Penning Thoughts...

Anna, Try Understanding the Meaning of Democracy

2011-12-21T07:57:00.001+05:30

I have been a strong believer in the righteousness of Anna Hazare's crusade against corruption. But, with time its loosing its charm on me with the rock solid stance taken by Anna and the quantum of dirt flushing out of Team Anna. I do not say that the dirt on Team Anna has really pushed me away from it. I can appreciate that people act on the basis of incentives and sometimes these lead to corruption, with no exception to key members in Team Anna.
But, what really drives me away from the crusade started by Anna to fight corruption is his adamant attitude which has time and again opposed any fruitful dialogue with the Government. I do agree that his attitude has been able to push the Government to include clauses which were opposed initially. Again a BUT, there is a limit. How can only Team Anna be right every time? Aren't they not humans and susceptible to mistakes? Why should Anna's version of Lokpal be passed as-is by the Parliament? Does he consider himself as the new found dictator of India to pass bills which he feel or his team feels is right?
Finally, if the Lokpal is made supreme to all Government and Semi-Government institutions and the people find that Lokpal itself is corrupt where will the people go??? Find another Anna to fight for Higher Lokpal which will have control over the old Lokpal???
Dear Anna, please try to understand we live in a democracy. Yes, it has its flaws, but its something which we have gained with lots of struggle and bloodshed. Every citizen of India is with you in the fight against corruption, but we tend to fall back when you oppose every step by the Government to bring in the Lokpal in whatever form it be. We have got bills amended across the years, why not consider improvements in the Lokpal bill after the current version is passed by the Parliament. At the end, please don't forget what you are fighting for...

An EasyCab Experience

2011-12-14T22:41:00.003+05:30

07-Dec-2011

20:30 >> Booked an Easy Cabs online from Sultanpalya to Cantonement Railway Station on 8th Dec at 4:30pm
20:41 >> Received SMS from Easy Cabs | Dear Customer, Your booking id for dt 08 Dec 04:30 is A120813495; Thank you for choosing Easycabs.

08-Dec-2011

04:03 >> Received SMS from Easy Cabs | Dear Customer, you cab details for Booking ID: A120813495 are - Car No: 2722, Chauffeur No: 9972493126. Thanks you for choosing EasyCabs.

Waited till 4:00 pm, no calls from EasyCabs yet!!!

16:00 >> Call Chauffeur on the given number. He responds that his shift has ended and the next shift chauffeur will do the pick up. And, he gave me the contact number of the other chauffeur.
16:05 >> After waiting for 5 mins thinking the new chauffeur will give me a call, I called on his number. "Subscriber is out of range."
16:10 >> Called EasyCabs. After all the pleasantries...

EasyCabs: Your booking has been cancelled
Me: Why?
EasyCabs: The vehicle broke down
Me: Why wasn't I informed?
EasyCabs: You are being informed now
Me: So, what am I supposed to do now
EasyCabs: We are sorry, we can't do anything
Me: Thanks for your wonderful service, I will do my best to avoid requesting your service in future.

Finally, reach railway station on an auto...

Keynotes - Freakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner

2011-10-28T20:06:00.001+05:30

Just about anyone cheats if the stakes are right
Incentives tune peoples behavior
Discrimination exists even today, as long as the discriminator feels confident that no one realize it
Conventional wisdom is not necessarily the truth, it's just simple, convenient, comfortable and comforting

Why I like to sleep at office?

2011-10-18T19:38:00.000+05:30

Prelude
I haven't tried it, nor do I plan to...

The title of this blog has been inspired by one of the spot topics in the Toast Masters sessions conducted in my company today. It was a wonderful experience. Every time a spot topic was announced and volunteers were called for I wanted to be one, but at that precise moment my body weight increased exponentially and I couldn't get up from my seat. Hence, I thought I will blog on this particular topic which I found quite amusing.

I Like to Sleep at Office...
In order to have a proper sleep, I need to be sure that I'm at a secure and comfortable place. My office has enough security to ensure that I'm not disturbed my any untoward experience. Unless my boss comes up with work or need an update on my assignments no one can turn up and surprise me. The building security ensures that no one turns up at my desk without prior announcement.
Further, my office provides me a comfortable chair to sit in a centrally air-conditioned building. Having met both my requirements for a good sleep, my office suits well for sleeping and hence, I like to sleep at office.

