Are women immune?? Are men the only culprit??

926th BLOG POST -->>

       

  A gang-rape in Mumbai and all we find around us is a pity situation for women of the city. I don't know why. This is the same city for which people say that let anything happen anywhere, Mumbai will never see such mass rapes incessantly the way it was happening in Delhi even when the protests for the Delhi gang-rape was on at India Gate. But now a gang rape happens and people have started projecting Mumbai as unsafe. If this is the call, let me tell you- every city is unsafe. Because no location guarantees the mindset and mentality of everyone living there. It just tells the culture of the place. Mumbai's culture has always been to work harder, produce as much output as possible, earn as much as one can and move hurriedly towards the next goal. No one walks slowly here. No one even tries to dominate the way of other because he is busy in overcoming his own potentials and results. Right from a small salesman to the CEO of a multi-national company, everyone has the same attitude which is what makes Mumbai whatever it is- A city of dreams. 

          Because a girl gets raped in an isolated region of a mill, one starts calling Mumbai unsafe. Oh come on! Such cases keeps on happening every day. Because rape is not done publicly the way it happened in Delhi and a molestation in Guwahati. Rape is something that the bastards do only when they find a proper time, proper place and proper situation. A rapist keeps on planning his event. It's not a spontaneous activity. One can say that 10% of these cases are spontaneous but generally, a rapist always plan as to how he has to touch a woman and calm his thunder. Read the rape case-reports and books based on it and you'll find what actually rapists think of themselves and women. It has been found that 90% of rape were brought in place by an acquaintance or someone the girl knew very nicely. Or its neighbour or its boyfriend and his friends. More than half the cases are the result of a relative, even father and brother doing it with the girl. How can you save girls here?

           So eliminating rape from the society seems to be impossible or very difficult. Police can't be at every doorstep and bedroom. The only thing which we want from them is to listen to us whenever there's such back drop in any locality unlike the way 4-5 policemen were discussing among themselves as to whose area's case it is while the girl was lying naked on the footpath and her friend was pleading for help in Delhi on 16th December, 2012. But I have seen something that irritates me every time a rape becomes the headline. All the men are generalized to be rapists or someone trying to quench his thirst by dominating his body over a woman's. This is severely wrong. Abuse only rapists. They are the ones who deserve all the thrash and not all the men. Many of us are the ones who save women from such men when they find themselves in problem and we are somewhere around. So please.

          And to others, I would say that too much pity on girls and demand for a death penalty is as insensible as saying that kill all the men so that women would be secured throughout. Not all women are Goddesses. Many of them are opportunists who want to benefit from such laws if passed. Recently itself, a news came where a girl accused a man for rape and later on, police identified that they were in a live-n relationship and when the things didn't turn around well and they got isolated, girl thought of utilizing the same privileges that are given to a wife by demanding his half salary, half property and other securities. She was sent to jail temporarily for the fals allegation of rape against him. Another woman was in news who filed a plaint against her in-laws that they are demanding dowry, harassing her and hence she wants a divorce and all the privileges that a woman gets. Her husband kept on telling police that she is lying. Without anyone's knowledge, police installed CCTV at their house and later found that woman used to lie. And once police started probing the case, they came to know she had various husbands whom she divorced by alleging the same crime on them and got money from everyone's family. 

          Just last week, a report came in Hindustan Times where a 22 year old girl was asked by conductor in a BEST bus to change her seat and sit in the seat that's reserved for ladies. She kept on arguing but didn't get up. At last conductor asked for the ticket to which she replied that she has a seasonal pass and hence she don't think it is to be shown every time she catches a bus. Even then the conductor kept insisting. She portrayed as if she is taking out the ticket from her bag but sprayed the pepper on the conductor's face which resulted in injury to conductor's face and also to the two men standing near conductor. The girl is being arrested temporary. Every girl was asked to keep pepper spray with them but who knew that this can also result in crime- this time from a woman's side. 

          Hence, stop pitying for every women. Just as every man is not innocent, every woman is also not. Balance both the genders equally. There are various reports where even a woman has caused severe harm to the man. But people forget such cases because there are less reports on them. As I said in my last post, how media is paid and how they need TRP. Such live reports will not generate any interest among viewers to which they think of shelving such news. As soon as the death penalty will get passed for anyone who declares that he raped the girl, some girls will start taking revenge of some petty issues by complaining of rape, harassment or molestation against boys. So rather than demanding such a law, be little more intellectual than you are trying to portray yourself as. Think from men's point of view too. Men are being made minority in this whole case because of few who have emerged out to be rapists. Remember- when there's devil in men, somewhere there's succubus in women too. In the end, I would just say that death penalty is not the solution. Something more genuine has to be thought about.

 Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

            

Whenever a rape happens!!!

925th BLOG POST -->>

       

   After all that happened after Delhi gang rape, we thought that there will at least arouse a little fear in the minds of rapists or the men who thinks women as objects. But its not even an year and we can see how even Mumbai has witnessed something so similar to it and that too at 6 PM in the evening when everyone in Mumbai in every damn area is working. But is there any way through which we can stop this phenomena of rape that has hampered our society brutally? It is not only about the crime against women but we also remember how once upon a time, there was news of small children getting abducted, kidnapped and then killed. No one ever came to know about its reason. Their parents weren't even asked for money. Just kidnapping and then killing while students used to return home after their school. This is something which even if society wants, can never be changed. Because its part of the same society which gets indulged in such activities. 

            Whenever a rape happens in India, rather than fighting against it we find our politicians making comments on the women of India. Some asks them to ignore talking to men, some says that too much openness has lead to this, some says that women is like gold, expose them and they would be looted, some asks girls to be at home by 7 PM etc. in the similar note. The irony is that Abu Azmi is making comments whose own daughter-in-law works in movies and can be seen in exposing costumes. No, I have no problem with that. I will never have. This is what she choose for her life. But a person whose directly connected to her making such comments about women shows what he might be thinking about his own daughter-in-law. Better not make comments that becomes so derogatory or direct that we start feeling unsafe from our Ministers too. There's no law still that can at least make a rapist feel the pain of the girl they cause so much harm to. Rather than working over it, different ministers from diffrent parties starts showing how much indecent they are. Shameful!

           Media! Whenever a rape happens in India, media starts working over every place that's near to the location where the first rape happened which became news. And for the whole day, they keep showing the counter which shows how a rape happens after rape every minute and we are doing nothing except watching TV. Media is a wonderful source in today's era where they can control and change the whole scenario of how people think and what nation needs. If they stop charging money for showcasing news, they can easily help out the mass and give them a proper direction. But the amount of negativity and hulla-baloo that they go through makes us feel as if nothing will change at least for next 100 years in our country. The kind of debates they initiate by calling people from different fields of society shows how much they die for TRP even in the course as such. Instead of that, they should visit bus stands, villages, offices and directly ask girls about what they are facing in their day to day life and try to bring some change by directly making them take the name of the person troubling them. Prove the person guilty and then show it on television. At least that might bring some change but no, debate is all that'll stop rapes.

