flipkart. I Googled and found bookadda.com a miraculous site which had books cheaper than flipkart and that too by a good margin. It was a like discovering a talisman. A dedicated bookstore with cheapest books I had ever seen. It was then I did it… Ordered the book through bookadda.com on 21 Feb.

On 22 Feb I received the SMS from bookadda intimating me that my order had been shipped from their end through AFL Couriers (who are they?) It’s 29 Feb and I have fairly no idea where my book is.

The AFL website gave nothing to my tracking id telling me nothing except that my courier has not yet been delivered. I called bookadda.com customer helpline number which was few times busy, sometimes unanswered. Finally I could get through the helpline chakravyuh. The call attendant was very professional though and took personal interest in my query. She called back after updating the status of my order with the courier company.

I formally wrote this on the customer feedback section on their website and a string of emails followed :

On Mon, Feb 27, 2012 at 7:36 PM, <customercare@bookadda.com> wrote:

I ordered Samit Basu's book from your website which was shipped shortly but unfortunately the courier company AFL has not been able to deliver the shipment promptly.. i had posted about your website on my FB wall and recommended it highly to my friends since it offers better deals than flipkart.... that too after many years of ordering through flipkart.. i cannot receive my shipment details too through AFL courier website by the tracking number which only tells me that my courier has not been deliver (which of course i already know) it's advisable if u your courier company can be prompt and informative it'll help the customers and inspire confidence to order more books on a regular basis. thank you.
User Order Id - 
from email - parv.kaushik@gmail.com

Feb 28:

Dear Customer,

Greeting from Bookadda.com !

Thank you for your mail and order with Bookadda.com.

As per your mail , we kindly request you to provide us the transaction reference id so that we may check and followup with the courier people for the same, as we are not able to track the order through your mail id.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Thanks 

Customer Support Team

Feb 28:

My AFL tracking id is 81592712561172

Feb 28:

Dear Sir,

Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused.

We expect you to get the book by today.

We value your feedback & have taken corrective action against the courier company.

While we strive to provide good services, sometimes we get constrained by the logistics eco-system available in the country.

We hope to provide better services to you in future.

We look forward to having you as our customer soon.

Thanks.

I got their sincere apologies but not my book despite complaining. The courier company has taken some corrective measure (pun intended) with now the Status is showing “With Delivering Courier” as if the guy is out there with my book on his way and will be reaching me anytime while in reality the book might be rotting somewhere in their warehouse.

It is sad to see such appalling service in a fiercely competitive market. It might be that the perfect business plan of bookadda.com is being anchored by poor delivery mechanism or that by cutting on price they are compromising on courier provider. Whatever the reason the bottom line is..

WHERE IS MY BOOK???

You Rock Richa Singh!!

It's a supposedly happy event and a extravaganza when your friend gets married. Apparently in this case it does not appears to be so because for me a friend married indeed is a friend lost!

With my dearest friend Richa Singh entering the holy matrimonial phase of her life I stand to lose a mentor, guide, philosopher, counselor (career, relationships and otherwise), fellow party animal, comrade-in-arms, future political rival and business associate. The last two very probable to happen! :)

Richa Singh and I started with an entrepreneurial venture- a youth magazine called 'Sub Zero' in NCR but as fate would have it we two outcast-ed creatures in socially awkward college setting teamed up to preserve our intellectual and moral sanity resting on the pillars of our schools La Marts and CMS GomtiNagar respectively (she hated my school, she still does but it was better any given day- except the girls!!) resulting in a secret war against our social environment.

Dearest Richa Singh is tying the knots today with Vikas Agarwal and I'm not there for her at this important event of her life. She's not talking to me at all. I'm waiting for her to calm down and slander me filthiest insults in her vocabulary followed by a fierce hated speech on my misconduct and unbecoming of a friend and eventually forgiving me for the unpardonable sin I have committed.

