It's not just on paper

There are a billion Indians and a billion Indias. Each person belongs to his own India. Overtly there’s a shining India versus a slumdog India, a progressive India versus a regressive India, people’s India versus government’s India and lastly an Indian’s India versus a foreigner’s India. But to every Indian, their India carries a distinct and a different significance. For some, India is all about education, for the others it’s about democracy. It could be about industrialization, urbanization and infrastructure. India might be synonymous to abandoning of dowry or effort to curb female foeticide or something as basic as soil for production. For me however, India is a land trying to battle all hardships. Yes, India has its problems like poverty and malnutrition. But how often do we give India a leeway for being one of the youngest Independent nations? We are definitely not as progressive as the USA or any other first world country for that matter; but at least we’re trying! I...

In the confines of the ICU, my ailing father laid on his deathbed. He clenched my wrist as tight as he could and whispered to me something that I was unaware of since seven years of my life. He said, “Son, before I go, I want you to know you’re adopted.” And then… Silence! I sit in my seat besides the stretcher, still and stunned. My eyes shoot up instantaneously to look at the woman whom I’d called mother all my life. My glance pierces into her eyes. She turns around and weeps alone, without a shoulder to cry on… without 'my' shoulder to cry on! That night was dark and lonely. I walked to my mother’s room and asked, “Where are my parents? Who are they?” She looked straight at me and without blinking her eyes she said, “Your parents are dead and so is my husband! It’s just the two of us left to live.” I walked back to my room expressionless, just like a zombie! In my bed, I ran over everything over and over again. I lamented, “I’m an orphan. As an orphan, how would my life be?...

Image via: newdresses2011 With the mercury levels rising this summer, people were left weary. It needs no mention that amusement parks all over the country were rejoicing the scorching sun. There was a deluge of people escaping the heat and chilling on nerve raising rides. This is why, Essel World’s recent hoarding read, ‘When temperature sores, Essel World roars.’ However, there are scores of other positives to this summer. Obviously, we all believe that the grass is greener on the other side. But let’s look at this objectively. How many of you’ll have pulled out hats, shades, printed summer Tees, Skirts and Cargos from the remotest corners of your wardrobe? I’ve been noticing a change in my styling ever since the advent of Mumbai’s Summer Months. Here, We’ve got extreme heat and extreme downpour. However the irony of nature id this that we have the mildest winter India could ever witness! Ah! Never mind that. So talking about styling; winters are always great because you go shopping...

I was under a waterfall, my head tilted upwards. My face was drenched and water was dripping downwards. Slowly, I saw my whole self and I found that I… that I… was bathing! Bathing in the water, completely bare! A short scream escaped my mouth and I realized where I was! Sweating and panting, I found myself lying crouched on my ‘matrah’ (mattress), under the star lit night of Saudi Arabia! It’s just a dream I reassured myself and tried to drift into sleep again. But why would sleep come to me so easily when I didn’t even deserve to be free from chains and shackles! What was this dream all about I wondered! I had been haunted with such meaningless dreams since a very long time. I had a friend Abu Ishaaq who too seemed to be disturbed by such dreams. He once told me, “I dreamt about you yesterday, Sadeeqy (friend)!” I said joyfully, “well, so what did you dream about me?” Abu said in a low tone, “I dreamt that you and I were walking towards the barren hills. There was an enormous hole du...

My story began in a Media College in India! A keen Media boy presented me to his snobbish classmate and proposed to her. She let down the proposal and flung me away in the air. I landed amidst crow shit! A little kid was walking past. He noticed me and thought I belonged here among stone flowers. He was naïve to know that the stone flowers were no match for me; as I had one thing that they didn’t… BREATH! A philosopher was heading towards a venue to give a seminar. He saw me lying among the stone flowers and thought that I should be dedicated to a great man’s commemoratory statue. So he picked me up and left me near this statue at the gate of his venue! Then the wind blew me away far and wide. Before I realized, I was lying on pebbles of stone. They were hard and they hurt my back. But nobody paid any heed to my suffering. A poor girl was on her way to visit her ailing friend in the nearby hospital. She thought she would present me to him and wish him speedy recovery. I sat there on t...

