There are seven deadly sins.
And more than half of them, for more than half a century have been dwelling in the sinister heart of Mr. Alistair McCovey. The vicious secret lay in the depths of his heart, fenced against the world that he lived in.

Knight on the Red Corridor

There are two parts to a story, one that is told and the one that is supposed to be told. There is a certain important difference between the two. The former is a lie and we will soon discover the later.

Sitting alone on a plush table at "The Bay(Cafeteria)" on a cool summer evening surrounded by Google, Ernst & Young, indi-joe, Subway and trying to gulp down a big fat cheesy burger , I looked around to see something new,may be I was expecting aliens attack, flood, a car turning into Optimus Prime or just a spaceship land right in the middle of the courtyard surrounding the BAY and Jedi knights pop out to fight each other, yet I saw nothing new. And to be honest I was a bit sad, so I gyrated my eyes towards the Lovely Ernst and Young employees. There were all petite chicks who at one time early in my career made that over stressed mind of mine delve in to the depths of erotic fantasy. But after two years of staring the cantilevered maidens, the cascades of hair settled on the shoulders, kajoled eyes, long thin legs; I summed up that it fades faster than most of the flowers in the world. So in a way you could say, It was just another day at office fore me. One of those days where I could afford to take a break during office hours to have a cup of coffee or a McDonald's Veggie Burger with extra cheese along with a Coke.

My office shared space with Google, Ernst and Young and some of the best organizations of the world. And no doubt the place was as cool as any other office complex, if not better.

With two good pubs and plethora of eateries it did provide a decent choice to an average over stressed working professional.

But that day indeed was different from all others. As I was gulping my burger, the fat cheesy one, I couldn't help myself wonder why exactly am I eating a burger? Yes! I was hungry, the obvious answer but why not a Dosa or Samosa or a fruit salad. Why a burger?

Absurd as it may seem, i felt that my eating a burger had lot to do with the fact that it was marketed, presented to me as a better option when I wished to have something prepared fast and easy to satisfy my hunger pangs, which I would say the Dosa failed to do in the marketing department.

I stopped, journeyed to a dustbin, dumped, travelled back to my seat and had a hot cup of tea thinking all the way at the Non-marketed options available to me. Finally I settled for the Sprouts salad. That's my story. Why I threw it, Lets discover it...

In this era of marketing and sales, the dreams and aspirations of the nation is being subdued in a very grotesque manner. We the people of this free nation are being pulled towards an non existing utopian world, where our very own existence is camouflaged as a means to serve the rich and the powerful.Every where around me, I see American products swarming with their righteous claims to provide me the most sensous moments without any compromise to quality.

Everything is marketed so well, and researched so religiously that I soon enough my writings would be carbon dated to determine which age I belonged to.

A heretic at the dawn of the new millennia would I appear to the teenagers that live the burger infested all new American dream.

If any other country claims that we have taken their share of Jobs, I can still understand. But not with America incorporation. They have not only brought Ipods to our tinsel towns but have made themselves richer in a multi dimensional way by defining the rules of the game. The "Dude" and "babes" are lost in Disneyland oblivious to the fact that at the Grass root level things are very different. The divide between the rich and the poor is growing at an alarming rate.

Its heartening to see the young future of our country sweeping across the filthy railway platforms.

No where is it better portrayed than in " Slumdog Millionaire". The movie was not received well by Critics and Actors in India. The film fraternity of India protested that the west shouldn't see India as poor third World Country. I feel selling dreams have made them numb to the fact that what is shown is just the tip of the ice-berg and it exists outside the gates of their dream world. It would be naive not to acknowledge the fact that the condition of poor down-trodden people of this country is in the hands of the well to do individual of this Country. why hide ourselves in the doctrine of " Ignorance is Bliss"

There are many such instances of the lie that we live in. The Print media, the films, the advertisements are all moving towards a direction to justify this utopian world which exists only in their films and glamour shows. On the contrary The Maoists, terrorists, revolutionaries, conservationists, soldiers and the dead farmers all cry out together fighting a battle with their lives across the "Red corridor" bringing us face to face with the reality which we are not willing to acknowledge.

I would thank the West for giving us the medium, the technology to find solutions to the problems at our very own backyard. There is a great hope to construct a new India with an unmatched vigour that must be implemented at the grass root level. To build this side of paradise is our responsibility.

However, this mirage of marketed materialistic dreams that we don't want to wake up from, cannot guarantee a better future for our coming generations because a time will come when a few hands that have just finished the last rites of their children, will be holding a gun pointing towards us and the reality will hit us with a BANG!!

THE END

How positive are you about "positive thinking"?

How positive are you about "positive thinking"?

With the Bhagat-Hirani issue doing rounds across the leading newspapers here in India, its a good time to look at the so called Self help books .... The following article is my personal take on the highly successful business of Self help books.

With the markets being flooded with Self help inspirational books of all genres, from business to career, from losing weight to getting married, it does make the job difficult for a person who actually needs help in taking decisions on how he wants to spend the rest of his life without being mislead is minimal.

In this world of technological marketing, even the creative mass is appalled at the onslaught of mass propaganda of humans failing to achieve success and happiness in their lives. The chances of a person not having read a self help manual is becoming obsolete by the day.

The premise is based on the fact that we as humans lack the exact emotions required to excel towards pursuing happiness. On this journey we need a certain companion to guide us towards our goal. Nothing wrong in that, except for the fact that it gets crowded over time with each guide coming up with his own version of what is right and what is wrong.

Nothing in this world comes free, the companions pile up a huge profit at my financial expense. I am weak and I pay for the expert advice but does it really work. Of course not, because the person who actually makes something out of life must not only be creative but also be good at marketing his creativity. He must market himself well over time. It is a requirement that we always forget. But I would leave that up to the readers to decide for themselves, what is right or wrong from an ethical point of view?

Moving over to Hirani-Bhagat fiasco, it is so obvious that it is a marketing gimmick. If the contents of the allegation are read with a probing mind, it can surely be known that both the parties ask the mass only one question," Have you read the book?" Of course if you haven't read Five point someone or haven't watched 3 idiots then you are missing the point.

Its a well orchestrated marketing symphony. And if this can be plotted against the unsuspecting youth of India, what a niche clientèle the self doubting readers turn out for the American publishing markets. Self help books mislead the reader into believing at his own weekness and create room for more doubt at his own abilites. How this is carried out a mass scale requires a willingness to probe, discarding our current myopic stance that we seem to have surrendered to.

In the business of creativity there is always money to be made and dexterity at duping people to be proved. Let us not turn victims to our self doubt.

After all I am not very positive about " Positive thinking" :)

The End

Towards light...

Darkness somewhere confines

The light that is about to shine.

And swirled in the shadows it pleads

" Free me, for its my time!"

Unaware it is to my plight

Of seething pain and ever blinding sight.

My face is furrowed and grown many a lines

Though Time laughs and says, "you are doing just fine."

Draped in dreams, I gaze at the stars,

Take me away to the world I feel so far.

Moist honey lips,

twirl of hair,

dark eyes,

and face so fair

Who are you that lay in my arms

Wrapped with such soft wily charms

Are you a speck in my dream or

Are you glorious reality...

While I muse lying beneath the stars,

I believe

Love wins over many a wars

The end