Then one fine day we'll be chatting about anything and everything that has happened in our lives. crossed our minds, some news we have read, some opinions we have formed, some philosophy, some books, some movies, some memories, some future plans but alas! I guess she'll a married lady now. Now is there DO'S and DONT'S on how to talk to former best friends and now married lady? On what topics should I talk?

"Who does the dishes when maid is not there?"

"Did maid come today?"

"Ummmm... Are you happy?"
(For the record me and Richa Singh are never too happy- our standards are too high for mortals and earthlings!!)

Lucky Dearest Richa Singh has found a wonderful husband and him a wonderful soul mate and companion for life. May God bless you both with health happiness and wealth(also friends like me ;) )  and as you walk around the holy fire swearing love and companionship for next so many births once again may God bless you both!

"Chutti nahin dete apni company main bula le yaar!!!"

You Rock RS!!

Blues And Book Stores

We all escape our pain, our emotional wretchedness and sentimental over weariness.. Yes that's exactly what we do.. escape our pain.

How do you chase the blues away? When things are not going your way... People are not reacting the way you want them too?? World crumbling down... hopes crashing... dreams tumbling... mental breakdown... thoughts collapsing into black hole of despair and nothingness. I know I have painted a gloomy picture but this is how you feel and may be a hell lot worse. Then you leave the little world behind and enter a world to forget everything leaving all dark thoughts in the rear view mirror.

Some go shopping, some go bar, some go long high-speed drives, some eat till their tummy explodes or wallet gives up doling out currency, others will torment their facebook friends by posting all sort of weird non-coherent updates. What's your escape?? We all escape our pain, our emotional wretchedness and sentimental over weariness.. Yes that's exactly what we do.. escape our pain.

I go to book stores.

Corporate book stores where the attendants are too busy/lazy/self-absorbed to bother you or ask if you need help. Bookstores are the only place where I have never been approached by anyone asking what I'm looking for. Tried walking into cologne section of a store? They pounce on you like vampires low on human blood supply, like wild rapists given a license by government to unleash their havoc! (More of that experiences in another post)

Book stores are my answer to wonderland of Alice.

Book stores are my answer to wonderland of Alice. It's a whole world of knowledge in a cave. so much so it overwhelms you with the amount of thoughts and ideas coming to you from all sides and directions. So many books on so diverse issues and subjects. Each book with it's magnetic pull attracts you to delve into it's secret and in no time you are surfing the ocean in a small kayak and letting the waves take you where they want you to go. So you start at top-sellers and navigating through strange channels you pass through new-releases, architecture, photography, Indian writing, self-help. comics, kids, romance, classics, fiction, non-fiction, management, biographies, computer, western philosophy, religion, on sale books, magazines, poetry, fantasy, chetan bhagat, health et al.

No world No time exists. It's me, my thoughts and my reason.

Each book each section drowning you in it's wealth, engulfing you, a universe in it's own with all the secrets unknown and truths waiting to be unlocked, and then your lost lost in thoughts, lost in philosophies, stories, fantasies, classics. I am lost to say the least and overwhelmed. You feel like a speck of grass in the vast constellation of stars.And yes I forget the pin haunting me, tormenting me, torturing me. I doesn't exist at all.. in fact for the time I'm in the book store there is no world outside the book store. No world No time exists. It's me, my thoughts and my reason.

What's your escape?

Midnight Madness.... Why Is The Sky Blue?

I was still in my teens in high school and infinitely curious about everything around me. Curious like a child who's in awe of the world around him. Startling at every new knowledge he gains of the world around him. It was like I'm a child again learning there is a sun, a moon, infinite stars and the earth revolves round the sun.

It was a phase when you are analytical, questioning and scrutinizing every piece of information fed to you. Puzzled at the facts of life inspecting all facts of life trying to decipher the mysteries of the universe. Why is the sky blue? Why do we sleep? Why are stars so far? How does a dog drink water? Why is donkey funny? Why do others have bigger houses and cars than me? Why can't i fight with girls?

