1 day ago
The People in the Signs
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Before I apply for a driver's license theory test, I have to spend endless hours looking at a computer screen and answering random questions about the road and it's rules. This involves some staring at those road signs telling me of cyclists, pedestrians, trams, buses and whatnot.
These signs are actually quite interesting (yes, that's how bored I get these days), because I love extracting stories and stuff from them. I do this particularly from the road signs depicting people, and the "elderly people" sign always evokes something in me... Don't ask me why.
The UK elderly people sign that is... Everytime I see it somewhere, it I see some weird sort of shadow person on white background love, because I can see two old people bent with age, holding hands (HOLDING HANDS), and struggling to walk while the man bravely leads his woman on in front of her with a stick. I think, 'Well, he must be a very caring husband, and she the perfect doting wife to him. Just look at the way they stick to each other even after their backs are bent with struggle and age.'
Another sign is the pedestrians sign (no, not the pedestrian crossing sign). The sign makes me think of strong father figure who cares about his little girl and would do anything to protect her from the world and, well, what with so much crap in the world that's hard to see sometimes.
Okay, so there was no real point to this and I now look crazy, but does anybody else ever notice these things?
Filed under Muse
Write? Me?
Friday, January 11, 2008
It's no secret, I have no illusions... I don't think of myself as a writer, and I don't believe that any material (should I decide against shredding as soon as writing) will ever make a difference to a single mind, let alone the world. I don't think of myself as this enigma, or as a genius. That's just not me and I know what I can be good at, and what I'm terrible at. I think I'm positively great at computers, up to a certain level, and trust me, I am not boasting. It's this confidence that I have around them. I love this confidence, but say 'writer' and it's been taken too far.
Maybe dreamer...
Let me explain... When I am writing, anything for that matter, be it my latest pathetic attempt at the crime of the century (starring, as always, Mike Anderson - since bloody 12 years old), my latest 'romance novel' for luv (i think i might need a good pseudonym), or even my latest blog... I don't write to impress, and I don't write to serve any particular purpose. I write what I think, and I write what I feel. I can never ever have more than a small fraction of the world near anything I write not only because I'm terrified of being criticised, but also because it was quite simply never meant for that.
I don't ever want to be rich and famous... All I'm doing is sharing a little bit of space in my head with a few other people who do the same thing... Sure, there was a time when I aspired to be a journalist... and as exciting as that prospect was, I'm not your average risk taker... I believe in calculated risks, yes where Benefit > Cost, and thus a mathematical certainty. I write to please myself, and when I write, a whole world of possibility is thrown open... I can live a life in my writings that is not mine, and still not be jailed for it... Writing is what I do when too many thoughts run through my mind, or when too many emotions run through my heart... Writing takes me places that I have only dreamed of... Writing is the one place I become a dreamer, for neither you, nor I can be a dreamer all their lives... I could never be bothered with the pressure or the reality of real writing...
So in the end, what could I be called? A writer? A title that I could never be worthy of, moreover, a censure on my spirit I would not be able to handle. A blogger? Now that sounds brilliant... :)
Who are you?
Filed under Muse
Woman
Saturday, January 05, 2008
This is just something that I think about from time to time, but how many times a day do you stop and think about the women around you? You see them, walking down the street, prettying themselves up, looking absolutely fabulous... you see them at home, wearing the grayest clothes and with morning hair, looking more fabulous... The world might cease to exist if it wasn't for them...
I can't help but think that women must be among the most divine creatures on earth. I'm not just referring to one specific woman, and I'm not just referring to women who play specific roles in our lives... I'll admit that this has been inspired by the love of my life... but it's also every other woman who ever lived... it's not just about that one woman in your life... It's about every single woman you come across or every single woman who makes your life a wee bit brighter every day.