Bench a unique experience in an IT Company

2011-09-28T21:57:00.000+05:30

Bench is something unheard of in any manufacturing or service industry other than the fastest growing IT Industry in India. The companies in this industry consider bench as a asset, an inventory, a buffer to support any unexpected resource demand.

I'm sure that non of my readers need a definition of the bench I'm referring to. For those who are wondering, its not the physical object on which many of us used to sit during our school days. But, its a resource pool of highly paid professionals called resources. [Resources, sounds like some kind of an inhuman object which can be utilized to meet certain requirement or perform certain task. Yes, its inhuman but that's what many companies in the IT Industry use to refer to its most valuable asset, its employees.]

Its a wonderful place to be initially with absolutely no work and full pay. But, soon you get bored and look for some project to work on or move out of the company expecting to get into some project there. And, those who aren't able to move stick on and get slowly institutionalized. They are happy to be on bench and happy with the easily earned money till the recession hits. I'm not going into a discussion on recession and its impact on IT Industry. Let me list down a few ways of enjoying this unique experience:

1. If you haven't read newspaper online, start doing it
2. Subscribe to interesting RSS feeds
3. Start following the stock market
4. Identify new areas of interest
5. Research on topic as weird as possible
6. Innovative thinking and put your thoughts in the form of whitepapers

An Overemphasis on Pricing – A Procurement Hazard!!!

2011-05-25T21:25:00.000+05:30

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/24717

Adaptive Supply Chain

2011-05-25T21:22:00.000+05:30

Adaptive Supply Chain - Improving Supply Chain Adaptability

Alternate link

Procurement Professional’s Brilliance in Working Capital Management

2011-05-03T22:00:00.000+05:30

http://weblogs.sdn.sap.com/pub/wlg/24287

Ban Endosulfan

2011-04-27T08:12:00.000+05:30

The politicians needs to focus on the well-being of its citizens rather than making personal profits. Even after having a clear understanding of the ill effects of Endosulfan; a call for further study is nothing but an attempt to postpone action and find loopholes to avoid a ban.

Fasting a Non Violent Protest or Blackmail

2011-04-15T19:01:00.001+05:30

It was shocking to know that a prominent personality like Sharmila Tagore will term Anna Hazare’s fast as blackmail. Hartals are considered lawful protest even if they disturb public life, but Sharmila Tagore likes to call fasting as unlawful in a functioning democracy. Fasting is a non violent form of protest which is categorized under satyagraha practiced by our great Mahatma. I hope that she doesn’t come out with a statement that Gandhiji used to blackmail the British colonial power prior to independence.

Traffic Signal @ Bridage Road, Bangalore

2010-09-03T11:10:00.002+05:30

Took this snap y'day at Brigade Road Signal.

Neither police nor public have any regard for the zebra crossing...

Why can't we obey simple traffic rules and make driving a better experience for all.

T&T 01-Jun-10

2010-06-01T11:48:00.002+05:30

Tuttumol: 10 A4-size paper വേണമല്ലോ.
Shopkeeper: Paper stock തീര്‍ന്നല്ലോ, ഒറ്റ ഒരെണ്ണമേ ബാക്കി ഉള്ളൂ.
Tuttumol: എന്നാല്‍ അതിങ്ങു താ , ബാക്കി 9 ഞാന്‍ photocopy എടുത്തോളാം.
Tintumon: നിന്നോട് ഞാന്‍ പറഞ്ഞതല്ലേ ഒരെണ്ണം scan ചെയ്തു വെക്കാന്‍, ആവശ്യം അനുസരിച്ച് print എടുത്താല്‍ പോരേ.

Special Thanks: Soo & Rat for proof reading :-)

Taxing Time

2010-05-31T20:15:00.000+05:30

I did it… Did you???

I received my Form 16 today and I filed my IT returns too…

It was as simple as previous years. Except that I didn’t understand what was so “saral” about the SARAL-II ITR-1 form this year compared to the ITR-1 form last year. One improvement which I observed is the Calculate Tax which will automatically fill in cell# 8 (tax payable) & 9 (cess) which were to be filled in manually last year.

