Democracy

With a population of around 120 crores, India is undoubtedly the largest democratic state of the World. However, do we Indians deserve the right to elect our own Government?

Every day, we start our small and petty lives with the news of a scam, mostly masterminded by the politicians. Who are these politicians? They are elected by us, to serve us. They are our leaders.

Recently, Jagan Mohan Reddy of YSR Congress party was arrested by the CBI for allegedly acquiring a property of 43,000 crores. Just to understand the figures, if the money is distributed, every Indian will get 358 crores. Yet, people of Andhra Pradesh voted for his party and the party came out of the elections with flying colors. So, what could be the possible reason behind such an election?

Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy has definitely introduced some great schemes for the poor. Arogya Sree is an example for such initiatives. But, isn't it the work of a Chief Minister to look after the people of the state? Why does the people doesn't understand the simple fact the Jagan is misusing his father's name and power for his personal benefits?

It is us, the people have to change. As long as we cast our votes for such politicians, they will treat us like this only.

If we talk statistics, the General elections will receive 50% to 55% voting. That means, 45 people for every 100 in India are not voting at all. Either these people are lazy or too busy, not to cast their vote.

It is an open secret that the political parties buy the votes of the people with money, liquor. No educated(socially responsible) man would accept these favors for their vote. That gives me an opportunity to infer that at least 70% the voters have sold their votes. That means, only 30% of the votes that were cast were by unbiased and genuine individuals.

Casting your vote without any bias would do miracles. Imagine a 100% polling which includes those of educated, who can think. Politics will not be a profitable business anymore. One can not amass thousands of crores in a span of 5 years. Abraham Lincoln famously said, Government is of the people, by the people, for the people. If the government is formed by us, then only it can work for us.

Every Indian must understand the importance of his vote and act accordingly. If left as is, this country will go back to stone ages. The sacrifices by many of our leaders like Gandhi, Bose or Bhagat Singh would be a mere waste. At least they had to fight an outsider. We need to fight against our own country men to make this country a great one.

I strongly feel, Indians as citizens of India doesn't deserve Democracy as long as a bottle of cheap liquor can buy our votes.

Kashi Pilgrimage

A trip to Kashi was planned with all the family members. Train tickets were booked three months back and when we boarded the train, it was crazy. In a bogie with a capacity of 72, there were 150 people on board. Even the TT couldn't help organize the rush. All I could say is "Welcome to UP".

Kashi station is named as Varanasi (BSB) and is a very busy railway station as the town is housing the holiest shrine as per Hindu culture. For hindus the famous Viswanath temple on the banks of Ganga river is as revered as Mecca to Muslims or Jerusalem to Christians.

Even though this is a purely spiritual trip, it started with a visit to Banaras Hindu University. This is one of the oldest universities in India and was started by the great Madan Mohan Malavya. He was a freedom fighter with a vision. The university is huge in terms of the area.

After visiting many of the smaller temples, we had our first glimpse of Ganga from the narrow lane leading to Kedar Ghat. Kashi has nearly about 100 ghats, some of which are even privately held. We took a boat ride from the ghat to the other side of the river and had a bathe in Ganga, which is supposed to cleanse our sins. I am not sure of that, but am sure of getting some kind of infection due to the impurities that are mixing into the river. The boat ride lead us to Lalitha Ghat, from where we went to have a darshan of the Viswanath temple. The temple is very small and the deity itself is very small in size. I always imagined a huge linga of the lord here. After the Darshan, we were taken to Dasaswamedh Ghat by the boat, to experience the Ganga Puja. This is a magnificent view from the river.

Being with the family, I had to sacrifice my hunt for nightlife in the town. After all, the town is known as the city of lights.

Next day, I decided to visit as many ghats as possible and started on foot. Manikarnika Ghat is the most important ghat in the town. It is entirely dedicated to the cremation of people of Hinduism. It is believed that any person's soul that died in Kashi, is freed from the cycle of rebirths and attains Moksha. So, thousands come to this holy city to attain Moksha by dying here. This makes Manikarnika Ghat, the most busiest cremation ground in the World. Also, it is said that the ash from the Ghat is used in Abhishekam of the Lord. Also, the legend says that Raja Harishchandra worked on this Ghat at the behest of Vishwamitra.

From Manikarnika, I moved to Lalitha Ghat again, where I witnessed the Vishwanath Aarthi that happens at seven every evening. This should not be confused with the Ganga Aarthi that is performed at Dasaswamedh Ghat every day at 7.30PM everyday. On the whole the weekend was an unforgettable one with loads of memories, mostly adding up to my spiritual development.

