Covid Experience

After managing to avoid the major Covid waves, the third wave took us down. The three of us had Covid and the isolation period was a new experience altogether. The stress is a lot more psychological than the actual impact from Covid. The stress of staying isolated, social desertation, fear adds more to health woes than anything else the Virus does.

Staying isolated in a room needs a lot of mental support also from the family. Getting served from family during covid is less critical than getting mental support from them.

1. Keep the situation as normal as possible.

2. Keep the isolated family/person involved in the regular family talks. Keep them updated about what is happening in the home.

3. Do not pinpoint or poke them again and again about isolation using sanitiser or staying away

4. Ask them to go out in open (terrace or balcony) with proper masks on and without them touching anything. Extra care shall help here. But fresh air makes the person feel a lot more comfortable and helps in quicker recovery.

What the isolated person should do?

1. If you are isolated from other people, it’s a good time to spend either with yourself or with the person you are isolated with.

2. Engage in your interests or hobby which can be done indoors – reading books, practising music, singing etc

3. Be responsible and take proper precautions like wearing masks, using sanitisers, not touching things outside the room etc so that non-infected people stay safe.

Covid is a humbling experience for any individual and the family. I hope anyone getting affected by Covid recovers quickly - both mentally and physically.

Get Vaccinated! 

Earth Hour

So how many of you celebrated the Earth hour?? or rather how many even  knew about it?? I switched off all the lights and fans at 8:25pm except the TV. Why not the TV?? Because my dad was watching his favorite song on Zee cinema...and he is DAD...u cant order him!!! So as soon as the song was over 15 min later, even that flickering light went off.

But it gave me an interesting question to ponder over? How effective would it have been as IPL is going on in this cricket crazy nation.But given that people have now started taking sides and Delhi did not have its match today, the IPL  effect would have been minimal in Delhi. But i was intrigued with another question instantly? What if Sachin had been playing? Not talking about others, would I myself had switched off the TV then? I would have if had he got out but definitely not while he was playing.For the Earth hour can be postponed for some time,huh! But if I have been so considerate for Earth hour, would I have prayed for Sachin to get out? Naah,that would have been a much bigger crime.Something, for which even God wouldnt have forgiven me,i guess.No Indian can pray that even if takes sides.For Sachin is above all sides!.

So now the TV lights were also gone. The only illumination came from the cellphones. I messaged few people to switch off their lights. Hopefully they did.Both of us started waiting eagerly for clock to strike thirty minutes past nine.It was as if some timer would go off at 9:30.Dad was resisting his temptation to switch on the TV,for he was feeling as if the time had stopped.But,he was the person who initiated the idea of switching off all appliances in the morning.So, that added to the pressure. He controlled,watched the cellphone time after every 5 minutes..but alas coudnt resist and switched on the TV at 9:25pm. I still think not a bad duration. We were in the dark for the complete hour.

I felt, a siren should go on all over the city indicating the start and end of the Earth hour.I feel everyone should switch off the lights atleast once a week. Not just for climate change, but also it will help reduce your monthly electricity bill :).

All this while in the dark, I was eager to put this down in the blog.It appeared as if the mind was working overtime giving creative ideas in the dark.Any relation between the two,huh?

Women Reservation Bill

So,8th was the Women International Day.It seems something happens to people on these sort of days...Women Day,Valentine's Day Rose Day etc etc..the list is endless.Everytime, lots of people come out on streets for and against the day.So this time our MPs decided to join the bandwagon.Ramu can defiinitely get one hit movie if he bases his theme on the ruckus in Parliament.One can only enjoy the scenes going on there,but yeah it gets a bit monotonous after a while.the slogans shouted in the well were nothing but hilarious.I just wonder what the poor 70-80yr old(does it matter 70 or 80?) Ansari could have done except calling marshals.