             Bollywood! This is another segment which makes us feel that their presence will bring some delight and change in our life. We feel that they can bring pristine change among the people who think wicked and dirty. But we see them commenting through their Twitter and Facebook accounts but very rare like Farhan Akhtar comes out with a real initiative that can teach man what the real manliness is. By dominating and shutting up women, they don't become men. In Fact they kill their dignity and make that victim judge every man as the same. A tweet can only change things if written in a manner that can show how they themselves have gone through the same and took actions. But instead they direct movies in which they themselves show women as objects and later on say that women are not object and they are to be respected. Just go and check all the item songs made in last 10-12 years and Bollywood, you'll realize that even you play your part in cultivating dirtiness in some unstable mindset of men. 

           And we the Society, the most important part of this event. What do we do? Do we have any option?  We only know that these things will keep happening every now and then. And we can not run away from it. We are in it. We are among these dirty men who come in group and make us feel alone and unsafe. Being a boy myself, when I see a group of boys together, I feel that if they start abusing me on the name of anything, I will have to get bullied. A girl is of course someone who'll have to suffer a lot in the name of being physically weak. We, as a society, can do only one thing seeing the current situation. Train ourselves. Get into gym, karathe or any other martial arts training and make it sure that we son't find ourselves physically weak whenever such attacks happen. Because another important segment of the whole event- POLICE never takes responsibility of common men. They are programmed to treat and save only VIPS. More than 50% of police force of Maharashtra is assigned for VIPs. This itself shows that how much safe and dependent on Police we are. So lets start preparing our own body to defend ourselves or attack whenever such phenomena repeats, and this time with us. :-( Let's be strong. No other option. That's my country. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

PREM- Kuch Usse Upar- Wo Meri Bhavna by Sanjeet Pathak!!! (892nd BLOG POST in Hindi)

924th (Member's) BLOG POST -->>

         

  Sanjeet Kumar Pathak is one of those guys whom I have met on Facebook. Though our conversation started with abusing each other :-) but now, we are good friends. This guy who initially gave me "dhamkis" now help me in my college projects and other departments where I have no skills. I have always been his admirer when it comes to Computer knowledge and command over Hindi language. All of you would be remembering my 892nd BLOG POST- "LOVE! Something Above It- That's MY FEELING!!!" where I wrote something that's too philosophical for me. It was something I wrote according to the situations I was in. And I always wanted this one of my favorite posts to be translated in Hindi. And I found no one better than Sanjeet to do this for me. I hope you will love reading the Hindi version of my 892nd BLOG POST. This is one of the rare things that's happening on any BLOG.

FOREWORD BY SANJEET K. PATHAK:-

कहीं सुना था, क्रांति आती नहीं, लायी जाती है. मैं जब भी अभिलाष को 

देखता हूँ, इसकी सत्यता का आभास होता है. कंप्यूटर के इस छात्र ने कैसे 

इतने कम समय में एक वैचारिक क्रांति ला दी है. आज, जब मैं खुद ARB का एक 

छोटा सा हिस्सा बनने जा रहा हूँ, खुद को सातवें आसमान पर महसूस कर रहा 

हूँ. दिल से धन्यवाद अभिलाष भाई! ये मौका देने लिए :-)

PREM- Kuch Usse Upar- Wo Meri Bhavna!!!

To read the Original Post in English, CLICK HERE!!!

          प्रेम एक शाश्वत भावना है. मुझे पता है. जीवन में हम सबको कम से कम एक बार प्यार जरूर होता है. बुरका पहनी लडकियाँ जिन्हें जिंदगी भर बेडरूम में रखा जाता है उन्हें भी पता है की प्यार क्या है और वे भगवान् से प्रार्थना करतीं हैं की जब वे शादी को तैयार हो तो उनका राजकुमार आये. यहाँ तक की एक बच्चा भी जन्म से पहले ही अपने माँ से प्यार करने लगता है. खैर, मैं उस प्यार और भक्ति की बात नहीं कर रहा जो माता-पिता और बच्चे आपस बांटते हैं. मैं उसकी बात कर रहा हूँ जिसके लिए हम सब याचना करते हैं. क्या प्यार का इंतजार कभी ख़त्म होता है ? हाँ, यह ख़त्म होता है. हम जिस व्यक्ति  को चाहते हैं उसके साथ नहीं बल्कि उस व्यक्ति के साथ जो हमारे लिए उपयुक्त है. वे दोनों एक ही व्यक्ति हो सकते हैं परन्तु सामान्यत: नहीं होते. मैंने हमेशा प्रेम के खिलाफ बोला है क्यूँ की यह दर्द देता है, या तो नियमित रूप से, कभी-कभी या अंत में एक ही बार में सब. 99% प्रेम कहानियों का दु:खद अंत होता है. मैं अपनी जिंदगी में ऐसी कोई और कहानियां नहीं चाहता जिनका अंत आंसू और पछतावा हो इसलिए मैं हमेशा इससे दूर रहना चाहता हूँ जिसे हम अक्सर प्यार कहते हैं.

      लेकिन तब क्या जब आप किसी के साथ सम्बन्ध में आते हैं जो प्यार से ऊपर है. मेरे पास इसके लिए कोई शब्द नहीं. वह व्यक्ति जिसके लिए मेरे ऐसे भाव थे उसने पूछा “तुमने हमेशा कहा की तुम मुझसे प्यार नहीं करते फिर हमेशा यह क्यूँ कहते रहते हो की तुम मुझसे प्यार करते हो. क्यूँ की कोई लेखक, कोई निर्माता, कोई व्याकरणिक, कोई साहित्यिक गुरु कभी भी भावना की इस तीव्रता में नहीं गया जिसे वह कुछ नाम दे सके. यहाँ दोस्ती है. यहाँ प्यार है. यहाँ प्रशंसा है. यहाँ आदर है. यहाँ भक्ति है. लेकिन इसे कोई नाम नहीं दिया गया है, मैं जिसमे पड़ा हूँ. मैं, अगर कभी काफी प्रतिभा और ज्ञान अर्जित कर लूँगा तो मैं इस भावना को एक नाम दूंगा. एक शब्द जो यह बता सके की कृष्ण के लिए सुदामा का दृष्टिकोण, कृष्ण के लिए मीरा का दृष्टिकोण और अल्लाह के लिए मोह्हम्मद का दृष्टिकोण क्या था. मैं आशा करता हूँ मेरे भावना को एक नाम मिलेगा.