Coming to the materialistic Kashi, it offers, many things like famous Pattu(Silk) sarees, the ultra famous Pan (Betel nut wrapped in Betel leaves) and the Lassi (Sweet Yogurt). One must try these without fail.

Long time...

It's been a real long time from my last post. Have I been real busy? I guess not!!

I am going through a bad phase of my life right now. Problem is that I go through such phases at regular intervals. That is the original and actual problem with me. If I learn the art of avoiding such obscure patches, my life would be a fun ride for sure...

When the topic of problems come up, it always puzzle me why us humans will talk and concentrate more on the problem rather than the solution? Talking about the problem will only multiply the negative energy that is already there. Rather, forget the situations that landed one into the problem and search for the solution and you would come out with flying colors.

Any way, I am currently on my way to my native place for looking into a long time pending issue. Hope this would go smooth.

The Dindi Getaway

Its September again and time for annual get-together. This year we have decided to explore the beauty of Konaseema greenery. So, we have picked up the APTDC resorts at Dindi for our stay. APTDC has been a great travel partner for us with a very few occassional hiccups, mostly at the restaurant departments. This particular resort at Dindi was an exception with a very beautiful restaurant and rooms. The resort is located on the banks of river Godavari and is very picturesque. The excellent view of the coconut trees on the other side of the river was a scene to be remembered. The landscape was so dense with the coconut trees, that we wanted to visit the other side. We only came to know later that the resort we are staying at, is in an equally dense landscape. The other side of the valley is always greener."

Dindi is located in the East Godavari district and is 9kms and 16 kms in distance from Razole and Palkollu respectively. Razole is the nearest bus station and Palakollu is the nearest Railway station. The resort caters both the district's locals as an excellent weekend getaway. The swimming pool was decent enough for us to spend a couple of hours a day throughout the vacation and it was very relaxing.

I was the only bachelor in the whole group and all my friends are married and came along with their respective better halves. The very good thing that happened during the trip is that all the ladies gelled up with each other and everyone is comfortable in each other's company. This is very important as we are looking forward for many of such vacations in the future. The group was a mixture of all sorts of talents. The only downside is that two of my pals couldn't make it to this trip due to their work and the absence was felt almost at every moment.We were blessed to have a darshan of Lord Shiva at Draksharamam. The temple is one of the three Jyotirlingas in Andhra Pradesh, due to which the state got its name as Trilingadesha. Also, we had lunch at Subbayya hotel at Kakinada that day. The hospitality of the staff while serving the food is definitely worth a revisit to this eatery. It's a sure shot path to the hospital, with hospitality.

There is a canal that flows across the river Godavari at P.Gannavaram. A bridge was constructed for the vehicles to cross the river and below the vehicle movement zone, there goes a canal along with the bridge. The purpose of this is to make sure that the canal waters are not going into the river and are supplied for irrigation, on both sides of the river. The bridge was designed and constructed by Sir. Arthur Cotton, under the British raj. He is the same person who constructed a dam on the Godavari at Dhavaleswaram, near Rajamundry. No wonder, he is receiving poojas in temples across the Godavari districts for his contribution to irrigation and greenery in the region.

The trip was a great time for us to understand each other better and rejuvenate ourselves for the next one year. Hoping that the missing pals will join next year. Also, prospect of the addition of kids is quite exciting.

Yet another unforgettable week-end!!

Last five days of my life have been a real roller coaster of emotions. I experienced all the basic emotions like Joy, Trust, Fear, Surprise, Sadness, Disgust, Anger and Anticipation through out this period. I met the daughter of my friend who is just 20 days older, a bride, entering her new life, a 90 year old lady who is en-route to a temple, albeit her age and sickness, each one imparting a different kind of respect towards human life.

Man is a social animal and when the fear of society is taken off from that very man, he becomes a mere animal. There remains no difference between the thinking man and thoughtless dog or a pig. An incident that I experienced is so un-humanly that I was left in complete disgust towards the person who committed it. Very unfortunately, this man is a friend of mine with whom, I need to maintain the relationship for life.

On a very different occasion and another friend in the scene, I felt trust in the relationship solidified.

Overall, we are what we think. I know that I need to move forward remembering the incidents that impart positive energy to my thinking process and leave those, which will take me down. Thanks to my friends and well wishers who bestowed me with these emotions which will shape my personality.

