Say no to plastic waste

An Australian town named Bundy did a deed that, I believe, marks the beginning of the actual practical anti-global-warming steps that the world's political leaders only talk about. It banned bottled water. Why? Here's why:

1. Bottled water causes unnecessary cost of plastic that is finally crushed & thrown to dirty the environment.
2. There are huge transportation costs associated with bottling & packaging.
3. A New South Wales study found that in 2006, the bottling & packaging industry was responsible for releasing 60,000 tonnes of gases blamed for global warming.
4. Cash savings by going for an alternative.

The alternative they adopted were public drinking fountains. Packaged water bottles in the shop shelves were replaced by reusable bottles which can be filled from fountains inside the town's shops or at water stations in the street.

The world needs more such campaigns rather than G-20 meetings where leaders can only talk. Now, other communities in the world should think of banning soft drink bottles which:

1. Harm health & soften the bones & teeth
2. Are bottled and canned, the environmental effects of which have already been mentioned.
3. Charge an enourmously ridiculous amount of our hard-earned money for what it's actually worth & which go to endorsing their brand, competing with other brands, & handing out huge pay-cheques to filmstars & celebrities

ENOUGH OF THINKING. ENOUGH OF MUSING. IT'S TIME TO REFLECT.

Culture & Lifestyle: India vs. America. Who's superior? My take...

Culture

It's America for me. I know, it's tough for me to say this, being an Indian & staying in India all my life. But that's what I feel, & here's why:

     We speak of Indian culture & stuff, but it's not much existent in contemporary India, to be honest. We have got it all mixed up with the west. So, we haven't got much of an identity ourselves which we did a century ago... Whereas Americans, they have it well-sorted out...That's what culture is all about...it's the way of life & the thinking of the nation, not its individual citizens.

Some hardcore patriotic Indians might argue that we lost some of our cultural oneness just because we were in the British influence for 2 centuries...I beg to differ, because we are noticing an increase in the cultural & economic disparities in the last 15-20 years rather than immediate post-independence. In fact, Brits made things easier for us..they gave us postal system, railways, telephones etc while they were here. Otherwise India still would have been counted in the underdeveloped countries even after having the money with us which the British stole away...

What we have lost is our "cultural homogeneity"...We do many things which is Indian, but we also do many things that we directly ape from the west....the way we dress up, the transition of the spoken language from Hindi to English, our eating habits, socializing, etc...However, the west has hardly copied anything from us...It has maintained its culture, while we have crawled towards a state of cultural instability...


Lifestyle

Both of the countries are at the same level, but in very different ways. Most of us Indians stay with our family, we don't have very strict rules, regulations & laws that we follow.  And we are not much into recession. America scores on the per capita income level & self-service idea of life...But with the Indians taking on all the bad stuff from the American lifestyle like drinking, live-ins, extravagant shopping, etc, I expect India to go a steep low on lifestyle in the near future, compared to America.

My thoughts reveal another shift from the general notion that social well-being & economic development always complement each other... I'll give you an example...
   China, which has the world's 3rd largest GDP, is the fastest developing economy in the world. The per capita income of an average Chinese is much higher than that of an average Indian...It is the back-office & the factory of the entire world... But know what? No Chinese wants to be reborn as a Chinese... It's a strongly communist nation. The Govt. treats the people over there as machines, not humans...China is progressive, it's got tons of money, got great infrastructure building underway, everything appears rosy....but at what cost?? human lives & humanity..There's no personal choice or individual freedom. There's neither respect nor value of an individual...It's just about the bird-eye view of the entire economy.
    So, the point I'm trying to make is that standard of living & quality of life do not always go hand in hand... It's high time India realiszes this fact. India might have produced many business tycoons & stalwarts...but the life of an avg Indian is deteriorating day by day...The GDP growth might be very high, but the gap between the rich & poor is increasing too...If the number of rich people is increasing, the number of poor is also following suit...This is not the case in America or any other European nation. The disparity is not so vast. We speak of making Mumbai a Shanghai & have constructed the Bandra-Worli sea-link as a starter...But look at Dharavi, which is the world's largest slum, also in Mumbai...

    You might think I am one of those guys who find the grass greener on the other side. But I am not. I still say the grass is greener on our side. We just need to water it properly. India is better than America in a few aspects of culture like spiritual enlightenment, concept of joint family, less mechanization of life, etc...but we need to conserve those pluses.