      लोग इसे प्रेम प्रसंग कहते हैं तो कुछ लोग इसे Relationship कहते है, कुछ और लोग इसे “Many-Night-Stand” कहते हैं. पर क्या मैं यह स्पष्ट करने में सक्षम हो पाऊंगा की मेरे दिल ने इस रिश्ते को क्या नाम दिया है ? नहीं. क्या मुझे कभी खुद को बचाने जाना होगा ? नहीं. यह भावना हमेशा के दिल में रहेगा. केवल अंतिम सांस के साथ, जब मेरी आत्मा शरीर छोड़ देगी यह भावना भी चला जाएगा. लेकिन जब तक मैं जीवित हूँ और इस दुनिया का हिस्सा हूँ यह मेरे साथ रहेगा. मैं यह कभी नहीं कहता की प्यार सिर्फ एक व्यक्ति से होता है. यह एक समय में दो से हो सकता है या अलग-अलग समय में कईयों से हो सकता है लेकिन जब भी होता है जिंदगी को मतलब मिल जाता है. कुछ इसके लिए मरते हैं, कुछ रोते हैं, और कुछ मेरी तरह, कोशिश करते हैं, कुछ सफल होते है, कुछ असफल होते हैं, कुछ बदनाम हो जाते हैं तो कुछ शाहजहाँ बन जाते हैं... एक मेरे जैसे व्यक्ति को कभी सम्मान नहीं मिलता लेकिन पूरा जीवन एक खुबसूरत शरीर और भ्रमित मन वाले जीवंत व्यक्ति को प्यार करता रहता है.

      नहीं. दुनिया के सामने इसे कहना आसान नहीं होता.  मेरे देश में, मेरे समाज में, मेरे अयोध्या में यह इतना आसान नहीं है. यहाँ प्यार वर्जित है और ऐसा ही रहेगा. अगर उस व्यक्ति पर मेरा स्वामित्व होता और उस व्यक्ति को भी मेरे लिए वैसा ही महसूस होता तभी सब कुछ आसान हो गया होता. सचमुच ? नहीं. फिर ऐसा खंड आता है जहाँ साथी की योग्यता, सुन्दरता, पैसे, अतीत इत्यादि देखे जाते हैं. आप पर प्रश्न फेंके जाते हैं और आप जबाब देते-देते थक जाते हैं. मैं अपने उत्पन्नकर्ताओ का दिल कभी नहीं तोडूंगा ना ही कभी तोड़ पाऊंगा. लेकिन मैं देर तक लड़ सकता हूँ. जब तक मुझमे आतंरिक शक्ति, विश्वास और आशा है तब तक लड़ सकता हूँ. जो मेरा है उसके जीत के लिए मैं समाज से दूर नहीं भागूँगा लेकिन मैं आत्मा-मिलन समारोह में समाज को आमंत्रित करूँगा. मैं उनमे से नहीं हूँ जो दुनिया से अपना परी को छिपाएगा. मेरे लिए, यह सुन्दर है. मेरे लिए, यह पवित्र है. मेरे लिए, यह मेरा है. J

      संभवतः मेरे लिए इस जिंदगी का मतलब प्यार और उस व्यक्ति की जीत नहीं है. संभवतः मेरा यह जीवन आँसू बहाने और मानसिक प्रक्रियाओं के रूप में परिणामों के प्रतीक्षा के लिए हो सकता है. हो सकता है इस जन्म के दौरान मैं असफल रह जाऊं. लेकिन मेरे ह्रदय की शक्ति मुझे हमेशा उसके लिए समर्पित होने को कहती है जो मुझे ऊर्जा, जीवन, मुस्कान, पदार्थ, अर्थ, सुधार, प्रतिबद्धता, साथ आदि देता है, यह हमेशा मजबूत और एक ही रहेगा. मैंने हमेशा कईयों को प्यार करने की कोशिश की है. मैं कईयों के करीब आने में सक्षम भी हूँ. लेकिन क्या मैंने कभी किसी के लिए यह महसूस किया? नहीं. यह दिव्य अहसास वह है जो चिंतन के साथ मुझे थोडा गौतम बुद्ध बना देगा. मैं इस बारे में क्या सोचता हूँ अगर लोगो को बताना शुरू करूँ तो यह मुझे एक क्रन्तिकारी बना देगा. लेकिन क्या मैं ऐसा करूँगा? नहीं. पहले ही दिल एक के लिए हर मिनट धड़कता है, पहले ही हर सांस मुझसे कहती है की सब-कुछ हासिल किया जा चूका है, जिंदगी प्रवाह में है, सिर्फ स्टूल का एक पैर गायब है, जाओ और हासिल करो वह जो तुम्हारा है लेकिन तुम्हारे साथ नहीं, और उन सब के साथ जीवन जीयो जिसके लिए तुमने सपना देखा था की तुम्हारा होगा.

      मैं लम्बी दूरी के सम्बन्ध वालो से हमेशा पूछता हूँ की वे कैसे जी रहे हैं. उन्होंने मुझे बहुत कारण दिया लेकिन मैं कभी समझ नहीं पाया. आज जब मुझे ऐसा व्यक्ति मिला है जो मेरे करीब है लेकिन अब भी बहुत दूर है, मैं महसूस करता हूँ की क्यूँ शारीरिक रूप से दूर और मानसिक रूप से एक साथ एक दूसरी की बाहों में होकर भी एक साथ नहीं होने से ज्यादा आध्यात्मिक प्रेम है. जब मैं आँखों में देखूं, इसे मुझे प्रतिबिंबित करना चाहिए. जब मैं हाथ पकडूँ, इसे और जोर से मेरा हाथ पकड़ना चाहिए. और जब चुम्बन लूँ, तो प्यार के इस कार्य में मुझे मालिक की नहीं, गुलाम की अनुभूति होनी चाहिए. मैं ध्यान चाहता हूँ. मैं प्राथमिकता चाहता हूँ. मैं अपने निकट भगवन की उपस्थिति चाहता हूँ. मेरे जीवन में एक परी मिली है और परियां भगवान द्वारा भेजे जाते हैं, मेरे लिए वह भगवान से कम नहीं. मुझे अपवाहों की कोई परवाह नहीं, मुझे अस्वीकृति की कोई परवाह नहीं. मुझे समाज और बुजुर्गों के गलियों की कोई परवाह नहीं. और सबसे बड़ी इच्छा हमेशा अधूरी रहती है. यह कार्य है अपूर्णता को पूरा कर उस जिंदगी को पाना जो मेरा है.