Birthday Trip

I am not a spiritual guy by any standards. However, there has to be a force that is governing us. Religion is one name that we give to this unknown force and whenever we need help in matters that are out of our reach, we seek it from the religion.

I wanted this birthday to be extra special and decided to visit Tirupati to get the blessings of Lord Venkatesha. I have booked the accommodation and the Darshan three months in advance and failed to book the travel. So, started to Tirupati by bus. The travel took almost 16 hours and was uneventful.

Traveling alone has its own benefits: getting some quality time to think and evaluate about one's own life is one of them. I got ample time for this. I trekked up the hill on foot and it took 4 hours to reach the top. It was an awesome feeling to be in the temple town of Tirumala after 3 years. The Ramayan that played on the local radio puts anyone's heart at peace. It being the Brahmotsava's, the town is full of pilgrims and very busy.

After checking into the accommodation, that I booked earlier, I went for Darshan and was pleased to see the arrangements made by the Temple authorities for the pilgrims who walked to the abode. They gave me some basic meal to eat in the queue. This hospitality was not expected a couple of years back. I waited for 4 hours in the queue to see the almighty and the Darshan lasted less than 20 seconds. But all the pain was worth it.

After Darshan, I went to dinner and witnessed a strange phenomenon. I saw at least a dozen of newly weds enjoying their dinner. Where on Earth would I get such a glimpse?

The next day, it being my birthday, went to Darshan again and it took only an hour to meet the God.

I had to kill the whole day in Tirupati as my return journey is scheduled in the late evening. Tirupati is a small town. It doesn't have decent movie theaters or better shopping malls. If Lord Venkatesa miraculously vanish some day from his shrine, Tirupati will hold no importance whatsoever.

I managed to reach Kakinada, my home town, by next morning and spent some quality time with my family. Started to Vizag that evening and back to my routine, as usual...

Importance of Smiley in the informal communication.

I was chatting to two of my very close friends today and understood the importance of Smileys in the electronic communication.

There is a research that states 70% of communication in humans is Non-verbal. The facial expressions and body language comprise of this non verbal communication and the words that we speak form the verbal communication.

Some words are very harsh in nature, but sometimes used in teasing, when coupled with smile. But, in case of e-communication, the other party can not see our expressions. Smileys are one great innovation in e-communication.

Currently, I am in so much love with the emoticons. ;)

India, The World Champions

INDIA - A land of great diversity.

But, yesterday evening, the whole nation was united for a single cause. There was only one religion called Cricket and the biggest festival, the 2011 Cricket World Cup final, was in full swing. It was the clash between India's demigods and Sri Lankan lions. The Indians in the country and abroad were glued to the television sets in support to their team. Every Indian wished only one thing, a win in the finals and becoming the world champions. The Indian team reached the finals thrashing titans like Australia and Pakistan on their way.

Indian team was the favorite to lift the cup even before the start of the series. People were anticipating a fairytale end for Sachin Tendulkar, the man with virtually every record under his name, except a World cup victory. At the age of 38, this could be practically Sachin’s last World Cup and he wishes to win this one very badly. The sentiment is so strong that the team said that it will win the cup just for this man.

And as the history unfolded before the millions of spectators, India fought superbly and became the champions. Gambhir displayed the greatest nerve under pressure and Dhoni matched shot to shot with him. The world cup feather was added to Sachin’s cap in style. It was a very emotional moment for whole team.

The whole nation went into a kind of mass hysteria once India won the cup. Every city witnessed its masses on the streets dancing and singing. Every individual had his own way of expressing their happiness. Some danced to a bollywood number while some were emotionally singing the national anthem. The tri-color was everywhere. The traffic jams became a norm and yet the usually restless souls never complained.

The people of India are well known for their impatience and differences. Yet, a sporting event can put all those differences aside. It was a great feeling to see your favorite team winning, but witnessing the greatest party with no limitations whatsoever is a different thing altogether.

This happens only in India…

Destruction of statues on Tank Bund, Hyderabad.

Frankly speaking, there are no words to express my feelings. I don't know how one can think of future without respecting the past. And the irony is, our so called leaders are not even bothering about future of people.

I still remember my first visit to Hyderabad as a tourist when I was in 3rd class and walking down the tank bund and listening to stories of great people from my Mom and Dad.

Tanknund for me and my sister WAS Hyderabad...

Deshbhakti

Why do so called celebrities do not have minimum ethics about behaving in public? Doesn't they realize the after effects or are they indifferent towards the sentiments?

Here we have Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza having no respect to the Indian flag.



It's pathetic to see our idols behaving like this...