Guys n Gals finish off your returns ASAP to avoid the last minute rush. Of course you don’t have to stand in any queues this time, but it will help you to avoid missing the deadline.

Online filing of ITR-1, ITR-2 and ITR-3 has commenced already. If you don’t know what they are, just log into http://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. For the novice, ITR-1 is the simplest return form and is for salaried persons with no other source of income. The postfix increments up to “4” depending on the different sources of your income. Yes, there is an ITR-4 for which the filing hasn’t yet been enabled.

If you are an ordinary guy/gal like me with only your salary to depend on for your monthly expenses, it’s ITR-1 that you need to fill. Don’t depend on any tax consultants this time as it’s too simple to avail the service of a specialist – DIY.

You can finish your IT Return filing for this year in 15 minutes if you keep the following items ready:

Form 16
Designation of the Assessing Officer (Can be obtained from http://www.incometaxbangalore.org/jurisdiction/juri_indiv_sal_blr.htm)
Your bank account number along with the MICR Code of the Bank Branch where you have your account
Printer
1 A4 size paper
Cover to post ITR-V
Rs. 5 postage stamp
A ball point pen

Now, go to http://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in and sign-in/register yourself with your PAN number. Download ITR-1 from the downloads-section for AY 2010-11 repeat 2010-11.

You can fill your ITR-1 form very easily using the information available in your Form 16 and the cell for Ward/Circle using the link provided in point#2 above.

In case you have doubt on “return filed under section”, this is what each section means.

11 - u/s 139(1) : Voluntarily before the due date (This is the one you need to choose now)
12 - u/s 139(4) :Voluntarily after the due date
13 - u/s 142(1) : In response to notice under section 142(1)
14 - u/s 148 : In response to notice under section 148 14
15 - u/s 153A : In response to notice under section 153A 15

You have 3 pages to fill in. Don’t forget to validate each page. Once all the pages are validated go for generating XML and then save the XML file. Verify your PAN Number, Refund amount and Bank details on the XML file. The bank details will not be visible on the XML file if the refund amount is zero.

You will find the Submit Return link on the left-hand side menu. Upload the XML file against AY 2010-11. It does take some time so please wait without refreshing. Download the acknowledgement form (ITR-V). It is password protected. PAN Number (no caps please) followed by your DoB (DDMMYYYY) without any space is the password.

Print it on the A4 paper (item# 5). Sign the printed ITR-V using a ball pen (item# 8), take the cover (item# 6) and write the address given below ITR-V on it in bold and legible hand writing or just print it. Put the signed ITR-V in the cover on which you have written or printed the address. Affix Rs. 5 postage stamp (item#7) anywhere outside the cover and drop the cover in anyone of the post boxes you find on the way within 120 days of your online submission. You don’t have to worry about posting ITR-V if you have a digital signature.

Hope I haven’t missed anything important. :-)

Happy Valentines Day...

2010-02-15T12:04:00.001+05:30

My Sunshine - Poem dedicated to my Valentine

2009 In Retrospect

2009-12-15T15:00:00.000+05:30

As usual I didn’t take up any New Year resolutions when the year began, because they always remain resolutions and are never implemented in life. Normally, I start working on changes before the New Year or anytime I feel it’s required, but never when a year starts so that they don’t get influenced by the laziness of New Year resolutions. Looking back:

I was successful in:

Maintaining physical health: Took a six month membership at a pretty decent Gym near to my house. Was pretty frequent for the first five months and then didn’t go that way. I was not happy with the training. After a gap of about a month and a half, took an annual membership @ Leena Mogre Fitness Centre – CMH Road so as to ensure that I don’t stop again soon. I selected Leena Mogre after visiting 5 other fitness centres and got the annual membership for a pretty good bargain. Have been working out on a decent schedule since then. The financial out flow was a strong motivation to keep me returning to the gym even after short gaps extending to a week or so. The trainers are very helpful and ensure that you do the exercises properly. Only problem that I face now is that it’s too far after I shifted to Kormangala from Airport Road.