      मैं उस व्यक्ति को प्यार नहीं करता. मेरी भावना अब भी अपरिभाषित है. लेकिन मैं इसे समझता हूँ. सायद यह लम्बे समय तक मुझे एक स्थायी साथी से दूर रख सकता है. मैं अकेला रहने को तैयार हूँ. इस बात से लोग मुझे कह सकते हैं की मैं प्यार करने के लायक नहीं हूँ. मैं हारे हुए के रूप में जाने जाने के लिए तैयार हूँ. लेकिन मुझे जो भी मिलेगा, मैं उसे पाऊंगा जिसके लिए मेरे दिल में भावनाएं हैं या उसी के बिलकुल सामान कोई. बाद वाला असंभव दिखाई देता है जबकि पहले वाला संभव है. यह मुश्किल है. आप दूसरों के भावना और मानसिकता को नियंत्रित नहीं कर सकते लेकिन आप अपने ध्यान का एक हिस्सा बना सकते हैं. मुझे विश्वास है की मेरी एकाग्रता पूरे वातावरण को मेरी ओर आकृष्ट करेगा और व्यक्ति स्वतः ही स्थायी शरीर के चारों ओर मुझे पायेगा. मुझे नहीं पता की ये भावना कभी उसके द्वारा और लोगो द्वारा समझा जाएगा या नहीं, लेकिन यह हमेशा मेरे साथ रहेगा....जब तक मैं हूँ....मरते दम तक....और जब तक मैं पुन: जन्म लेकर नहीं आता. :-)

 Thanks.

 संजीत कुमार पाठक with ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!! 

A Skit played by Me and My Classmates (VIDEO)!!!

923rd BLOG POST -->>

           Our "Software Project Management" subject's teacher, Mrs. Seema Bhuvan asked us to perform a skit in class about how a Manager manages the situations, his sub-ordinates and a project. I was asked to write the script of it and ma'am selected the pupils from our division to act. As I was one of them, I played the role of Manager. So, in the above video, the one in the formal attire sitting with the laptop is yours truly. :-) The girl who explains the situation is Fatima who also plays the role of Top Management in a sequence. Subordinates are being played by Shishir, Sagar, Manish and Ketan. Aniket plays the manager of ICICI bank while Bhavna plays Content Writer, Komal plays IT programmer and Prasad plays peon. :-) The rehearsal and preparation happened in just 15 minutes. According to that, everything went well and our spontaneous cameraman- Bhushan did a wonderful job. Thanks ma'am for allowing the video recording. 

           All of you, do enjoy the skit and tell how is it. :-)

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Who should be the winner- Fake Godmen or The Fighter Dabholkar???

922nd BLOG POST -->>

       

Late Dr. Narendra Dabholkar

   Dr. Narendra Dabholkar is no more. I am sure 99% of you do not know who he was. For 18 years, he kept fighting to impose an Anti-superstition bill. This bill is too essential in our society as we have seen how many Godmen and fraud Babas have kept on cheating people. In our country where more than 60% of the population is either illiterate or poor. They don't have much idea about how they are being fooled. These Godmen are in the business of fooling people on the name of religion and destiny, ask them for some money or compromise and promise them to get their work done. In the need, people find no direction and they directly reach to such offices. I travel by local train and I find many posters and stickers in the coaches where different Babas' numbers are being given and the promises such as any kind of problem will be solved within 48 hours are claimed. This is how open and public these God-men are. In such a society where still such people cheat us in a city like Mumbai, we can easily imagine how the people in villages, outskirts and not-so-metropolitan regions are looted. They don't even have much knowledge about complaining against such Babas.

          Dr. Dabholkar was shot dead in Pune. A man who was fighting against these fraudulent is assassinated. Now, is it too difficult for us to take a hint as to what group of people would have killed him? It's surely some or the other Godmen who would have got affected by his incessant protest against them. And such is the setting that even after his death, the criminals are not being caught by Pune police. Maharashtra Police is known for its immediate actions and arrests but whenever there's such issues, they sit silently and watch the whole scenario the way we watch Cricket matches. Coming to our Government, till the time this man was fighting, they never tried to even have a look at what he was proposing but the moment he died, to silent his supporters, Government passes the ordinance on his bill and says that it will be looked upon and implemented as soon as possible. And they sounded quite positive about it. The son of the late Dabholkar says that it clearly indicates that in our country, to pass something genuine and needy, a sacrifice is essential. Without it, no one looks at what you are screaming or shouting.

           Let me tell you the provisions under the bill- Superstitious activities that have ill effects and are widely performed across Maharashtra will be made punishable. The bill has provision for punishment ranging between 6 months' and seven years' imprisonment and penalty of Rs. 5000 to Rs. 50000. The punishable activities are human sacrifice, performing black magic, rites performed in the name of supernatural power, offering ash, talisman, charms etc for the purpose of exorcism, performing miracles and Aghori rites, sacrifice of animals for appeasement of gods or spirits, dispensing magical remedies for curing rabies and snake bites and medical remedies for infertility. To sell or deal in "magical" stones and bracelets would also be an offence. 

           How can these leaders pass something of this kind when we have seen during elections and rallies that the same ministers take blessings from such Godmen? It is sad to see someone dying after fighting for 18 years and Government passing the ordinance a day after his death. Waah! Coming to India's most popular Godman- Asaram Bapu, 2 days back, a 16 years old girl studying in his institution complained about sickness. Asaram called her in his room. When she entered, the room was dark and she found Bapu unclothed. He sexually assaulted her and warned her not to share the event with her parents. On Tuesday, she lodged an FIR against him. Irony is that the death of Dr. Dabholkar and the FIR against Asaram Bapu are part of the newspaper of the same day. In 2009, Baba was accused of attempting murder on a former follower. In 2010, Gujarat Govt claimed that Baba has encroached 67,099 sq. mt. land. In 2012, his 7 staffs were named in killing of 2 ashram boys, again a land matter was initialized. Regarding the Delhi gang rape incident too, he said that the mistake was of girl as she didn't call the rapists "Bhaiiya" otherwise they would have stopped the activity. Now, its upon us to answer, whether the Bill for which Dr. Dabholkar had to sacrifice his life should be brought up and implemented or not? 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Be your BEST in EVERY SECOND!!! Better Than The Best :-)

921st BLOG POST -->>

       

  Every morning, I get up and I see myself in mirror. If I find that I am not looking as great as yesterday, I start working over it. I shave, I apply cream, I comb my hair 100 times, I settle my clothes again and again until and unless I don't feel that this is the best that I can be. And the moment I realize that "Yes, this is it", I walk up with confidence to do the same with all the other departments of my life. I remember the happiness I went through once I realized that I will have to wear no specs again in life after my lasik surgery. I dressed up like every day and when I felt that something is incomplete on my face still it's looking great, I almost jumped in happiness that this is how I'll always look. Specs used to hide my face which disappointed me, always. And therefore its sudden absence from life gave me a very warm feeling.

          Every day, when I go to college, I make sure that not even a single day should come when any of the classmates can say to me "Kuch hua hai kya?". No. This day has actually never come. I had not let it come. I have always made it sure that I'll have to be my best wherever I am. And this is why I don't like those who come in the morning with a rotten face and don't reply to your hello with the enthusiasm that you expect. They don't even talk to you properly and their face is such that insists you to ask if something has happened with them. This is the worst appearance that someone can give of his/her in the morning. We should always quest like mad to be our best. 