Anyways,the bill was passed somehow and was hailed as an historical event for Indian democracy.All of a sudden,every women seemed to be empowered,every MP thought he has done the lone task required to reach heaven(thinking of apsaras!!). It talked about empowering women and bringing them on par with men with 33% reservation,seats being reserved on rotation basis for 3 consecutive general elections.Lalu and Mulayam opposed it but the arguments they provided could'nt have made for more non sense.Soon they would demand quota for Buddhists,Jainists,parsis.etc..and then there are 33cr deities in Hinduism alone..Dont forget,there could be a demand for men reservation also in some time.There is always a scope to expand you pond.

For me, the bill is nothing more than a hypocrisy.It tries to potray that women can come on par only if men want them to.Does Sonia(India's most powerful person is a lady) need a  legislation to empower women? The rotation system violates the basic principles of democracy.Not only 2/3 MPs would be compulsorily unseated after every election,but also restrict the choice of voters to choose women only(Though catfight has always generated lot of interest.).This might have helped had they been Miss Indias!!But instead, we may see many more Rabri's in the fray.Also,because of compulsory unseating,there would be no incentive to nurture the constituencies and plan the development(Atleast will provide them a legal reason not to do so).We already know our attitude towards people coming through reservation.Add to it that they are women..What respect will they get??

Now you will call me anti-feminist,anti-women.No,I'm not. I oppose it with full force.We want people like Sheila Dixit in Parliament,not Dimple Yadav.Let us not forget that the people in Parliament are the same who are running the political parties. I mentioned about hypocrisy earlier. Why not these same guys,the pseudo-feminists, give 33% tickets to women mandatorily in the elections.Now here is another catch.They may give tickets to 33% women but in constituencies that are de facto losen.The solution may be to categorise units in form that 1 out of every 3 party candidate is women.The units for Lok Sabha could be state,for assembly it could be contiguous LK constituencies.Penalise them if these norms are not followed.This,I believe, will bring only serious candidates in picture and promote natural leadership based on abilities and perserverance.And voters can choose between both men and women.
There is lot more I can talk about the bill,its negative consequencies are still many,I only touched the tip of the iceberg.As someone said, if you want to work sincerely,you dont need regulations but if not, then you can find zillion loopholes in a single regulation.

I believ Indians are still better off than the West in this regard.We have a woman President,US still doesnt have one;we had a woman PM,US might never have one.The most powerful person in India is a woman.But still we Indians tend to copy models from the West everytime and everytime we never fail to pick up the failed models. The above model is based on erstwhile Soviet Union and never brought the desired results there. May be these MPs show some manhood and copy the European model of party based quotas.I am not expecting innovations.

Saade satti..!!!

So one more year starts with a bad note....this has been continuing for quite some time now and seems have relegated to it. The previous year ends on a very good inspiring note to be washed away by the new year.But I have even stopped losing heart over it now,infact have given lots of gyan to people having similar results. The cat results will not dampen my spirits this time,I have told myself.

This year,it seems,has brought added misery to me.For there are many reasons to get depressed-health issues, not getting the desired recognition for putting the hard work or say ignored,issues on relationship front and many others.Infact, ma had warned me about it last year. She had talked to the panditji who told her that mera bura waqt shuru hone wala hai...mere upar shani ki chaya hai(the word shani can scare the shit out of anyone)...something called saade satti(Before that I had heard only of satte pe satta!!)..and ye to sabhi jaante hai ki jispar shani aaya, uska kuch nhi ho sakta.....and i just wondered ki abhi aur kitna bura hona baaki hai..and am still wondering..!!!Ma says that even when shani was born and opened his eyes,there was a solar eclipse.!!!Talk to ma and she will list down all the action items to be done to prevent the bad effects...shani mandir jao, shanivar ko daan do,peepal par paani chadao and lots more..i cant even remember...its just  another type of torture..!!!




So just out of curiosity,I opened the Kundli software on my system and fed the inputs from my kundli.You must be wondering why it is even there on my system.Maa had used it extensively to find my bro's match(reminded me of the game,"flames" we used to play in school).Generally, reading one's kundli gives a very good feeling for all the nice things have been written in it.(atleast this is true in my case :P).So after feeding all the inputs, I found that what maa was saying was all true.There was everything negative written about what was going to happen to me.Frightened,I just preferred to close the scary software!!!