To all the women out there, I bow to you, because I dare not imagine where the world would be without you... You're the ones we turn to when we're so lost in life, and it's your phenomenal energy that lifts us clear of our misery and pain. You're the ones who inspire us, you're the ones who push us along the way when we're down and out... You're the ones that shine your light into the world and make it a hell of a lot better to live in. You make us what we are... You're the yardstick by which we measure ourselves... Nothing means more to us than the never ending support that you extend... nothing feels better than the tightness of your hug, the warmth of your kiss and the "shh..." when the world has screwed us over so badly that we are reduced to tears...
To women, just take a look at yourself in the mirror... and let yourself know that you're of the highest order in the universe, and you are cherished above all else... Why? Because of the way you care... as a sister, as a friend, as a lover and as a mother... The way you hold that special place in the lives of men around you... the way you're so tough when you need to be, and so incredibly soft and delicate when you need to be, and the way you just know... The way you're so special to us, and the way you hold the life of earth in your hands... the way you can light up the world with your smile and the way you're just so charming... You are the embodiment of life... Mother Nature, is after all, the most beautiful thing in the world, and the eternal woman...
To men, you might be with a woman right now, or you might see her a bit later... Just don't forget to let her know how special she is... Be it your mum, sis, friend, wife or girlfriend... You wouldn't be half of what you are without her... You don't have to tell her how amazing she is.. Hold her a little longer and a little tighter than you did yesterday, and she'll know...
:)
Filed under Think
India: Unauthorised (Part 1)
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Unauthorised here, means India as it has been interpreted through my eyes. No doubt some drug addict will see India differently. I'm not going to be giving you statistics about India, but what you'll get is a very real picture. I have been having a lot of second thoughts about starting this, not because I don't want to tell you about where I come from, but because talking about a country means that you leave the relatively safe realm of your head and move out into the open where other people can relate to what you are saying. And criticism is what we're all scared of isn't it?
Criticism, however can be dealt with and learned from, therefore criticism will most definitely be tolerated here. Profanity will not. Get comfy... This is going to get long.
____________________________________________________________________
India, as most of you may know, is a peninsular country in south Asia. I will not waste time analyzing the shape of India and comparing it to objects, because quite honestly, although it doesn't look like anything in particular, I have always thought it looks very clear cut and well defined. Beautiful really. I guess you'll have had to grow up looking at it over and over again in a geography book to appreciate it.
India is the 7th largest country in the world, and some parts of India are not exactly attached to it. These parts include the Andaman and Nicobar islands (South east), and the Maldives islands (not shown), but we'll come back to geography later.
I remember my 6th grade civic sciences book defining India as a secular, sovereign, democratic republic. It then went on to explain each of these terms to me, which I doubt i need to do now, but I will tell you how each of those terms apply.
India is secular, i.e. tolerant towards many religions. Indeed, in no other place in the world will you find so many different religions woven into the thread of the fabric that makes India. No religion in India is seen as an "outside" religion, and no person can be discriminated against based on his/her religion. Hinduism emerged in India, and is the most dominant religion in the country, but some of the other popular religions include Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. This said, there has been a lot of controversy and violence based on religious grounds lately, but we'll discuss that as soon as you fully understand why this happens. The presence of so many religions means we probably get the most number of holidays in the world.
India is sovereign, and it gained this sovereignty (independence) on the 15th of August, 1947, when the British Rule over India finally came to an end after nearly 200 years. This day is a public holiday and is celebrated in India as Independence Day. Any British national who is reading this is probably wondering what an Independence Day must feel like, since they have to settle for the Queen's Birthday Parade. But honestly, it feels wonderful, since I'm celebrating something that makes me swell up in pride at the bravery of my ancestors in fighting the war of independence. But don't let that conjure up images of a bloody war, large parts of this war was simple non-violent resistance, taught and demonstrated by Mahatma Gandhi.
India is a democratic republic. The people of India elect their country's leaders through a secret ballot. India became a republic on the 26th of January, 1950 with the signing of the constitution by some of our most prominent freedom fighters. This day is also a public holiday, celebrated as Republic Day. Both these holidays are very important in the Indian calendar and are marked by huge festivities, parades and a variety of other activities including song, dance, plays, skits, debates etc.