           I remember the times when I used to sleep in class like crazy. Let it be any lecture- interesting or boring, I used to have a good nap because all the night, I used to be busy in writing blogs and reading books. But later on I realized that this is not what my best is. My best is far above this. And then, in this vacation, I worked upon myself. Now I have started sleeping early-by 2 AM whereas previously, I used to sleep at 4-5 AM. I have started waking up at 5.45 AM whereas previously I used to wake up at 7.30 AM. I have started working out and exercising in the morning for an hour whereas previously I used to work out in the evening and not for more than half an hour. Now I feel myself as a totally changed personality- a better one. And now, if I consider that I am giving my best, I want to make myself more powerful for myself, that means I am craving for being Better than the Best- of my own version. Competing with others will make me satisfied with whatever I am today. Competing with thyself will make me go beyond the access of my own reach. And only when I'll find it harder to manage my bestial performance will I feel that I am on the right path and near to my destiny.

            When I am at home, I refrain from attending any phone call. Some of my friends even hate me for this. But I have different view over this. I feel that already the whole day goes with friend. Even if the friend is not with us in the same college/profession even then whenever we were together, our days used to begin with them and end up only when the sun used to set in the evening. So when I am at home in the evening, I make it sure that I give my best to my mother and father. They are the ones who love my presence more than anyone else. If one day, the friendship or relationship will break, people will forget me after getting acquainted with someone new. But in whatever case, my parents will keep loving me with the same intensity for the years to come. I have seen people dying and their relatives and best friends moving on but their parents stop living their life and this continues until they are really dead. Hence, when at home, I give my best in being the best son. Even when I fight with my mother sometimes, I go after some minutes, make her laugh, tell her that it's my mistake and co-ordinate the whole thing again. 

            I have seen that sometimes people come casually while sometimes they come with their best make-up, mood and are ready to perform as best as they can. And this is what I don't understand- why then they don't try to be the same every time, in every moment of their life? Why don't we value every second of our life the way we value the minutes on which our life's future depends on? Why is that only when someone goes on a date or for an interview or to visit some VIP is that they look their best, why not when they are just going to college or for a job? What I want from everyone of you reading this post is to be your best every day. Even when you are alone, wear and live as if you are the king. No, I am not saying to keep this as an ego but as a performer. Think of yourself as a performer while doing anything. I have seen this nature in girls that they try to look their best and do their best every now and then. It's we, the boys, who take half of our living casually. Let's stop doing that. And yes, I am not saying this only for dressing up and making-up yourself to your best but in your work, basically. When you give your best in your work daily, you automatically start valuing yourself and these things comes in course automatically. :-) 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Dobara! An undeserving sequel!!!

920th BLOG POST -->>

      

   2-3 years back, when Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai released, I didn't go to watch it in theater because it had Emraan Hashmi in it and no Khan or Roshan in the lead character. Then I used to think that only mega-budgeted or star-loaded movies are to be watched in theater, rest are to be seen when its World Television Premiere would be showcased. Later on, when I saw it on DVD, I blamed and cursed myself for not watching it in theater and enjoying such a kind of movie where people whistle and clap every now and then. The movie had terrific dialogues, wonderful scenes, nice plot, best actors, melodious songs etc which made it one of the epic movies of our time. Ajay Devgn did what he always does- mind blown us with his powerful expressions, eyes and acting while Emraan Hashmi gave the best performance of his life. Kangana Ranaut looked amazing in the movie and all the songs that were based upon her made us fall in love with her more deeply. 

            Now, after watching Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Dobaara (OUATIMD), I didn't feel a bit of what the first part gave me. I missed every part of first movie as hell. Akshay Kumar replaced Ajay Devgn and at the place of Emraan Hashmi, Ekta Kapoor chose Imran Khan to fill the spot. Any movie lover can tell it blindly that it's impossible for anyone to replace Ajay Devgn and Imran Khan to replace a terrific actor- Emraan Hashmi. This sequel falls at its mouth with the starcast itself. For the whole movie, not for a single moment, did I feel that Akshay Kumar is Don or his expressions scared me. He looked the way he looks in every movie- comic and funny. Yes, he did make me laugh. This is what I expect from Akshay Kumar. But then why to call this movie the one based on gangsters? Leave Akshay Kumar, not even Mahesh Manjrekar or other dons looked like the character that they were portraying. 

            On the name of a thriller, Balaji movies have shown us a love triangle where the heroine does not know whom she loves, Imran Khan himself comes to know in the pre-climax that the girl loves him and Akshay Kumar in spite of knowing that he loves Sonakshi hurts her. This is such a typical love-triangle. When you base one of your characters on Dawood and another on a shady Abu Salem, and the girl as an actress of Bollywood, this is what we don't expect. We expect something larger than life. I can easily say that at least Chennai Express showed what it was made for, even though its not what today's intellectual audience craves for. But how can we say that when the movie is breaking all the records? That means it clicked with the audience while this movie didn't and hence it's no where in the list of great collections. Ekta Kapoor herself knew that her movie is not clicking with the audience even before release which made her launch 2 trailers and add a new promotional song- Bismillah in the movie. But still.. when the movie does not have substance, any promotional act can never save it. 

         Ending the post, I would say just one thing- Dialogues in the movie are great but only ones that are given to Akshay. The ones that are given to Imran are so childish. They only made one effort- to match up the dialogues with the first movie and they have succeeded in it. Only if they could have concentrated on all the departments, this movie could have been a great sequel to the first one. And yes, Ye Tune Kya Kiya is an evergreen song. :-) Rather than watching Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Dobara, you can watch Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai dobara, tibara ..... saubara.. :-) 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

A Message to all the Sisters!!!

919th BLOG POST -->>

     

    It's 24 hours since Rakhi is being tied up in my right wrist (by my mother as I have no sister). It signifies that a sister, with all her love and respect for the brother, considering him the best, protective, caring and closest, asks to give her safety always, in no matter what. The beauty of this festival can not be talked about. For every brother and sister, Raksha bandhan is one festival that they always wait for. It is a day when sister knows that she will be gifted something from her brother that she has been waiting for a long time. A poor brother at least gifts his sister her favorite chocolate and a rich brother ends up giving things like mobile, scooty etc. This is the day that all the boys dedicate it to their sister. There's no shyness in moving here and there with Rakhi in our wrists. Because it signifies that we have someone who loves us with all her heart and demands safety from us. Even sisters want to meet their friends and tell what their brothers gifted them.

           I, being a single child, never got the fun that boys have with their sisters. But I always had in mind that if I would have had an elder sister how she would have been and if she would have been younger, how complaining to parents she would have been. I, when, sometimes see some girls achieving high in life or doing something incredible, I wish I could have had a sister who could have shown the world how ladies can break all the barriers that men fail in. I don't imagine my wife doing it, I don't imagine my mother doing it, I just imagine either my imaginary sister achieving heights or my daughter, once I get married and go through that pleasure which we all want to enjoy in full enthusiasm. :-) Sisters are the most beautiful soul in the world. She's the only girl whom we respect and never think ill about. She is the only one whom we don't judge when we make a generalized statement towards girls. And this is what should act as an eye-opener to us.