With what all is going,I somehow started to believe in it a little.After going all through this, I wondered how long will this last..a month or two..maximum.So i asked maa casually..The conversation went like this:

A: maa,kitne din aur rahega ye saade satti?
M: pata nahi, abhi to shuru hua hai.
A:shuru hua hai..matlab?
M:Haan paditji keh rahe the 2-3 saal to rehta hi hai...
A:Huh?? 2-3saal..!! kyu bachhe ki jaan lene par tule hue hai shani bhagwan..kya bigaada hai maine unka aisa..
M: beta, ye to nhi pata ki tune kya bigaada hai...par tu seva karne lag jaa unki nahi to wo bahut kuch bigaad denge..

And I was,ab aur bhi kuch bacha hai bigaadne ko...!!

Now now somehow the scene is like anything not happening to my wishes is blamed on shani bhagwan and his saade satti... and it seems it has a long way to go...koi to bachao!!!

When friends meet....magik happens..!!!

Am writing this one so that we can relive the fun moments we had yesterday when we go down the memory lane some years later....I have written similar posts before but saw the effects of those few days back...when one of my frens read about one of them and not only got nostalgic...but also disseminated the contagious disease to the entire group.

With everyone getting more and more engaged as each instant passes on,it has become lot more difficult to stay in touch with each other....Its easy to say that with the technological revolution,distances and time have become an illusion....but i feel otherwise....No doubt, you can certainly "stay in touch" with each other, but nothing can replace the moments when u meet in person...and when friends meet, magik happens....definitely....

So we guys met at our cliched hangout place,CP.We =Rajat,Romit ,Sumit, Nipun and yours truly. Nipun was initially tentative...but if Rajat had to make it, Nipun was mandatory...or to say, rajat hai aur nips nahi...aisa to qayamat aa jaaye to bhi nahi ho sakta....so somehow even he made it.Astonishingly, it was coordinated by Sumit.....the guy rarely makes it to the occasion...but taking lead this time was simply awesome...He left home with two objectives in mind...one to have dinner at Pandara Road...and one to catch the 10:50pm metro...no matter even if any terrorist attack happens....he even took "his own" Rajat into confidence...So, everytime we would talk of having a golgappa plate or aaloo chat, there would come out a line..bhai pandara road to jaayenge hi....

So after couple of golgappa plates and aaloo chat in CP, we decided to move to Pandara Road finally.Evn i displayed my Schumi talent,though not with eterno...but with car...After some zig-zags and life threatening moments(we had to ask romit not to take his hands out.....of the window), we made it to the destination.....the much acclaimed Pandara Road.

Ohh..forgot to mention the calculations which all but me had been doing all this while....no dammit...it wasnt about their lives...i wasnt driving that dangerously either...infact, i was in full consciousness....it was the time by which they would complete their dinner and catch the last metro... for instance,one of those went like this:
8:45pm : at cp
8:57:    pandara road
23 min waiting time...
9:21 dinner starts...
10:08 dinner ends...
roam around India Gate for 23 minutes...
 10:46: reach metro station and catch the last metro at 10:50pm...
So most of the calculations hovered around these numbers....i apologize for errors in seconds,if any.

So, the dinner started after finishing with the waiting time...It would have been one of the most fun-filled dinner...with stories of Sumit's bravery and courage(yea..his story is in process of being sent for nominations to Wills Red &White Bravery Awards..!!), romit selecting a gal for me(yea..he started this business some time back...office me jyada kaam nhi hota na..!!!), rajat's confession of "sleepless" nights with nips...rajat's blitzkrieg calculations in dividing the bill to the precise amount(subah iift de kar aaya tha)...sumit tendering the precise amount...and so on..but the best one was from nips...."Abhi romit k dono hath busy hai.."