It's like when you show a kid new animals, look at his eyes. His eyes pop out, he stares in amazement in wonder, in fascination. Seeing a monkey jumping across trees or a butterfly shuttling between flowers is nothing short of a spectacle for him, a stunner. Take a child to a zoo and he sees with all his being forgetting everything else in else, everything in his memory and mind fades away to nothingness. He shouts with the monkeys, runs with the deers, fears the python almost becoming part of their kingdom.

I was in a somewhat similar state of mind once. It was when I had discovered spirituality and was tampering with the enigma of mind. Nothing served me better than connecting with nature. It were the noises and voices in your head that prevent you to experience your true self in full divinity. It was then that I felt a strong urge to connect with nature. I spent  a lot of time alone on top of my roof with my own being connecting with nature.

In the morning I used to feel the soft sunlight warming the skin of my body. Absorbing the electromagnetic rays of the Sun or the photons (Quantum mechanics I know I know!!) taking eight and a half minutes to reach me produced by nuclear fusion process. The zephyr touching my hair and passing through me. The chirping of birds sending my spirit into trance.

In the night standing on the rooftop under the umbrella of million stars connecting with the moonlight and the twinkling stars. It's then in that moment when the memory and mind fade into oblivion and all the being comes to life making one aware of one's existence is the moment of truth is also the moment of madness.

It was my Midnight Madness.

Fairest Love

To smell the fragrance of Godly union of souls

To hear the 'til death do us part' vows

To see two people but one life before them

To taste the nectar of fairest love from heaven

To touch the universe two souls possess together

Saarah and Yasir request your presence to shower your blessings on this sacrosanct matrimony.



* written for my dear dear friend Saarah. May God bless you both!

Some Truths

Friends, fellow bloggers, fans, ladies, casual visitors, earthlings, space aliens, zombies, and netizens you are all welcome here... today hereby I welcome whole heartedly with open arms and open dakshina-daans (charity box) here to today’s sermon that might give you some spiritual, religious orgasm you might have visions of enlightenment so don’t be afraid just let go and take deep breaths.. I hereby declare that the following potentially life changing flow of words can alter the trajectory of your life and transport to the super expressway of everlasting happiness, super mind-boggling success, inner peace and everything under the sun other Gurus, cults, religions, books have been promising.. So here we go:

1. 1.    So you always have been trusting your feelings? You have known it in the past and you know it now that feelings the “inner gut” feeling is what makes you take your decisions and its these feelings that appear to be so relevant and prevalent yet so mysterious and undefined. I have realised that subconscious thoughts are the building blocks of the feelings. The thoughts that go through your head day in and day out ultimately subdue into subconscious and result in form of feelings we have toward a person or situation.
2.   Is Is it music or is it noise? I have been around a lot of people who treat music as a background score. The music keeps playing with higher and higher volume in the background and people are busy in their own work. I strongly resent such attitude for in such manner people convert music into noise just to block out the emptiness in their head they are not ready to face their own thoughts and hence the noise to block out all type of thoughts and emotions and feeling.
3. 3.       Death is around the corner. Yes it’s true as I contemplate my own mortality and become aware that I may die any moment it drives me to better utilize my time and achieve my goals. Usually in the daily chores we forget about the life’s clock tickling and forget all about the death but the more you think about it the more you’ll be focused on the things in life that really matter after all.
4. 4.       “I’m at peace with myself” this is probably the best and the most meaningful thing you can say to yourself. You have to be at peace with what you are or have right now this very very moment not after to reach that position or get that new object of desire. Being at peace with yourself is probably the best thing that you can do to yourself.
5. 5.       Emptiness is not ugly. Emptiness is when you let go of past, of future of guilts and of expectations. There are too many life gurus in the market the only simple path is to give up your mind’s complexity and be simple, be frugal, be empty.

Thus Spake Parv. Little things in life can offer a paradigm shift to your future sometimes.  

For that was my best time

How I miss my city
The lanes, the malls, the cigarette shop
How I miss my home
My bed, my parents, mom-cooked meals
How I miss my love
Her talks, her presence, her lectures
How I miss my friends
Shit heads, dumb heads, comrades

Tsunami of memories flood my mind
As I struggle to stay afloat
In a moment what was around me
Is just happy video tapes of memories

How my heart long and craves
Can someone bring back those days?
Rest of my life I'll look back
And smile, for that was my best time!