           Whenever we judge any of the girls or we think of ruining the life of a girl, either known or unknown, we should think if some other boy would be planning the same with my sister. How sad and helpless situation it would be. I have seen group of boys crushing a boy almost to death or unconsciousness just because he tried to ruin life of their sister. This is what happens when sisters are being hurt. Hence, whenever we go over the top with any girl for revenge or whatever, we should consider that the girl is someone's sister. Let me make one more thing clear. Even if you have a girlfriend, even if she does not have a brother, think and only then break the limits with her. Because imagine the state of mind of her brother when he'll come to know that his sister has slept with someone who may not be her husband in future. This is something as painful as the last breathe. And this is what results in more than half of the crime of the world. 

           I have always made it clear to myself that I won't be getting in that kind of a physicality with any girl before marriage. Some things are made to be done only after marriage. You never know what tomorrow can bring for you. You never know what your mind would be thinking tomorrow after getting little more mature than what it currently is. You never know whether all the 4 parents would be thinking the same about your relation the way they are thinking now. Hence, when everything is unsure before marriage, why to go through that phase which should be the last in the relationship and the one that should happen only after you are tied up in this relationship called "Married"? This is the most that we can do for our sisters and all the sisters of the world. Yesterday itself I saw a boy man-handling his girlfriend at the station just because she was not answering to him. This is just not allowed. 

          And to all the sisters of the world, I would say just one thing,"Never let yourself be harassed or played with. Make sure that you have your own voice and freedom of taking decisions. The moment you find that you are stuck in some trap, do discuss with your parents. I know they will scold you but they are the ones who'll drag you out of any shit that you would have fallen in. Always keep your parents in mind whenever you get into a relationship or fall in love. You never know whether the person you are with deserves you or not. Initially, everyone seems to be sweet and quiet. It is only after some time that you realize he has all the personal things of yours that can make you be his slave for all your life. In such times, it's only your parents who can help you get back to your normal life. Make sure that you don't hurt yourself. You are very sweet and kind for us, and hence, we can't see you in trouble. Without girls, we won't be having this world. And without sisters, we could not have realized how sweetest and caring a girl can be. There's a dialogue in Chennai Express when SRK says in background,"Isliye hi kisi ne kaha hai ki aurat ko koi nahi samajh sakta". Because you all are much better than the minds of our, men's" :-)

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Our Country is wonderful only when we are!!!

918th BLOG POST -->>

     

    3 days back, we celebrated Independence Day. I still remember the times at school when we used to dress in white kurta-pyjama and go for flag hoisting. Since then, even when no one gave any motivational or inspiring talk on nation, there used to be goosebumps as soon as the flag would start waiving in the air after hoisting. Automatically and voluntarily, our right hands used to go up towards our forehead and we used to salute our flag with all the pride of this world. This is how the land where we take birth, live and grow in, becomes as close and personal to us as our mothers in whose body we live for 9 months, learn everything from her and grow with her. This is the sole reason why we call our country- Motherland. And as we never speak anything against our mother, her character, her thoughts, her lifestyles etc, we also follow the same rule for our country. Though with each day, I can see the integrity and craziness for the country getting diminished from the hearts of our people but I am quite hopeful that there will come a generation when we will see them doing well for the nation. 

             Ask anyone if they have thought of something for nation and there would be a big NO in reply. No. I am not saying that every person should go and stand at LoC for the sake of nation but even a bit of concern for the nation by each one of us can do wonders. Even if we individually grow ourselves keeping in mind that we will represent India one day or will be one of the bests in the field that we are working in, it indirectly develops India. When we see that people aren't getting jobs because thye are not specialized in any field, we see that the nation is nourishing many youths who are jobless and are dying for every meal. This is how nation gets defamed or down-trodden if we don't develop ourselves in life. Suppose if I turn out to be one of the top bloggers of India and some day, there would be an International event where the Top bloggers of every country would be called, and if I get a call that means I would be representing my country at that level. So, even when I was engaged with my dream of blogging, indirectly I was doing my bit for the country. I hope you got it now. :-)

             I saw many of us saying if we are really independent. Yes, we are. Just because our government is bullshit and our ministers are looting us, our country does not become a slave of it. It still remains to be our country. We just shout sitting at home rather than doing something to free our country from the clutches of these ministers. We have ourselves allowed them to loot our country and destroy its integrity and strength. I remember that when I was child, all the elders always said that India is know to be the country of cultures, traditions and purity. With time, now even a kid says that our nation will never improve. By the time we will keep on saying this, our nation will really never aggravate from the position it is in. We will have to be together and do something against our government. Now who'll come up as a leader and how, that is to be seen. It can be me, you or your neighbour. But it would be surely someone among us. A common man.

            Coming to the poverty and inflation, I would say that's what every country goes through. Today we are down but some good strategies can bring us back into power. America itself has said many a times that if some country deserves to be a Super power it is none other than India. This is the potential we have. And if we aren't utilizing it for us and our country's welfare, we are misusing ourselves. When Anna Hazare stood up and we got a ray of hope, all of us participated in it some or the other way, but with time, the movement turned ineffective and we lost our interest. This is where we failed. Anna Hazare won. He won the moment we felt in our hearts that the revolution is coming. But we failed the moment we judged him and left the movement in between. We should have continued with it. It has been 63 years now, since our Independence. If negativity is to be judged, yes our country has many. But if the progress is to be seen, it is more than the negativism some cynics and critics see. I am happy with my nation. Yes sometimes it does make me upset. But then I think what's my participation in the growth of my nation. And the answer makes me wake up again and at least do something than criticizing. And I hope that some cool people like us will surely churn the nation for its good. :-)

  HAPPY BELATED INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Chennai Express!! Watch only if you liked Salman Khan's movies!!

917th BLOG POST -->>

       

  The trailer of Chennai Express didn't impress me much and hence I made it sure that I won't be watching this movie at any cost in the same way as I ignored Ready, Bodyguard, Ra.One and many other naam-bade-darshan-chote kind of films. But I was surprised when I found my father saying that he wanted to watch Chennai Express. This is the first time in last 24 years when he has said it for some movie. At the moment itself, I got to understand the kind of marketing and promotion Shahrukh Khan has done that a person like my father also knows that a movie of his has released and is running in theaters. Movie has already created a record by shattering all the previous ones by collecting 150 crore in just 1 week. It might break the all time record of 203 crores that is owned by 3 Idiots still. Let's see if King Khan manages to do it. It would be great to see 3 Khans at the Top 3 in the chart. :-)

          Chennai Express is an entertainment-pot-boiler for which you will have to keep your brain and logic at home, the same thing that you are required to do while watching the movies of SRK, Salman Khan and Shahid Kapoor. Movie begins with SRK getting stuck in a train named "Chennai Express" while going to Goa with his friends. He has to submerge the ashes of his grandfather's body in Rameshwaram river located in South India. In the train, he meets Deepika who is being kidnapped by her father's men because she runs away as she does not want to get married to the man whom his father has chosen for her. And from here, SRK gets stuck with these 4 kidnappers and Deepika and what happens throughout the movie is what Chennai Express is all about. As you have seen, the movie has no epic story or something for which you should be dying to see it. But if you are a great fan of entertainment or you love any of the two, Shahrukh Khan or Deepika Padukone, go for it. 