Change in diet: Not at all related to New Year resolutions as I didn’t have any such plans during the beginning of this year. After much work out, I couldn’t find any positive indications as far as my small tummy was concerned. I wasn’t looking for a 6/8 pack, but I didn’t like family pack as well as couple pack - A single pack is fine. I was told that this can be managed only through the use of some principles of economics – demand and supply. Since, there is a lot of stored energy, the supply should be less than demand – only then the stored energy will be used. Now, I have fruit bowl for lunch. Which makes me very hungry by around 4 and so snacks are a must and if I don’t get time to have snacks then I skip Gym coz I won’t be able to work out with an empty stomach. For dinner, I never eat full stomach and sometimes I go with cornflakes or oats.

Better Weekends: As most of my friends got entangled with their married life and plans for drives and trips remained as plans rather than being disgraced by implementation, the weekends were becoming boring, disheartening and energy draining. Hence, I decided to get active with some social activities and joined the Youth Association of our church. Sowji and myself got our membership of St. Thomas Church Youth Association and then we became active participants of our church youth association (Sevasadan Youth which can be called a subset of the St. Thomas Youth). I also became a part of the Santhome Youth which can be called the parent body of all the Youth Associations in Bangalore of churches under the CMI congregation, including St. Thomas Youth. Now the various social/cultural activites and meetings of Sevasadan and Santhome keep me busy on Sundays. Now I’m also thinking of joining the Professional Forum at St. Thomas Church. Might help me in getting some interesting job opportunities through interaction with other professionals.

I reignited my reading habits. Mostly because I got a lot of free time during work. [I had heard or read somewhere that someone was fired from his/her job for writing similar. Else, I might get the distinction of being the first to be fired for self confirming the lack of any major activity at work.]

And, I made a few unsuccessful attempts and plans in:

Travelling to an unknown destination. Couldn’t make much progress on planned trip then what else can be expected of such an adventure.
Getting married before the end of this year. Need to read Chetan Bhagat’s latest novel. There could be a lot of things to learn from it. Of course, not the love marriage part. Many might die of shock if something like that happens in my case.
Being more involved in family activities rather than simply enjoying bachelor life, not sure how much I have been able to improve on it.
Equip myself with some professional certification.

SAP Certification – dropped mid way
6-sigma Certification – put on hold, haven’t dropped it yet
Acturial Studies – on the chart, but no progress made

Keep in touch with all friends: Couldn’t do it; by the time I lift my phone to call someone it would be too late and so I decide to do it the next day – which never happens.

Finally what else I intend to do in the near future in addition to what I’m currently doing and what I had planned to do in 2009:

Stop playing Mafia Wars and FarmVille on Facebook; but, I need to find an interesting or more involving job before that.
Move out of aviation industry; provided I get a suitable opportunity.
Keep my blog active or to have shorter breaks.

Happy New Year...

Note: All images used have been downloaded from the net. In case of any copyright infringement you are free to take back image without any notice.

Criticism

2009-12-08T17:59:00.001+05:30

When I'm not criticized I feel that the others don't know what and how I have done it and they are not capable of suggesting a better way of doing it. When I'm criticized, I'm sure that neither do they know what I'm doing nor the optimal and efficient way of handling it; they are being irrational.

Books Tag

2009-11-16T19:47:00.003+05:30

Tagged by Aishwarya

I had been praying to get tagged for till I blogged during the beginning of this month. I couldn’t complete any of the blogs which I started to write. A tag is a good way to keep your blog alive when you are not able to write much…

1. Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?No idea, but I think I started reading something other than comics when I was in 10th standard and it became a hobby if it can be called so during my PGDBA. During engineering I was busy with sports and video games :D. But, I don’t know how I developed a love for reading.

2. What are some books you read as a child?
Tinkle, Champak, Balarama, Poompatta, Amar Chitra Katha, Kuttikalude Deepika, and a few others which I’m not able to recollect.

3. What is your favourite genre?
Thrillers, novels with a legal background, those which question popular beliefs, etc. But, I don’t like romantic novels.

4. Do you have a favourite novel?
Many… Alchemist, Temple, Best Laid Plans, Rain Maker, etc…

5. Where do you usually read?
Mostly when I’m travelling…

6. Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?
No…

7. Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?
I read non-fiction only if its something which I need to study.

8. Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?
All of the above… I just want to read the book whether it’s owned or borrowed.

9. Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them?
Yes, I have just started building my Paulo Coelho Collection.

10. If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them? Were they some of the same ones you read as a child?
Not applicable…

11. What are you reading now?
By the flowing river – Paulo Coelho

12. Do you keep a TBR (to be read) list?
I didn’t but, now I do have one as I came across a lot of books which I wish to read but haven’t yet.

13. What books would you like to reread?
Anything which I found interesting… As of now the only book I have reread is Alchemist…

14. Who are your favourite authors?
John Grisham, Matthew Reilly, Dan Brown, Paulo Coelho

Now, whom do I tag??? I don’t know many who are into blogging as well as reading… Okay, Soo and Geo get going…

T&T 11-Nov-09

2009-11-11T09:36:00.001+05:30

Tuttumol: അറിഞ്ഞോ? ഒരു നല്ല diet-ല് ധാരാളം fibre ഉണ്ടാകണം.
Tintumon: അതിനെന്താ തേങ്ങ തിന്നാല്‍ പോരെ.
Tuttumol: തേങ്ങയില്‍ high fibre content ആണോ?
Tintumon: പോതികാതെ കഴിച്ചാല്‍ മതി.

Courtesy for Spell Check: Soo

T&T 09-Nov-09

2009-11-10T09:43:00.005+05:30

Tuttumol: നാളെ രാവിലെ ഞാന്‍ paper ഇടാന്‍ പോവുകയാണ്...
Tintumon: Good, ഈ സമയത്ത് ഒരു alternate source of income ഉള്ളത് തന്നെ ആണ് നല്ലത്...
Tuttumol: പോടാ $%#$%...

PS: This blog will be revived soon...

A few hours

2009-07-06T13:13:00.002+05:30

She giggled, cried, laughed and screamed as his hands moved over her curves and his fingers stimulated her feelings. They were near the zenith of exhilaration, when the battery drained of. He frantically tried switching from BBC to something else, but the remote control was rendered ineffective. All the excitement ended within a few hours.

Bugging

2009-06-24T17:18:00.002+05:30

He tried in the morning, it didn't go. He tried again by afternoon without even going to office, but still it didn't. He tried again at night before going to sleep, still it didn't. This exercise continued for a week and finally he brought a mosquito repellent.

The Door

2009-06-18T07:44:00.003+05:30

It was raining heavily. She ran towards the wet door and banged it open. He called the carpenter to fix the damp door.

Going Green

2009-05-10T20:54:00.002+05:30

Does it???

I decided to leave my bike in the garage for two weeks (20th Apr to 4th May). I don't know why I decided to do this, but it was a decision taken on 19th night when I was about to sleep and I just decided to keep it.

With this I expected to:
1. Read when I travel between office and home;

2. See whats happening on both sides of the road which I take every day to office;

And, it resulted in:
1. I read much less than expected as I could find a seat every time I got on the bus. The journey to office was a bit short to read anything more than a few pages. In the evening, the buses were too crowded.

2. I couldn't see much of the outside world. It was very difficult to know exactly whats happening around standing inside a bus and at times when its over crowded...

I realized that:
1. Buses are not used by only those who don't own a vehicle, but even by those who own one.
2. Its a comfortable means of travel if you are willing to walk to the bus stop, especially in Bangalore with the Volvo services.
3. I don't mind taking the bus once in a while and will use it for sure during the rainy season. I'm not planning to ride my bike to office during the rains, especially with the roads flooded with drainage water.

I don't know how far I have contributed to the green initiative by just using a common carrier for two weeks. I would have continued on the bus, but I don't want to maintain my bike as a monument.

49-O

2009-04-22T15:11:00.012+05:30

"49-O cool... That's exactly what I had been looking for." This was what I said to myself when I saw the mail today morning form one of my colleagues. But, soon realized the associated hoax.

But, it's nice to know that there was some thought process into this issue way back in 1961 when the Conduct of Election Rules was passed.

I'm a registered voter but didn't take the pain to take leave for a day or two and go to my native and cast my vote because non of the candidates made any sense to me. I told to myself that I would go to the polling booth if there was an option on the EVM stating "None of the above". I'm not trying the justify my act of not exercising my vote. I know there is no justification for that but it didn't make any sense to me to take this effort for something which I felt futile.