Guest Post 'What Women Want?' By Priya

If you can watch a flower bloom, so is a woman.Just as a flower born in this earth, every step of hers (woman) is wanted in many ways. A woman as "SHE" beholds in her to be powerful, strong and trustful. She accepts being a woman and remains to live in the beauty of herself by loving her body, mind and soul.

She takes pride in knowing herself through those mirrors which reflects her wants of acceptance and kindness. She stands tall in every occasion where she has to fight for herself being a girl, education or job or even marriage. She remains an invisible act of tolerance to win the hearts of people to emerge into the society filled with foxes.

She wakes up to think "all that she wants" is a life filled with good people( friends) and not egoistic and demanding which can bring or make her negative towards the society or family. She or Her wants are unlimited, but its the "trust" which she expects in every step of her success. Here trust can also be in the name of "respect" where she aspires to do her roles in a way she likes than over protection or aggressiveness.

Every woman is different, but all woman's wants are special attention, affection, trust in the name of security and her own needs of freedom and solitude in her life as her heart longs and loves to be that way. Wants are so vast even to  fill the gap but its the mind which makes her want to get or go for it. As a woman, her wants can be growing like a flower, who can understand and love her back for who she is than who she will be. Acceptance of being a woman is all what she wants.

Original post has been written by Priya and it can be found here.

Guest Post 'Shooting for the moon' by Poetess

Its been a long time that I have seen stars in the sky,

This thick grey cloud clogging up the city nighttime,

Hiding so cruelly all the precious diamonds in the sky.

Or is it that the cloud is in our minds, fogging brains?

Of materialism, of egos, of cunning, of always wanting more.

A disease permeates our generation—shooting for the moon.

And shoot some people who stand in your way too.

Where friendship is obsolete, its all professional here.

Black coats, black trousers and blacker hearts.

Its been a long time since I saw the sun set over the Ganges

But I still see corpses floating down everyday.

Only this time, its not just decomposed dead bodies.

It is the stench of decaying decadent souls.

The above poem is of my favorite poet-blogger Poetess you can visit her blog Emotions Here.

Arre ye ladka to bada Seedha-Saadha hain. "SSA"

SSA- Seedha Saadha Aadmi. 


To know more about SSA's check my post here.


Every once in few days I have been habituated since childhood to hear the following condemned words:


'Arre ye ladka to bada seedha hain.' or 'bada he seedha-saadha ladka hain aapka' et al.
(Oh the boy is so innocent... or Your child is very innocent)


All these words are such an insult to some one who all his childhood dreamed of being a kid to be known as:


'Arre ye lada to bada bhoukaali hain' or 'Bada hi bhoukaali ladka hain aapka'
(Oh the boy is a deadly thug.... Your child is such a big mafia)
bhoukaali: Don type powerful, mafia typz personality.. get the picture?


Such were my simple and innocent dreams of mine of being the Hindi Cinema's one of the best villains:  Shaakaal

Shakal had pet Sharks which were made to feed on his enemies. Well when I was a kiddo all i could imagine was being a SUPER MAFIA DON whose name was enough to make people wet in pants and sweat in hands. I would think of the most cruel ways of torturing my victims in my super-specialty prisons. My pet Komodo dragon lizards would sit on my shoulders and hunt on my preys:

But then my aspirations did not meet my actions. I failed to be a qualified member of any gang during my school time. Worse than that I was not even involved in a hands-on-fight with a worthy foe which would have unleashed the devil in me and I'd have proven to the world of my hidden draconian intentions. Not even in college such an opportunity materialized. Though some gangs did come in contact and some warlords did consider me for recruitment but then that was ragging time they were on lookout for new recruits, fresh blood to carry their legacy forward.