           Through out the movie, you will find Shahrukh Khan playing himself- a guy with good sense of humour, witty and keeps you engaged in himself. It's all fine with this. Deepika Padukone is the sweet heart of the movie. She is the reason why I liked Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani a bit more and she is again the reason why I was able to suffer Chennai Express with no head ache. If it would have been Katrina in spite of her, I would have not even written this review, seriously. There's a scene when SRK picks her up in his arms and climbs 300 stairs in accordance to a tradition in South. The expression that Deepika Padukone gives during that whole scene and the temple scene that follows after this stair scene tells how great an actress she is turning out to be with time. That's the only scene for which I would remember this movie. Shahrukh Khan is good in parts but in some scenes, he does irritates. 

             All the rest South Indian actors and villains have done tremendously good job. Even when we aren't familiar with any of those faces, we do not get bored while watching them. But take into notice that the movie isn't in the way Rohit Shetty makes movie. I still like his Singham more than any other movie. Chennai Express is no where close to it. Music of the movie isn't connective. Actions are nice and not over done. In all, I would say that only when you have no other work in life for that 3 hours of the time when you would be going for this movie, go otherwise wait for other good movies to release, watch them. :-) And I can assure you that this movie is at least better than Salman Khan's last 4 releases. Now if you liked any one of them, you can definitely go for this one. Bwahahahaha! 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Interview with Mr. Manish Gupta, author of English Bites!!!

916th BLOG POST -->>

A personal interview with Mr. Manish Gupta, debut author of English Bites. It has been a great pleasure to be associated with him through his book. I hope you will like reading his views as much as I loved listening them. :-)

Hello Manish sir, what is your feeling after being an author now? What’s your perspective about life now after achieving a rare milestone in your life?

Abhilash, becoming an author has been an extremely surreal and uplifting experience for me. Having started reading books outside the curricula only after I joined engineering, I started with a feeling of awe and admiration for the writers of non-academic books, which only grew stronger with time. Now I feel that I am a part of their tribe though still at the initial steps of a long journey towards excellence in writing. My perspective on life hasn’t had any radical shift after the publication of my book but the added dimension (after academia, profession, family & friends) this publication brings to my narrative makes me feel more creatively fulfilled and complete. I am at peace with myself having fulfilled a long cherished dream of sharing my ideas, research, and experiences on making English learning FUN with all. 

When you saw your first novel- English Bites for sale on E-commerce websites and placed at a bookstore for the first time, what kind of thoughts dominated your mind?

I held the book for the first time when my publisher Chiki Sarkar sent it to me a few days before the book hit the bookstores and E-commerce websites. That experience and feeling is extremely hard to describe. I was thrilled to the core, felt light and liberated, and lit up with an inner glow which comes when a really old and cherished dream becomes reality. Thereafter, when I saw the book in the newly released section of major bookstores and on E-commerce sites, my first thought was to thank the Penguin brand that helped a freshly minted author get so much attention and visibility. The other thoughts that dominated my mind were around strategies to make the book reach people who will benefit most from it, the anticipation of the reactions and feedback from the readers, and an opportunity to spread a culture of making teaching less bookish and pedantic and making LEARNING more FUN.

Before we head towards discussing your book, we would like to know in spite of being an author, what do you exactly do? And do you wish to leave your job some day and come into full-time writing some day?

I, till recently, used to work as a Managing Director and Head of Sales for a major multinational bank. I have now decided to take a plunge in the field of education, training, consulting, and executive coaching and will shortly start working with an organization that works for the underprivileged children at the school level. I do not think that writing will become my full-time profession as I am keen to work on a broader canvass of education instead of specializing in English and related areas for the somewhat matured reader.

What made you write such an unusual book which is a fiction way of letting someone learn English language? How did you get this courage of doing something so risky?

Abhilash, to answer this question, we need to get a little bit into my background. I grew up in Rohtak, a small and sleepy town in Haryana in the 1970s and 80s. The only English I spoke was in school and that too to respond to questions of my teachers in the class. I looked down at English as an alien tongue merely suited to the narrow field of academia and with no particular use once someone got into the real economy. 

As a result, I was horrible in all aspects of communication. My active vocabulary was extremely limited, pronunciations & spellings were terrible (as I refused to accept English as a non-phonetic language that it largely is), sentence construction was poor, and my fluency was severely compromised. I was shocked by its increasing relevance and necessity in the real economy once I landed-up in at Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh. 

Here, I came face-to-face with far more fluent and erudite specimens from convent schools from metros and towns much bigger than my hometown Rohtak. I also noticed how I used to get tongue-tied while attempting to make a small conversation in English with or even in front of the convent educated colleagues. 

Having lived all my school life in disdain for this alien tongue, the grossly neglected subject of English made me realize its importance, its vastness, its complexity, and my far less than self proclaimed ‘photographic memory’ all at once. I needed something quick and in large doses to beat the convent educated types in their own game and seal the best job offered in the campus in my name and after gaining some industry experience, successfully compete with them once again for admission into a top-tier MBA program. 

Hence, I set aside the word lists, my failed attempts at mugging, and started creating interesting stories and anecdotes to make indelible imprints of this foreign language in my mind. This was the genesis of the book. It was a matter, not of courage, but survivability. It was the only thing that could have rescued me from definite depression and elevated me to think and talk like an erudite gentleman.     

How much long did it take to write this book from the moment you started developing the story to start writing it till completing it finally with editing and all?

Abhilash, you may find it hard to believe but this manuscript has been in the making for over 20 years. It started as an idea in my second year of engineering way back in 1989-1990 when two of my closet friends and I resolved to publish a book each before we turned 21. I thought I had written a masterpiece by the time our final placements ended (spoiling my grades in the process) and was still a few months shy of turning 21. My other friends, who were writing on ‘quizzing’ and ‘poetry’, had pulled out of this pledge while they were still in their teens. My manuscript then hibernated for 20 years as I got busy with my first job at Tata Motors, an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur, my banking career at Citibank, and family life.  The manuscript was preserved on a 3.5 inch diskette in Microsoft 2000 that refused to open on my old PC, when I thought of reviving my work of art in the year 2008. Fortunately, the handwritten version (‘manuscript’ in the real sense of the word) had survived well on loose sheets of paper, which I promptly transferred on my PC and started editing and expanding it at the same time. By the time I finished in 4 years (working on weekends), I had landed up re-writing the entire book.    

