The Spirit of India!!!!!!!!

The most sought topic for the discussion today is the headline in not only our National newspapers but also in the Global dailies, "MUMABI ATTACKED". But, one thing which I think should be changed for Mumbai is the so called euphemistic term of “Spirit of Mumbai” which at this moment sounds more like a transparent nonsense and just euphemism for our bogus optimism. We get back to our work in a day or two quite reluctantly and get back to it fully in a week or so without remembering the mayhem we witnessed a few days back.

Personally I think that it is a great loss to the nation as well as the government machinery as we lost 14 of the bravest soldiers of the soil. We often keep on blaming the cops and intelligence for not handled the situation or not being aware of this kind of terror calling. But seldom we realize that we tend to pardon the Terrorists (by allowing some senior lawyers to defend them and some ministers to express their concern towards them) and let them infiltrate in our home and kill us quite ruthlessly time and again. I strongly think that if we can pardon them of such a great sin then we can by far pardon our very own government machinery for a mistake not so great compared to the genocide launched by the attackers, which is highly impossible without the local support.

The ground on which , the great martyr Mr. Hemant Karkare was renounced of his life was his own motherland. The ground on which the attack was launched on ACP Kamte and SI Salaskar was their own area of work. Now at the juncture when we have lost our most competent people who bought most of the offenders to justice, I am forced to think that the loss cannot be put into words or any kind of tangible format. But, ground logic of a child inside me tells that the life of our soldiers is precious to the country than any of the accused that are in Jail now and are motivating the terrorists to put ransom on by committing such acts.

How often we think that for one who is staying in Mumbai,it is highly possible that he/she is at Churchgate or CST or Colaba ( Mondhekars, Leopold, Indigo) at 11:00 PM on any given day. It is just another night for us in Mumbai. But, do we think of that only when we are the one at the receiving end or we will just keep on boasting “Spirit of Mumbai” for just a convenient excuse to mind our own business. Why do we care only when we are hit? The soldiers who are helping the people and are combating the Terrorist are no way related to the one who are the hostages nor they are related to me. But, if I had been a hostage they would have combated for me surely. Just because it is their duty as a soldier of India. One of the firefighters died in a grenade attack while fighting the fire at Taj’s dome. He died as he was doing his duty. Every government machinery is sticking to its duty and still we hit ever chance to blame them when we get one. But, are we practicing our duty as a citizen of India? My answer is quite apprehensive on this. And I trust that most of us will agree on that. A few days back one of my friend was telling me that despite working for 3-4 years in IT he is very uncertain that in this age of recession his job is safe, and I presume that he is one of the many young people in India who are living on the edge these days. Today morning I talked to him and he was feeling dejected that he cannot contribute anything that will help the forces or hostages or the sufferers in any way. Most of us are uncertain of their jobs and are very scared that coming Friday can bring a nightmare to us. But, do we really think beyond that?

If we can think beyond that and beyond our vicious circle of material deeds each of us can make a difference, which will certainly make a big difference in toto. I might sound like an old script but we should think over the content of the script than the dating back of it, because it is not only the call of the nation, but also the call of the mankind the civilisation. Let our enemies know that it is our kindness, which is often taken for weakness by them. We should bring it to their knowledge not by words but rather by the action.

Rather than sticking to Spirit of Mumbai, let us re-invent a very old phenomenon of Spirit of India without forgetting the misdeeds faced by “Us All” from a Wednesday to the Blackest Friday in November 2008. History tells that, when we didn’t do it, we “all” were the sufferers, when we did it we all were the saviors. The choice is ours.

JAI HIND!!!!!!!!!

The Importance of Being the DRUNKEST!!!!!

Many of things in life we ignore because they are real or we ignore them because they are funny. But one activity which is rarely ignored satisfies both the criterion. Yeah, consumption of Alcohol is real and it is funny at the same instant (at times though). I think that it was the commodity due to which only some freak came out with the Law of Demand and Supply.And, I don’t know how good it holds for other goods, but it still holds good for Liquor. And, it will certainly hold good for liquor as long as there is any kind of trade on earth.

To prove my point I will be going back to the 1st half of 20th Century. A few countries like America (developed now and developing then) enforced the prohibition in 1930s and it is still illegal in some countries to sell and consume liquor (our own neighboring countries for instance). It is a proven fact that the great visionary like Al Capone made a lot of Money in this era, unlike other honest and hardworking Americans. But, one must note that it is only after few years the prohibition ended i.e during and post 2nd world war, America became the new superpower ending the great depression (which I think was primarily caused because of prohibition only). You may object with the stance that why it took a few years after prohibition to emerge America as a superpower, but u must take into consideration that for a product sales to be stable, it has to be sold thro a sales network. So, it took a few years for the beloved liquor to penetrate with the network and in the lagged age which followed the depression it was very difficult for liquor to establish the network overnight (despite the huge demand). So, it began the cheerful journey and after the 2nd world war ended, it was the most sought drink in America, which made the occasions more cherishable and the world started to discover a new set of etiquettes which was entirely different than what a British butler can teach you.

