What is not, was not meant to be - Perhaps

Every once in a while, looking into the mirror that was your past, you wish life gave you a second chance. A chance to have taken the risk and confessed your true feelings which you hid for fear of hurting those you love. A chance to take a chance. A chance to reach out for that special someone you could have had. A chance to experience what could have been. A chance to at least be able to talk honestly to each other just once, before you parted forever. A chance to allow what was perhaps not meant to be. A chance to investigate all those looks that passed and seemed so full of meaning. A chance for either to have shown more courage.

They said you were wrong for me. You had similar doubts for yourself. They said you were older & smarter. I already knew that. They said you would tire of me soon and I would soon slip down your priorities. I was afraid to prove them right. The pain is hard to bear. Leaving the past behind is tough. Forgetting even tougher. The more you try to forget, the more you remember the silliest encounters. And then you realize that you really don't wish to forget, for they were all something special. And then in the clear and present, all you wish, is for the future to bring each as much happiness as possible to make up for the loss of being together.

State of the State

Reaching Kol on Dday! 'The city is tense already', they say. 'Why?', I ask. 'Elections happen across states. Why create tensions? Why do citizens put up with it? Why is it that the so called 'city of intellectuals' allows for the rule of a minority bunch of hooligans?'

For my part, I am still unsure which is the better party to win. Each shows equal probability for growth as well as disrepair. Once the heart of prosperity, Kolkata today, has not just fallen behind by atleast 15 years, but also reduced to being categorised as a tier two city! Hyderabad, Pune, Bangalore and Ahmedabad are now added to Tier 1!!!

My well wishers say I am an idealist. Well I say, it is better than being a pacifist. They say you need to be the change you want to see. I haven't done much for my state, I agree. So starting now, it begins. I will not change my plans and reach Kolkata on 13th come what may (despite what my well wishers say). Bring it on you 'social maggots'. Let's see what you have got.

Don't cower down to these vandals. I request the masses to stand up on their feet and protest for a safe and balanced Kolkata. Say no to bandhs. Say no to the mockery of democracy (in a socialist state). If you don't change now, you never will.

What were they thinking?

Well...the media did a good job on the CWG expose. It was quite a brilliant coup. They did deserve their TRP's. I watched in fascination all the gory details of the alleged transactions that had taken place. Hoping against hope that they would persist until the wrong doers were prosecuted. CWG happened and the all forgiving... oops sorry 'forgetting' nature of the Indian masses took over. I was left wondering how much of the $3000 toilet paper was left and what it would feel to use the same.

Very conveniently, the Radia tapes were released. Those pursuing the CWG case became the pursued and all for what? For exercising their democratic right of freedom of expression? For being human? Overnight, lobbying became a black word!!! There is nothing wrong with shifting allegiances. Happens to the best of us! Happens all the time! Only the hypocrites would say that they have never shifted allegiances or lobbied for the wrong person in their own sphere of influence.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not lobbying for the accused media persons. They are just pawns who got caught in a splendid master plan. Do you really think that the tapes were leaked by accident and that they are the only tapes the IT department has? I am sure our IT department is much more competent than that. The congress party has mastered the art of political chess playing (aka confidential leaks). Every time it is pushed to a corner, they churn out a totally unrelated buried corpse that is sure to stink. Remember the rise in sugar prices and the (almost immediate) Liberhan report leak? Oh! of course not....

The scope of the CWG scam is simply enormous. The star of the scam (the honcho, so to speak), if pronounced guilty, will certainly sing like a canary. The canary's song has the power to topple the entire government as well as the bureaucratic system ('literally'). He will never be touched. The CBI (a body without a backbone) will continue to make lame excuses and dilly dally on tracking evidence and serving notices.

Sadly, the media held a myopic view of things despite early warnings such as Manish Tiwari's statement that the money lost because of alleged corruption in Queen's Baton Relay was only a fraction of the total expense. Which in literal terms translated to some tens of crores if not hundreds. The beneficiaries of which have safely and carefully stashed it all away like they have been doing for years. As proof, the WDR report showed how the Swiss inward remittances shot through the roof all through the years of CWG preparations.

Here's hoping that wikileaks will turn up something more interesting soon :-). And of course we Indians will forget it all in a while. We have of course forgotten all about the Indian (unaccounted for) money stashed in Swiss accounts too. A thumbs up to all the corrupt Indians out there. You have certainly chosen the right country to cheat.

Some Fab Bong GenX Songs - We may have many faults...But when it comes to music...nobody can beat bongs!

To my prized collection

Life has a strange way of teaching us lessons in friendship and trust. People who you never thought you could get along with, turn out to be the ones with the golden hearts. Then of course, you go ahead and make serious judgmental errors. It is hard to accept failure. But when you look back at all the writings on the wall, you are just glad to have learnt your lesson in time. That is when you remember your true friends and family who accept all your weirdness, put up with your crankiness, share the madness and love you nevertheless.

In our increasingly hectic lives, we often forget to thank and say "I love you" to those who really matter. This post is dedicated to all my real buddies for always being there for me when I needed you most. For somehow saying just the right words when I was at my lowest. For all the fights and making-ups. For calling me names that got my feet back on the ground! For discounting all my mistakes and harsh words. For never allowing me to mince words :). Celebrating the essence of our friendship cannot be just an annual event. Just a few words from you guys, light up my entire day. Your friendships make everyday of my life special. Thank you guys and gals - for just being you.

Love from 'yours truly'.