Cultural events encourage the old and the young alike to take part across the country everywhere from the schools and town centers of villages to the heart of the capital city of India (New Delhi). And they are truly wonderful to watch, since culture is where all of India unites as one. The picture above shows a number of schoolchildren in the Indian state of New Delhi, gathered for an independence day display.
The national capital of India is New Delhi, and the national language is Hindi. The hindi script is derived from sanskrit and an example is shown alongside. National language it may be, but Hindi is not spoken by the majority of the country, and is used more often in the North than in the South. This is probably because of the size of India and the influences of various surrounding regions, colonies and empires on each separate state. Incidentally, one of our prime ministers had never even learned to speak Hindi, and in his address to the nation, he had someone write each word phonetically in his own language so that he could talk to the people. "India", in hindi is known as "Bharat" (yes, I know that's my name), or sometimes "Hindustan" (Land of the Hindus).
I must now come to an end of the first part of this tour, and although this part has contained mainly background information, the next one will delve deeper into India today, and give you a more present sort of picture. For what will you understand of the present and future, when you do not know of the past?
And help me out here, if you've gotten bored with this post, it's because I don't know what you want to hear. So ask me a few question (questions damnit!), and I'll integrate them into the next part. That way, you get to learn what you want, and the extra bits :).
And help me out here, if you've gotten bored with this post, it's because I don't know what you want to hear. So ask me a few question (questions damnit!), and I'll integrate them into the next part. That way, you get to learn what you want, and the extra bits :).
Our Flag (The Indian Tricolour) - Part 2
Filed under India
Ignorance
Thursday, December 27, 2007
The world is chock full of ignorance.
Ignorance in that everybody has a lot of assumptions about a lot of things, but never really bother to check their facts. Ignorance is also contagious, and here, you can read ignorance as gullibility. There's no word such as "gullible" in the dictionary, believe me.
To make sense of this, let me tell you a little bit about who I am. First off, my name is Bharat, I'm an Indian, and I currently reside in London, United Kingdom. I say currently because I never stay in the same place for more than three years, and this is because my father works in the Indian Air Force, and has been posted to London for (you guessed it) 3 years as a diplomat.
Being a diplomat, it has to be second nature for us to interact with people from different backgrounds, ethnic origins, languages, parts of the world etc. This is all well, since most of the people I meet from other countries are extremely interested in my country and its customs, and I am quite interested in a lot of things about their respective countries. We're destroying ignorance, and learning some very useful things about each other. For most part it's very enjoyable.
Now let's get to the point. I study in sixth form at a college here, and take a Mathematics GCSE with my regular studies. There's this guy in my math class who, well, gets on everybody's nerves, and about a week ago, he asked me if it was true that there were chickens in Indian airports. That's right, he said "chickens". Now I don't know how everybody else in the world looks at India, but chickens in any airport is just taking it too goddamn far. I explained to him that there were no chickens in the airports, and in fact, the chickens were all in the rural areas, thank you very much, but he just wouldn't listen. It just gets to me how mule-headed people can be about countries and sentiments of people in those countries. (If you're thinking that he was just taking the mickey out of me, then that's not true either, he was honestly that stupid.)
This got me thinking about how many other people he'd probably convinced that there were chickens in Indian airports, well, no not exactly that, but how many other people had completely idiotic beliefs about what my country is really like. So, I've decided to try and make a difference with my blog, and I'm going to put up a series of blogs that let you know all about India.
Well, I'd be happy to receive any questions from you about India that you would like answered, and I'll do my best to give you the whole, unpolished-by-tourism-agency truth about India. Fire away people :) and be enlightened. You can either put the questions in comments, or just mail them to me (my email address is in my profile).
There are really no chickens in the airports...
Filed under India
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