So after finishing the dinner, everyone again started to calculate...yea u got it rite...they had to catch the metro..so after some deliberations from rajat to spend some more time, we decided to have a round on rajpath and a chuski(barf gola)...and i was back behind the wheel...the next few minutes passed driving on the rajpath,having a chuski and getting clicked....and singing karaoke in the car..each posing as the next Himesh Reshamiya in the offing....

The clock was ticking...the coarse voices started rising to drop them at metro station..their calculations were going haywire...but then i, a humble person  respecting their feelings, made a dash towards the station...dropping them precisely at 10:47pm. am sure one of them must have got it rite....in fact, each one of them would have got some or the other part of the whole computation rite....

So we bid goodbye to each other,promising,as usual, to meet again very soon....till then we would keep reliving these moments through my posts... :)

Optimisim...How much??

Optimism, sanguine, hopeful,(be)positive.....

These would be some of the most common words one would listen in a gyan session...in a motivating session....or in any self-help book. The so called guru would paraphrase these words in multitudinous convictions and you come out all  "highly motivated" from the room..all charged up to take things under your control now and solve all your problems..But alas..! the tempo lasts only for a while and you are gripped with the pessimist fever again..you again start to feel deplorable about yourself because things stop turning out your way....you again feel the darkness in front of  you...you become pensive...all the gloomy and melancholy scenes are painted in front of you....you look for someone who can sympathize with you...who can empathize with you....who can solve all your problems with a clap...you look out for shoulders to cry on...gals generally find them easily...men do not...(Take life as it comes is,i believe, one of the most farce sentences people blurt out..!!!)...you need a dose of that session once again to recharge the batteries...fortunately, these batteries last longer than those of Duracell...But sooner or later you realize how shallow those fundae given by the guru are...you realize that the guru has been saying the same thing over and over again..and most of them are specious...

Everyone has a problem...As Vivekananda said," If you do not face a problem someday, realise that you are on a wrong path". I admire that person so much, his sayings seem so true, so plausible and pragmatic....but definitely they are not spurious...But they do generate a spark in you.

i have seen friends,brothers,sisters cribbing over what to do with their problems. the problems may be minutiae or may be mammoth...But everyone cribs...and i feel everyone should....but not always, not in front of everyone....Some people start whining in front of every second person they meet...that soon you prefer to take the circuitous path to avoid that person....for you know that the only thing he would do to you is take you down along with him...i certainly like gals in this regard..for they do not break down anywhere...but only when with that one person they are comfortable with....so the main problem lies in finding that one person...but once they are done solving this, u would be surprised by the content they have...even the number of items in their purse would be lesser..!!!

Men are of two types: one who do not start  and one who do not stop...no matter how friendly you are with them, they may not even tell you their simplest of the problems....for they feel it wud be futile..that they may solve it themselves....and many other such reasons.The other type i have already described above.....but believe me...every single person has countless number of problems...some crib that they do not have a job,those who have,have issues with them, some have issues with their manager,some with their  (gal)frens and so on...the list is endless...

I have been the recipient of so many stories and i(the gyan guru.!!!) also just ask them to be patient and be OPTIMISTIC.!!!..for i also tell them that problems are bound to come..but the solutions lie in those problems only ...and u need to solve only those riddles...but then am also human...even i have my batteries discharged time and again....and in those moments i ponder over the question i talk about..

How Much OPTIMISTIC a person should be..??

and along with these come out a number of scenarios, a number of riddles one can encounter....Some of them may be:
1)when you have been giving your best and still not getting the desired results, what should  you do with your optimism...
2)when you are try to work your way out through the mess you create but still manage to screw it up..how much optimist you shud be?? and even if you manage to clear the mess but repeat a similar one next time..should you pat yourself..!!!!
3)when you do something,and it can be anything, and always find some sort of impedance, will you be optimistic?
4) when you know(or at least it is apparent), that things would not turn out the way you want them to be,should you be hopelessly optimistic?And if you are optimistic even then,will not that amount to fooling yourself that good things would happen?
5)when you love a gal and she refuses you, should you be hopeful that one day she wud come to you? should you continue to be good frens with her on the hope that one day she will understand your feelings??


