India has Talent

Recently I happened to watch two episodes of a popular Reality TV show "India's Got Talent". All the partcipants were giving their best. Being the semi-final stage, competion was very tough, and inovativeness, creativity and spirit of the participants were obvious. But two performances stood out and made a great impact on my mind. Actually it moved me to tears.The first , was by a group called 'The Prince Dance group". They were from a nondescript town called Berhampur in Orissa. They put up a show of excellent choreography, impeccable movements and fantastic co-ordination. Its not the dance that had an influence on me. It was the spirit displayed by this group of daily wagers, which really moved me. They were a bunch of casual labourers, who were not assured of even two square meals a day. No i do not want to sympathaise with their poverty. Because that is not the intention. By doing so, I would belittle them. They were there, because they wanted to prove a point. Maybe they might have sacrificed a lot to just be there on that stage.Of them two were Polio-stricken and could not walk. Here was a group, who had nothing with them, but their talent and never-say die spirit. Infact none had any kind of formal training and that includes their team leader.The five minutes they performed mesmerized me. I really hope and pray, each one of them in this team does well on the stage called LIFE.The other performance was by the group of kids from Shaimak Davar Accademy. They were not in the competition, but gave a guest performance on the occassion of Independence Day. I must thank Shaimak Davar for bringing out the best possible performance from this group of children. Mind you, it was one of the best you can see anywhere. Shaimak Davar proved to the world, that he is one of the best in business. That he had a kind and benign heart......You would be wondering, what was the speciality of that performance??? It was special for one reason......the group of children were all affected by DOWN's SYNDROME. Normally, kids suffering from this genetic disorder find it difficult to lead a normal life. They cannot co-ordinate simple activities of life. Society shuns such kids, calling them handicapped, crazy and stuff like that. But they are special and can be as talented as any other kid. This was proved by Shaimak. You need to just care for them and believe in them. THANK YOU SHAIMAK DAVAR........thanks for trying to open the eyes of this society. GOD BLESS YOU.

Independence Day

Today is Independence Day. 15th August is a red letter day in our country’s history. I stand up and salute all the great souls who sacrificed everything to gain us the independence.Apart from the national importance, this day is of great significance to me, in my life. It is an anniversary of sorts today. It’s been a year today, since I last smoked a cigarette. 14 August 2008 11:57 is the precise time I stubbed my last fag. I know it’s not a great thing, but for me it is an achievement. I kicked a habit, cultivated over 17 years. When I threw away my last cigarette butt, I never ever thought, that I would be able to stay away for this long. Now I am confident, I can stay away forever.Today I need to thank my wife and my elder son for helping me take this decision and more importantly to help me and encourage me to stay away from fag. Thank you Aadi and Sudha. It would not have been possible without you guys.I do not regret kicking the habit, and would encourage others like me, to quit smoking…..After all SMOKING KILLS.

How pathetic!!!!!!

Today the nation is groped by the fear of Swine Flu, and it is no doubt an pandemic. Its spreading left, right and centre. People are confused and panicky. Schools have been shut, cinema halls been shut, malls have been asked to down shutters. The government is at its wit’s end to control the situation. In my opinion, the government is helping the matter worse by its inconsistent statements and actions. The minister thinks, that few thousand cases and a few deaths is nothing compared to the epidemic spread and death in other nations. Try telling this to the families of the patients who lost the battle against this disease. Can’t we be more sensitive? A life is a life…
In this melee we have some traders and shop keepers who are selling face masks at a premium. How greedy can we get? How cynical? When I saw those sting operations on the TV, I was appalled and ashamed. My mom who is a working lady in Mumbai, had the same story to tell. She was telling me, that chemists were asking as much as Rs. 450/- per mask. She also told me that some Homeopaths and Ayurved doctors have also entered the fray, with their formulations. I wonder, if such a thing happened in countries like UK, USA and Mexico, who have also suffered due to this flu-spread. Thank God, the Government did not license the sale of TAMIFLU to civil agencies. If it had been so, we would have all chemists and druggists becoming multi-millionaires overnight.
We boast of thousand years culture and take pride in our values and beliefs. We don’t give second thought, when taking a dig at western world for their so called “immoral” culture. And we forget all this at the first opportunity of making some fast buck. And how? At the expense of poor patients. Taking advantage of their plight. How pathetic!!!!!!
When will our country grow as a nation?

The Day I had an " HEART ATTACK "

This happened when I was in DR Congo, Central Africa. I was part of the UN peace-keeping mission there. I don’t remember the exact date, but it was sometime in May 2005. I had recently celebrated my birthday. It was one morning, when I skipped breakfast has I was getting late to work. I was in a mad morning rush and just had a glass of apple juice (packaged variety).
All was fine and I was going through my normal work, when at around 10 am I felt this heaviness in chest, right above my heart. It was not a pain, but it felt as if something heavy was placed on my heart. I tried to suppress the uneasiness, but could not understand, as to what was happening. I asked my boss for relief from my duty and went to my room. I tried to sleep and rest, but the heaviness never seemed to leave. I could not eat my lunch properly, in fact I was not able to eat a bit. It is then, when I realized that something serious was happening to me. Since it was the heart, I believed it must be something really bad. I wanted to talk to someone, but to whom I did not know. My roommate was fast asleep, enjoying his afternoon siesta. I was lying down on the bed, trying to tell myself, that I am fine. My HEART wanted to believe that all was fine, but the uneasiness did not permit such a thought. All kind of thoughts passed through my mind. I was certain, my DEATH was eminent. There I was in an alien land, far away from my home, my family and my new born child. Suddenly I felt like talking to all of them. I checked the balance in my phone. I had 10 dollars worth talk-time. I called up my mom, dad, my friend, my sister and finally my wife. I even talked to my 1 year old son, who could hardly speak. But I wanted to listen to his blabbering. All were surprised at me calling them, at that time of the day. I did not give any reason, just said that I felt like talking to them. The calls stopped, only when the balance exhausted. By now I was pretty sure that it was an “HEART ATTACK” and that these were my last few hours on earth.
At around 4pm, my roommate got up. I told him about my problem. He suggested I go to the medical room. I did, but that did not help, as I was not able to explain my predicament. The nurse suggested I take a stroll in open air. But I was not convinced. This went on till 7pm. I was waiting for the moment, when I would collapse and that’s it. Somehow it was not happening. Then my boss barged into my room. He enquired about my condition, I told him the sequence of events . He listened and at the end told me in his typical Tamil baritone, “ GO SPEND TIME IN THE TOILET”. I was like,” WHAT?????’’. He said, “ I am serious, go and sit, even if u don’t feel like”. Saying this, he went away. I gave it a thought, and decided to give it a try. What happened inside? need not be told here. But I came out bit relieved. Miraculously, I was feeling much better. I was thinking about it, when my Boss came in again with a packet of ENO antacid. He asked me about my condition, I told him, that I felt better. He gave this big laugh and said “it was just GAS man, and here have this Eno”. I dissolved the packet of antacid and drank it, and “burppppp burpp burp”, out went my HEART ATTACK.