Coming back to 49-O of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
"Elector deciding not to vote.-If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark."

There is nothing in the Conduct of Election Rules which stands with the hoax statement:
"Why should you go and say "I VOTE NOBODY"... because, in a ward, if a candidate wins, say by 123 votes, and that particular ward has received "49-O" votes more than 123, then that polling will be cancelled and will have to be re-polled. Not only that, but the candidature of the contestants will be removed and they cannot contest the re-polling, since people had already expressed their decision on them. This would bring fear into parties and hence look for genuine candidates for their parties for election. This would change the way, of our whole political system... it is seemingly surprising why the election commission has not revealed such a feature to the public.... " which made me happy on receiving the mail.

The good thing about this is that:
1. It helps in preventing election fraud or misuse of votes
2. When ballot papers were used we could just select more than one candidate making the vote void. But, with EVM this is not possible as we can select only one candidate and if we don't select one at the end of the day anyone can select a candidate against our registration. We can use 49-O under such circumstance to prevent misuse of our vote

But, we have a few problems like:
1. The secrecy of voting is lost because the voter has to inform the presiding officer
2. Has no effect on election
3. It is there just to keep a record of those who decided not to vote because they were not satisfied with the candidates

We need to join hands to force our lawmakers to amend 49-O in such a way that the hoax is proved right. But, we can't hope much in a country where the Women's Bill has been part of the poll agenda but forgotten as soon as they are in power. Hope an amendment to 49-O as many voters desire does not remains a distant dream like the Women's Bill. Those who share my thoughts would appreciate if a campaign like Jaago Re is launched or Jaago Re itself get associated with this mission.

Hope

2009-04-08T09:12:00.009+05:30

I was supposed to write this blog after my poll on what is considered to be the most important aspect of life. I intended to write on the topic which received the highest vote. But, with my very low readership it found only a few responses. It was not a pleasant thing to know but that was the truth. Hence, I decided to write about all the three things freedom, love, hope and anything that comes to my mind as I move forward with this on a path towards an unknown destination with words alone as my companion. This is merely an attempt to put forward my incomplete understanding of life and a few factors which influence it.

Before I move any further I would like to disclose the reason for putting up the poll previously. As I was reading “The Zahir – A Novel of Obsession” by Paulo Coelho I thought of writing about freedom and its importance in life. Then love struck on my head with a hammer asking me if I could live happily without love. “Oh, no”!!! Hope jumped in front of me with the enormous amount of encouragement it has given me throughout the life and asked me how I could forget its importance. “Oh, yes”!!! In that case let me check with my blog readers before venturing further.

The very few responses which I received was sufficient for me to confirm that everyone is as confused as me.

I like this author very much… Every time I read Paulo Coelho my dormant mind starts working and my stagnant heart feels the ripples of life. But, laziness bound me in its unfathomable depth thwarting me from putting my feelings into words when I was reading it almost a month ago.

ATTENTION: THERE MIGHT NOT BE ANY SENSE OR SEQUENTIAL AND LOGICAL CONSTRUCTION TO WHAT I MIGHT PEN DOWN FURTHER. IT WOULD BE PURELY WHAT COMES TO MY MIND. I’M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY KIND OF TRAUMA THE READER WOULD BE SUBJECTED TO BECAUSE OF READING FURTHER.

So let me start with “Freedom”. India fought against the British Imperial power for freedom, and got itself to be called a Free Nation - a Democratic Republic Nation. Before and after the mid-night when India rose to freedom, many other nations have got their freedom and we have a few group of people who are still fighting for freedom. I won’t be discussing about the people who are still fighting for freedom as it would be a debate of its own kind. Focusing on the free people, or so called free people – citizens of a free nation. That’s on a state level, I was thinking of personnel freedom.