Time passed and my gangster worshiping attitude found for itself no outlet in the actions. In fact it seemed pretty obvious to me where my life was now headed. I was becoming the SSA of the society. SSA's are wonderful people they don't know how to say NO. How to react, be really street smart and acting all smart Alec hoodwinking people.. all the necessary talents to survive and thrive in the fast paced world. SSA's are not foolish enough to not understand that they are being used. And this is where I am seem to be heading, the Anupem Kher of Khosla ka Ghosla:

   
So many times in my life I have single minded goals of achieve the character of kaminapan.. but then the training is not right. All this idealism and books live in my head and corrupts me. I need more training to achieve atleast 10% characteristics of Shakal ji. 


Amen.

Why I Support Savita Bhabhi.

Now here it is the woman not only your parents but also the Indian Government warned you about ~ Savita Bhabhi. A woman which was before getting banned one of the top most dedicated visited websites of India (as by Alexa). Savita Bhabhi's induction into Indian mindset and her subsequent acceptance and rejection is worth a study.

I have come across PhD's writing case study of how Savita Bhabhi reflects the socio-economic status in our Indian society. I have come across business analyst's review of how much business acumen is behind Savita Bhabhi's branding and customer loyalty. Then I have also come across Indian Government's excuse of banning SB. It's the same government which bans FTV for 3 days just for showing topless models. It's the same government which gives us the governor ND Tiwari. It's the same society which gives us Godmen like Swami Nityananda.

India is a sexually repressed society. We keep our sexualities in our back door. On the front even the word "sex" in itself has become so dirty that sometimes I wonder how can we pronounce the word and not vomit the next second. Why then treat something so natural as copulation as something immoral, as sin? Why does the society makes me feel so unnatural about it? Aren't we the ones who gave the world the Kama Sutra and the Khujraho temples? Top of it all aren't we the ones who pray and seek blessings from Shiva lingam?

There are far worse websites on the Indian web space where you can download videos of sexual escapades between consenting adults with a cam. The movie LSD nothing but mirrors this sad truth. Websites I don't feel like naming here can give give you daily updated dose of uploaded MMS'. Many girls lured by their bf into having sex before camera with or without their knowledge might provide excellent fodder for the junta but ends up ravishing not only the girls life but also her family's.

Savita Bhabhi is a toon character. She involves no real girls to play the part of sex objects. She's a form of art where different artists convulse to bring out a comics which caught the attention of Indians. If say SB reaches a crescendo and there's a huge demand for such toon characters giving rise to an underground industry is it harmful? Who are the people who'll gain: artists, story writers, designers, computer experts et al. Infact as I write this SB's new home Kirtu.com is displaying an ad asking for recruitment of Script Writers.

It's all and all a creative process which is supplying an unfulfilled demand. Think about it; does it encourage any sort of physical sexual slavery, does in the whole cycle a real woman comes in scene to be reduced to a sex mannequin with sounds? Can cartoons encourage prostitution? SB is simply a comics a simple toon. It doesn't need ban from Indian Government to expose the double standards of our democracy where we have started acting as a moral police.

Find about Savita Bhabhi on Wikipedia here.

Article on Savita Bhabhi in Tehelka.

Case Study on Savita Bhabhi by Plugged.in

Support Savita Bhabhi. Its a good feminism.

  Here's a spoof on SB its called Kavita Bhabhi and the site can be reached here.

That's Savita Bhabhi in late night Internet comedy show Jay Hind TV hosted by Sumeet Raghavan of Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai fame.

Vanity Is My Favorite Sin! My Vanity Fair...

Yesterday was a fantastic day, a hattrick, sorts of, for fantabulous days. Last 3 days have been filled with absolute joy and bliss. I won’t go into microscopic details but here what’s been happening in my life:

1.It was a complete chance of fate that as I came across the February issue of JAM magazine and as I was flipping it by guess what I saw? Guess guess… I saw my own photo! It was posted in their advert. for their online social network community Club JAM where it was my profile pic. Now it feels good when you are casually flipping by a national magazine and they have printed your pic to show how “cool” you are. Now I’m “officially” cool!