Now, a recent survey conducted in India tells that the no of young individuals (irrespective of Gender) consuming alcohol is rising not only in metros but also some B-class cities and so is the development in these burgeoning towns. Now, if we see the rate at which the Investors are dying to enter into these markets, it is obviously evident that these towns are growing faster than the previously existing Metros. Also, when it comes to my city, one of the surveys also tells that despite of the depreciation in real estate market last year in India, Nagpur is not also one of the three cities which have taken a positive growth( Lucknow and Jaipur are other two), but it is also regarded as the fastest growing cities in Asia. Courtesy…….

http://specials.rediff.com/money/2008/aug/11sl7.htm

http://www.rediff.com/money/2004/jul/15rich.htm

And for correspondence, many a few will know that Nagpur holds the record for most no. of Permit rooms per square kilometer in India. So here we can deduce that liquor does contribute to the economic prosperity of the city and in turn nation as a whole. Also, what is prevalent in few recent years that per capita Alcohol consumption in US has gone down by 15 % in past 4 years and the currency rate has taken a revision in a downward manner. Also, we can see that the things like the Tragedy with Lehman Brothers and banning of short selling in the US which can be taken as one more proof for my stance. Now, we can definitely see that there is a lot more to Alcohol than just a drink. US economy blossomed mainly after world war II and that too most in 70s and 80s which two decades are also regarded as the age of ROCK music and a few mention them as DRUNK decades.

At this juncture, we can see that in the current slowdown Germany(hit low in past 3-4 months) is now recovering in a big way, courtesy October Fest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_fest

Now we can see that the per capita consumption of Liquor in India is enhancing and so is the Economy. I know that you all will differ that this statement does not hold good for past one and half months, but remember that according to Indian Calendar it was the time which witnessed the month of “Shravan” which is now followed by “Pitrupaksha” will be ending on 30th Sep 2008. Again it will be followed by “Navratri” which again is a low tide period for Liquor but a high tide one for more sinful acts (most of you must have read between the lines). So for the economy to be stable and consistent we have to wait for the winter and as soon as it does I am sure that it will boost the Liquor sales as well as the Economy of the nation.

So, if you follow the rituals imbibed by parents as religiously as I did, then you better go for a toast this evening not for the sake of drinking but to improve the National Economy before it hits its low in Navratri.

Cheers guys and toast for Dr. Mallya, the Visionary for besotwing us with his miraculous sense of Business and his concern for the “Delight Quotient” of the youth and last but by no means the least the National Economy.

CHEERS!!!!!!!! :)

My City and Its Cuisine.......

There are somethings that money cant buy. I know that this is not a very good line to start with, but there are many right things in the world which may not sound good. Master card people could have never thought that the idea which was put into words by them was the feeling of millions of souls especially people in my country and city to be precise, and especially for me, to be more precise, I have been on the face of earth over 26 years now and 25 of them can be considered in to my elements. I forced all my will to think the other way round and rightly have been thinking for so many of little fragments of calendar, but in these 25 revolutions which mother earth made around the Helios, I had developed a very strong feeling about my city of residence. They are bright as well as pale in a few aspects.

For instance, would u ever see a brigade of 20 something guys with all branded attire (Mont Blanc and likewise) entering into a highly atrocious looking place which can be taken for a restaurant only by an overly optimistic fellow. But, yes it happens here in the Ex- Capital of The Central Provinces the queen ruled once. But, the astonishment is yet to be over. If one expects these 20 something guys to leave the place as early as they enter there as entering there was just a Faux Paus then ur thinking this way is the one. Yes, they come out of it almost an hour after their entry and the look at their faces is what Sharif and Zardari must had after Mush declared to step down. To further to your fantasy in an upward direction, these guys now discuss among themselves the savor which they feasted over a few moments back and make the first thing on their list to visit there once more before they return to their city of employment which sadly is not the one which has just now witnessed the whole phenomenon described. So, they plan the same and head for the most sought (or preferred, to be precise) Pan Shop where they have been visiting from time immortal. They will go there and there only even if it happens to be in the remotest end of the city from where they are right now. And after having this grub, they will spend an hour or so praising the city for being blessed with such joints and places to cherish on. They will again repeat the process on the day they have planned and sadly a few days later they will leave the city with half hearted will and planning their next leave (in the transit itself) so that they can once again come down to “NAGPUR” and cherish the place and their beloved cuisine “NAGPURI SAOJI”.

So, in this entire narrated series of events (Cuisine and Pan), the expenditure occurred on the entire commodities is not more than 125 INR, but it is this 125 which makes the entire expenditure of lets say 7000 worth. And the aura in which they experience this all is absolutely free and cannot be recreated in any other part of the world even by spending the entire reserves of The Federal Bank. So, in a nutshell, the most valuable thing experienced is the intangible one and that is the air in which the entire happenings took place. And, to experience this air time and again these guys come down to Nagpur as and when possible (though it may not be reasonable to their employers always) which one can say is not costing a single rupee or one will be ready to buy it at any said price, but it is absolutely free and is most cherishable. Towards the end of the day, the one who experiences this all says that "These are a few things that Money REALLY cant buy…….."