The best definition of freedom I have heard is: “Your freedom ends where my nose begins”. I’m not sure who actually said that. The primary nature of freedom is that it’s not about you but about others. And, as I think about freedom, none of us have got absolute freedom except for the beggars who are no more worried about how to life than some riot happening in the unexplored African jungles. We all live a life with self imposed restrictions to our freedom to fulfill our commitments to ourselves and our loved ones. And it’s this commitment and the joy in fulfilling our commitment that makes us happy rather than having personnel freedom. Freedom that results in solitude that wolf down happiness. These commitments are result of our love for ourselves and those around us. As Paulo Coelho puts it in one of his literary works, “No one wants the kind of freedom: we all want commitment, we all want someone to be beside us to enjoy, discuss, and share”.

Love is a difficult topic to write about and I’m sure that I won’t be able to do justice to this subject. It’s not something which everyone gets. Some are born with a lot of people who love them and some are left to find it no sooner are they out of their mother’s womb, and some even when they are in the womb.

The most sacred love between a mother and her child has come to question with the increase in medical termination of pregnancy and infanticide. These are topics of discussion at various forums but the basic problem is the absence of love. A few are lucky to hold on to their life in dustbins, streets and in the cradles of some orphanage to continue their search for love.
The lucky ones and the not so lucky once moves from the cradle into this world as they grow up they continue their search for love in everything that they come across. During their journey from the cradle to the grave moving through teenage and adolescence they start looking for love in the opposite sex. Some find we loves during this phase and the rest are either content with what they have or continue their search.

Finding a life partner whom you love and who loves you is like a jackpot and something which only a lucky few are destined to realize. Even I have been and am in search of one...
But, the one amusing thing I found about this romance or the result of this perpetual search for love has been and is found to happen more often now is an increase in inter-caste, inter-religion, inter-language marriage. Have we broken all natural and man-made barriers or is it just that love doesn’t have any such barriers or is capable of shrinking such barriers to annihilation? Whatever be the reason, the one thing I’m not able to comprehend is: how could these children decided to go against the wishes of their parents and against the culture which their parents tried to imbibe permanently in them.

Have they ever thought about the feelings of those two souls who spend sleepless nights and selfless days to ensure that their children have a life that they could only dream of? Have they ever thought how their children will grow up – what would be their value proposition – how much they will care about their parents who didn’t care for their grandparents? What culture would they want to be the base for their children’s upbringing?

I’m not against love marriages. Actually, I’m for it. One should marry the person who he/she loves and who loves him/her. But, I feel that it would be better if it respects the cultural differences.

The union of two strangers into a single entity is nature’s law but it turns out more often than expected that this union leads to an alienation of the parents who were part of their family until then. Parents become a burden; the same people who took care of these two strangers until they were able to lead an independent life. The parents move out of the home they have built into old age homes and find company in many other like them. Betrayed by all whom they had loved during their entire life, but still in the hope to find love among those who are destined to be with them till they are taken to grave.

Meanwhile, the two strangers leave a small gap in their relationship which grows with time. They forget that marriage is about spending your life with someone you love – having someone to talk to, someone to share all the good times and the bad times. They forget to talk, share and live. I remember the words of Paulo Coelho in Zahir, “The most important thing in all human relationship is conversation, but people don’t talk anymore, they don’t sit down to talk and listen. They go to the theatre, the cinema, watch television, listen to radio, read books, but they almost never talk. If we want to change the world, we have to go back to a time when warriors would gather around a fire and tell stories”. Love is lost everywhere from cradle to grave but we still are in continuous search for it. Love is very essential in life; we live without it but with a hope that we will find it someday.

Only a person who can love be happy because if you have to be happy you should forgive and you can forgive only if you love. This is not my words; I heard it during mass in my church. Isn’t it an absolute truth, I liked this thought very much. But, only a few have found love and others are still in the hope of finding it.

It is the hope of finding love, hope of finding happiness in live that keeps us all alive and energetic. And a lack of it can scramble an healthy person to nonentity within a blink of an eye. It gives us the energy and the thrust required to achieve our goals. Hope is so powerful that it can rejuvenate a person who is on death bed and helps him live another 100 years. Hope gave the strength to millions of freedom fighters to fight selflessly for the nation’s freedom. It’s hope that keeps every human being alive and gives him the energy to move forward in life without thinking that a day will come when he will be nothing but a few grains of sand.

And, I hope that at least one person will enjoy reading this, at least one person will like it, at least one person will share my thoughts… I hope…