Many actors are famous for their on-screen chemistry with their co-stars. However, few Bollywood celebrity couples share equal amount of intimacy both, in reel-life and in real-life. It’s time now to take a sneak-peak at the top five celebrity couples, whose love quotient appeals to us. Our Favourite Five: John and Bipasha Indian beauty Bips has been dating Bollywood heart-throb John for eight years now. John and Bipasha are one of the hottest couples in the Bollywood! However, there have been rumours of late that the two are not a pair. They haven’t worked in many films together; yet they have obviously maintained a balance between their personal and professional lives. In fact, this is one reason why we rated this sizzling couple numero uno. What sets them apart? Their commitment. Few controversies. They complement each other. Saif and Kareena This is a couple, which is talked about often in the media. They made big news when beau Saif tattooed sweetheart Kareena’s name on his f...

The cricket world cup has begun! And, it has brought with it a treat for the media houses. The sports columns of newspapers are overflowing with the pros and cons of the World Cup series. And that drove me to do a similar job! This article is about the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, which is the venue of three World Cup matches. It talks about how the problems for the stadium persist, even after it has successfully acquired its new look. http://www.sportskeeda.com/2011/02/19/the-battle-of-the-battleground-%e2%80%93-wankhede-stadium/

2010 was the most; yes the most enterprising year in the lives of crazy, maniac, mindless geeks. Bespectacled and bemoaned, we the students of grade 12 pushed a donkey’s load of insignificant matter into our rather crumpled and aged old grey mind. The dreaded board exams were round the corner to greet us with its uncanny smile, beginning 2010. With answer paper supplement-count running into double digits, and the exam season lingering for a little less than a month; our fingers had almost permanently turned crooked. Once we waded through that ocean of stress and strain, we discovered an island richly laden with spring flowers and fruit trees. As though we had discovered a grape vine, we were greeted- this time with a welcoming smile- to kindly enjoy the much awaited and much deserved summer vacations. Lots of fun came our way that summer. Ignoring the blazing afternoon sun and the warm puffs of air beside the seashore, we caught and dodged and frolicked our way through the leisurely mo...

" Bees ka bolo, bees ka bolo. Hindi mein bees aur English mein twenty bolo. " This is a rather humourous one-sided conversation one hears in the Mumbai local trains. Vendors of all sorts ply the compartments of these trains which run from the city's southern end to its northern end. One is met with vendors selling tooth whitening powder, colouring books, mobile scratch-guards, train schedules, cosmetics, accessories.... the list goes on. Interestingly, people buy unassuming things from these vendors. Let me cite a few examples; night gowns, table cloth and fruits!!!! While travelling back home after college, I was looking out of the window (Mumbaikars prefer a "window seat" because it allows the window seat holder to enjoy fresh... ummm, possibly polluted breeze on warm days) at the familiar route I would pass everyday. Lost in some random thoughts, I hardly took notice of the two vendors who entered our compartment to tap willing customers and force them into i...

Mere Desh ki dharti sona ughle, Ughle hirae-moti, Mere Desh ki Dharti... So goes the famous patriotic song of India. Just imagine if the soil of my land did overflow with gold and jewels, how would life be back in India? THE NEW YORK TIMES India, 2012: Reports suggest that India's stock exchange will soon shut shop. This news came as a shock not only to United States but also to the rest of the world. However, sources in India suggest that this is in the best interest of the Indian industrialists, as they now wish to employ their capital assets in purchase and sale of gem stones and gold, reportedly found unclaimed in many parts of rural India. Within months after the surprising discovery of precious gems and jewels on Indian soil, graphs showing rural development would appear like steep mountains from its valley. People would be paid with gold coins, pearls in oysters and diamonds embedded in platinum rings. Our parliament house in Delhi would become our new Taj Mahal with fine...