2.I have been working(voluntarily) for a magazine called UPTU Watch. UPTU is the university I’m pursuing my degree from. UPTU has been responsible for ruining countless lives and tarnishing endless dreams. It has about 600+ colleges in its fold and in a single year the total number of graduates is more than the total number of graduates that have ever graduated from IITs since their inception!

OK back from UPTU bashing to UPTU Watch which has been started my some eminent people of the media industry. I have been in touch with them since long since it’s an issue close to my heart. (I was also behind the start-up youth magazine called “Subzero” in the NCR region which sadly died.) I’m working with them on their current April issue with full throttle which will be out in few days. I’ll be christened as Assistant Editor which is pretty good! The magazine is a movement to reform the UPTU which although being the largest university in the world lies in shambles.

(the issue on the right is of last month i.e. March Issue)

3.Here’s another wonderful event which I was more than glad to attend. It was the launch of Karan Vir’s first truly Indian graphic novel called “Dashaavatar” and “Moksha” it was graced with the presence of Mr. Gurcharan Das who is an eminent author of repute. The venue was the The Oxford Bookstore at Barakhamba Road, New Delhi.

I’m a die hard fan of Karan Vir’s Vimaanika comics which are steady mix of great artwork and mythology. A perfect combo needed to make religion “cool” for the youth of the nation. It was nothing less than a rock concert for me and the people were nothing less than rockstars. I had the opportunity to interact with Karan Vir and asked him few questions and informed him how I failed to find his comics across bookstores in Noida and Lucknow. I also asked his views about some US publications who have comicised our Mythologies (Like Liquid Comics and Grant Morrison’s 18 Days).

p.s. I got my Dashaavtar poster signed by Karan Vir! A collector’s edition!!! 

4.Now I have been meeting my school friends quite a lot recently, on 3 separate occasions I met a total of 4 school mates. All females. Now take a sample~ this is how I was introduced to my friend’s friend at two places: “You know Parv writes poetry! He writes lovely poems at his popular blog. Parv who is the one you write your poetry for? Lucky girl she is!”

So here are two points I have realised about me. I’m officially known and introduced as a “poet” now and secondly people are really interested to meet my girl!! That’s quite heart warming to know that my words are reaching out to people and touching them. Thank you all of you wonderful people for supporting me and boosting my morale it really means a lot to me!

Amen

I say Night Is Peace

I say Night Is Peace

I step out of my balcony
And suddenly a world welcomes me
Everything is so silent
The world seems to be at peace
The night appears empty and still
Like a wheel which has stopped

I stood in my balcony, motionless
Some random dogs barking-somewhere
Some airplanes flying overhead
Like moving toys with flashy lights
In the star studded sky with silent moon
Streets- empty without being haunting

Wind Comes and all the leaves dance
I want to join this orchestra of leaves
And dance on this sound of the leaves
But then the wind passes
Trees fall silent; calm and composed
Its a different world out there

If only you have empty mind to see.

Who Is This I ?

In a mind run riot
By endless dreams and desires
Peace is an eluding butterfly
But when it descends
I have a glimpse
Of God Of Enlightenment Of Maya

The nectar of silence
Tastes like final freedom
When thoughts naturally die
And desires lose their charm
I'm here with all my awareness
Learning how This Moment feels

My body has a rhythm, a soul
My breaths have a sound
My heartbeats have a pulse
My skin has so many sensations
My eyes are so relaxed
My head feels huge, sans thoughts

Thoughts Dreams Desire Future Past
Delusion Illusion Pleasure Pain
So powerless to enter my cave
I, Me, Myself, You, Them, Her
Who is this I?
I find myself lifted in the sky.

10 Sonic Ways To Be Super-Cool

OK fellow un-cool humans here is a refreshing break from the emotional high doses i have been giving you through the poems here. This is THE SECRET which the world has always been waiting for. Even Rhonda Byrne is after me to convert this SECRET into a book offering me a multi-million dollar deal. The CIA called me to keep my mouth shut for their billion dollar research is turning to dust for i offer my SECRET FOR FREE. yes you heard it right absolutely right i bring for you the ultra-secrets which will help you  definitely turn you into a Super-Cool species among your fellow homo sapiens and the envy of all.