Indian Publishing is too hard to deal with, was it easy for you to get a Publisher or did u wait for a long time to get your work published?

In my view, it is a myth that Indian Publishing industry is hard to deal with. Looking from publishers’ perspective, I will not be surprised if they have a similar view about the authors esp. the freshly minted types.  Let us understand the fundamental reasons behind this feeling. There has been an explosion of books in the Indian market in the past 3-4 years as new breed of writers have emerged from sectors like banking and finance, software, media and entertainment, etc. and invaded the bastion of litterateurs, political thinkers, economists, civil servants, and Oxbridge scholars. Naturally, the number of submissions has also multiplied. I am not quite sure that the new age writers have given enough time to the publishing industry to get adequately capacitised to handle the volumes of work pouring into their offices. 

Knowing this, I did not directly approach the publishers but went through a literary agent, who critically assessed the quality and marketability of the manuscript before submitting it to the select set of publishers that are interested in publishing this genre of books. It took less than 4 months after submission of the manuscript to the literary agent for me to sign a publishing contract with Penguin Books India. 

    

What are the Promotional strategies that you and your publisher have applied to promote/market your book?

Thanks to the Penguin brand, the book received very good visibility in all reputed bookstores in India. It was available for Pre-Orders at all major E-commerce portals before it was launched. It received extremely favourable press reviews in some of the leading newspapers in India and South Asia. The blogger community also gave it a big thumps-up. We did some promotional activity through Posters displayed at major educational institutions, interviews, online chats and through social media. Given my hectic schedule in office, I wasn’t able to spare as much time as expected to travel to other cities for book readings etc. 

What exactly is your target from your Books- 1. Getting most copies sold out, 2. Getting the love of readers or 3. You just wrote it because you wanted to write a book once in your life, hence you have no targets?

I guess when you write a book, you give it your all. At that stage you do not think of number of copies. You surely want to receive readers’ appreciation and some critical feedback to identify the gaps in your writing and expand and enrich yourself. My stock of ideas is now empty but it doesn’t mean that I will not write another book. Book sales and readers’ feedback and appreciation are extremely strong motivators in rapidly refilling one’s reservoir and giving new ideas and different perspectives to make more meaningful and interesting books. 

In the end, tell us in 5-7 lines, what speech will you give if you win a Major Award for the Best Indian Author for your books?

I would like to thank my parents for raising me in Rohtak as but for this and other similar places, I would not have faced this challenge of gross linguistic deficiency, thank God for showing me the path to the beautiful city of Chandigarh and its rich crop of convent educated boys and girls, when I was veering towards joining IIT Roorkee (then known as University of Roorkee); my wife Deepali and kids Tamanna & Prakriti for stealing time that was rightfully theirs to write this book; my friends, particularly Jnanesh Kodical and Rajiv Rai for working for months with me to make this manuscript publication ready; my literary agent Kanishka Gupta for helping me make it more publishable and getting me a contract with my dream publication house Penguin; Satish Acharya for drawing wonderful illustrations and cartoons in the book; my commissioning editor at Penguin, Shahnaz Siganporia, for believing in the manuscript and pushing me to give it the shape of a story; and my copy editors Mudita Mubayi-Chauhan and Paromita Mohanchandra for creating magic with their word play and giving my pedestrian style of writing a contemporary touch.

Finally, to my dear readers, keep sharing your love and feedback with me. Only you have the power to spread the word about English Bites! so that language does not become a handicap for anyone to realize their ambitions and dreams! 

Experiencing Creativity adds Meaning in Life!!!

915th BLOG POST -->>

   

       What is it that makes us cling to radio sets whenever we find them playing somewhere? What is it that makes us spend all our time in television sets the whole evening after returning from the work? What is it that makes us look at a good photography on Facebook which is being shared by one of our friends having a Point and Shoot camera? What is it that makes us go for movie on the First Day First show? What makes us watch The Newshour for 1.5 hours every night on Times Now? Why does Bear Gryll's Man vs Wild fascinates us? What makes us wake all night and read Chetan Bhagat's latest book and sleep down with smile to tell others the next day how we read a story that made us laugh, smile, cry and enjoy? It is the creativity that is present to us in different forms. Creativity moves on everyone. Creativity is the need of this time. We can't afford living our life without touching creativity of someone else.

             I find many 40+ uncles who proudly say that they don't like watching television, going to theater, enjoying Cricket match, listening music, traveling etc. And I tell you, if you have such uncles around you, try to talk with them for half an hour and you'll find 100 joules of negative energy filled in them. Talk to them about anyone and they'll give you 100 reasons why you should hate the person. Ask them their views on our country and they'll tell you why our country is worst and is never going to improve. Talk to him about technology and he'll say that he is happy with his Nokia 1100 and does not want to think anything over it. Discuss town's best restaurant with him and he'll say that he likes home's khichdi than any biryani available out of his door. This is what happens when a person keeps himself detached and away from creative people and art. One will have to accept that life is not only about your ego or will to stay bored. Saving money is different thing but one should understand that peace in life is more important than money, relations and power. 

              When you watch Madhuri Dixit dancing, there's an excitement and you want to touch her expressions and not her. It makes you smile for some time even when you are sitting alone in your bedroom. When we go to a restaurant and get to eat a delicious dish, we want to meet the manager and tell how wonderful his chefs are that they made our evening. When we see a wonderful movie, we want to tell the whole world how good the actors in the movie are. When we hear Sonu Nigamm singing, we forget that there are some other voices too in the universe. We just want to get sunk in his ocean of melody. When a good book is finished, we want to share it with everyone whom we want to learn the same messages that we got from the book. When we see a good photography of nature, we want to travel all world and see every beautiful location. This is how creativity influences our life. The only reason that I am still writing is because some of you love experiencing and rejoicing creativity. Otherwise there's nothing grand that I write or speak of. :-)

            We should try to find out time in life to explore the creativity and performance of others. It is sure that we should give lots of time to our own life to develop something to give to the human being and close people around us but we should not forget that our own work does not bring the needed peace in life. Only when we sit as an audience and get to see how a different human body created by the same God is proving that God exists, we get a spiritual feeling and we wish that there would have been no work in life so that we could have spent all our life in experiencing such pleasing arts. Why artists are respected and considered intellectual is because they are giving the human kind what could have been impossible if they would have sat idle and done nothing in life. "Old is Gold" the phrase has come into existence only because of the old arts that we enjoy even today. Be busy in life, be a workaholic but make it sure that you enjoy creativity of others. If you don't, remember, life will stink and start smelling. I am sure you do not want to stay in such conditions. :-) 

 Thanks.

 

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!