Am still trying to figure out the answer to some of these questions....Any suggestions???

SACHHHHINNNNN....SACHHHHHINNNNNN..!!!!

Whoaaa..!!! What a match...what a thriller...ohh my god....it just cant get any better....for all those(like my bro) who missed it, i feel pity for you...you dont even deserve the highlights of that innings...!!!!

First the bench hammers the so called regulars in every nook and corner of the park,and then we see the GOD...a real masterstroke...Any words would be small for that short but big guy...

Nobody does solos better than Sachin Tendulkar,except Brian Lara.Nobody has endured as much heartbreak during those solos, except for Lara. I just cudnt stop screaming.... SACHHHHINNN...SACHHHHINNN...!!!! during the match, and now i feel miserable....am just about in tears for that poor chap....they cudnt even score 19 of 17...that son of a b*** jadeja....wasnt he taught how to run....how can u run when the fielder has the ball in his hands...he dint think even once of sachin...???

It just reminded me of the horrors of that Chennai test...the same saga got repeated and Sachin was left deserted...again...Then he had left 18 for others to score and this time it was 19. Why hasnt he realised,he shud complete his work and rely on others...No wonder, why we Indians switch off our Tv sets when Sachin gets out....No wonder, why any Indian feels lucky if the smoke from Sachin's Ferrari even touches him...No wonder,I got excited when I got to know that my bhabhi's brother audits the IT files of Sachin...No matter we have Sehwags,Dhonis or Yuvrajs...no one commands that endurance.......no one even comes near it...At 36, he is still the only hope for the Indian team.

Well...What a gem of an innings...it even eclipsed the new record of 17000 runs amassed in ODIs...people were praying for him to get only those seven runs....but whoa,today the God was watching the other God create history....records are just a plaything for him....i bet there would have been innumerous crimes committed tonite....for today even the Lord was busy somewhere else..!!!

As is the superstition for every Indian, the same holds for me...I just kept quiet,even put my whole hand on my mouth,for I feared that if i spoke even a single word, something nasty might happen...i just forced everyone in the room to keep themselves shut...for sachin was batting...but still it happened,and it happened even though i did not remove my hand,.(i wish to kill that ass**** who removed his hand from his mouth if i find him)...(i know it is superstition,damn it)..and once that happned, i did not know how to react...i just threw the pillow against the wall and came out of the room banging the door as hard as possible(had to take care of dad'wrath also...).

Okk,let me (try to) control my emotions...First of all,all credits to the aussies for an awesome display of their batting and bowling skills,despite of the fact that it was a flat batting track...Even though,the aussies have a separate team of Unfit 11, still they managed to send chills down the spines of the regular Indian players...Munaf and Nehra elegantly showed how they can beat Ishant in giving away runs....Aussies bowled to the plan but somehow cud not get better of Sachin..he maintained the required run rate,even though wickets kept falling at the other end....though he found some company in Raina...

Who says the ODIs are dying...The younger aussie lot must have been bamboozled by the noise and the crowd in the stadium...it was just deafening....for they would not have seen such mammoth crowd in their whole lives....for they dont even find so many people in whole of australia...the crowd did not come to see aus bat,or even india bat...they came to see sachin score 17000runs...and he obliged...respectfully...but they still gave a splendid performance,unnerved in the end and providing a sweet but hard earned(despite the 350) victory to their team.

Watson must not be cribbing for not getting the Man-of the match...for he witnessed a much bigger stuff...something he may never witness again on the field...He setup the game for the aussies with blistering 93 and splendid, tight bowling,sending Yuvi and Raina back when it mattered the most...His efforts were almost a footnote on the night...

Hopefully, now those who speak of Sachin's retirement would lie low for some time....hopefully, the sehwags,dhonis and yuvrajs learn something from the grandpa(dadaji ke nuskhe..)....

I just cant control my emotions..i will have to go....let me see whr to vent out my frustation....