1.Watch the right TV: ohh no no no F.R.I.E.N.D.S and Prison Break are passe you need to know the ABC, XYZ, MNO everything of Sex And The City, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Dexter, Lost. Oh yes these are the shows you have to master. The more you know the more you can let the other people slip into depression of being un-cool.

2.Mind Your Language: Alright you speak in English whts the big deal? Ohh so you know the lingo of the hood? So what? You have to prove your ignorance of Hindi at every drop of the hat. When anybody starts talking in Hindi and uses a slightly uncommon word here's the phrases you can use: "Oh I have to work upon my Hindi", "Shit my Hindi is so bad", "Man that is all greek to me, what did u say again?"

3.Social Networking: So you could never let Orkut touch you? Facebook was your one and only home since time immemorial. Now have the right friends and the right Display Pic. Yes my dear dear friend your coolness quotient is measured by your profile pic. Burn the midnight oil use all the photo editing softwares to get the perfect look in your DP.

4.Have Some Relationship Issues: It's just so un-normal to have a happy relationship. "I Have Some Issues" is the buzz-line. It's the secret tht will bring you in the league of super-cool kids. No one likes an ever lasting lovey-dovey couple. Ever seen movies that start with a happy ending? Then why give people that impression.

5.Be Anything But Obvious: Everyone has read Chetan Bhagat that automatically implies you don't have to even touch the filthy books he write. He is an insult to the world of literature a dirty spot which has ruined the beauty of classics. You don't have to touch anything that is in mass consumption. Always go off-beat (read elitist). Here's a catch~ if in your "in" circle being weirdo is obvious then be normal and you'll be the cool one, the different one.

6.Use Right Cuss Words: Now learn to have the blessings of Jesus in your life, start with phrases like "Oh Jesus!" to "Jesus, if only I had known..." Use Fuck like you use prepositions, use the derivatives often to keep the interest and to awe the un-cool. Bullshit, Bitch, Asshole all are welcome in as public way as possible.

7. Be A Party Animal: OK so you haven't attended a party for weeks but your party stories must never ever not even till immortality runs out. You are the Party God sent from heaven above to make this world a cooler place to be in. You rock the party with your awesomeness, your awesomeness has defied all barriers. Your life's a party. (Also includes Night-outs, hang-outs, anything-outs)

8. Trend Setter, Style Icon, Fashion Guru: If you haven't been nicknamed one of these, your coolness is in jeopardy. Be a trend setter go out to tell the world around you what to wear. Be "in" and let the other's copy you. You have to work hard on this one buy fashion magazines, go shopping a lot more times than everyone else does, search the internet. Anything to put you on top.

9. Carry A Guitar/Basketball At All Times: Doesn't matter if you are a girl or a guy carry a Guitar at all times to infuse a sense of inferirity complex in fellow human beings. When you see a guy with a guitar on his back your heart breaks and you curse yourself of all the broken resolutions to learn guitar and the girls are imagining a dude who'll sing them love songs with humming guitar tunes, what a mind game! Same goes with basket-ball

10.You Are Bi-sexual And Accept It: No-one was happier than you when Article 377 was repealed.. It was a moment of eternal happiness for you and fellow gay/lesbian community. Yes you are a bi-sexual and yes you are experimental.  You are a try-sexual. You have the guts to accept it in front of everyone. All the straight people are just so old and conventional and boring. You are the new blood the Super-Cool.



p.s. there you go 10 commandments, 10 Biblical truths which will transform your life to awesomeness. And remember i gave these hidden-truths to you. I'm the Supreme Super Cool Soul in the Universe thou shalt not even doubt it for a second.


p.s. very painfully i have to announce that someone has missed the pun in the whole article so for all the confused ones here it is I WAS BEING SARCASTIC.