BOSM 2k9 - TT Diaries

BOSM 2k9 will remain one of the most eventful & memorable period of my days @ Pilani. We (Abpa (c), Kamath, Sista, Daddu, Chief, Manu, Vishal, Bagshi & I) had a blast. This is how:

1st day:
 
     After a day's practice, we went to Gym-G for the Inaug ceremony. It was boring & we got busy checking out the Outstie girls...
    In the night, we had a tough time sorting out the problems of DJ Sanghvi, Mumbai who have a habit of crying at every trivial matter till the end. They had got only 3 of their players while our format had mentioned the team event to hv a doubles as well...which meant 4 players in a team... I got calls from their sports-sec till 1 o clock to change the format of the game. Omg! We organize & we bend the rules acc to them! We set it clear. Either bring a player or go back.

  2nd day:

    After the matches were over in the evening, we went to Gym-G to get the referee's refreshments (free!)...all except the ones who actually referred ;) One advantage of being seniors :)

After practising for a couple of hours, we decided to call it a day. We sat outside making the schedule for the next day. After we had done with it, we just sat having what we call as "gen chutiyaap". A lotsa jokes were cracked, & our teammate, Sista, who happens to be my sidee since 3 years,  is simply GOD when it comes to humour. Laundiya (girls), booze after BOSM, fresh results of other sports in BOSM, & other interesting topics were also discussed with enthu...
   
    Again, we were hungry as dogs. We went to the adjoining SAC Canteen & had some snacks there...While we were doing so, I suddenly challenged Sista to stand on the table & yell in front of everybody something very derogatory. Without hesitating, he stood up & shouted "Wassup bitches??" The whole canteen was in a pin-drop silence for atleast half a minute. We were so for atleast one. And as usual I lost to him. He is one guy who you don't want to challenge. But I have done it the number of times coz "Agar saste mein tamasha dekhna ho toh Sista se achha koi nahi !"...

3rd day
  
We lost to IIT Kanpur in the semis, which meant BITS A were to face them in the finals in the evening. And we lost to DJ Sanghvi as well, for the 3rd position. The final match in the evening was a house-full watch, good rallies & hooting, but a comfortable win for BITS A.
    After wrap-up, we went to C'not & for the captain's treat. Then while returning we sat down under Patel statue & hung out for quite a while, doing nothing but cracking jokes, teasing each other & laughing wildly.
   
 Last Day

The girls' team had their finals in the morning. I woke up 10 mins before the start of the match to reach SAC just in time. It was gonna be a close match against MNIT. And it was. Nevertheless, the BITS girls won, especially Harsha doing us proud.
 
    The girls have asked Abpa to throw them a treat as well. So, now I am waiting for a re-treat this weekend with the whole gang...

So long....

I love...

Sweetheart, I love to see you smile
I love it when I cause that smile
I love to make you happy
And love it when I feel happier 'cause of that.


Darling, I love to look into your beautiful eyes
I love the way I fall into them
I love it when you hold my hand
And I love it when gradually you cuddle up to me.


Honey, I love to tease you
I love it when you give me a punch on my chest
I love it when you touch me
And I love when the touch transforms into a hug.


Baby, I love rediscovering you, your beauty
I love realizing how magnetic you are
I love wanting so badly to kiss you
And I love the way you withhold me shyly every time.

Dear, I love that you only want to be my friend, not more
I love that I still am your friend, despite my love for you
Oh! I love so many things about you
But most importantly,


Sigh, I Love You!

The Finger

Nothing gross intended, but personally, I hold the view that the middle finger is the most valuable & tangible asset that every human possess. Really!

    The finger has come of age. It has taken up a lot of responsibilities & has built up its image of something very authoritative. It has become a masquerade of malevolence; an instigator of a skirmish.  It’s even become mightier than the pen, let alone the sword. A nod’s as good as a wink. All the finger needs to deliver its punch is a clear line of sight. You can jeer & sneer an oversensitive guy his ass off just by lifting the finger off your palm. Put it straight up, & suddenly you feel all gutsy.  You save swearing at somebody by a “f**k off” or a “go to hell” or a “screw you.”  Just use the finger instead! Or for a far-reaching effect upto the point where you get your collars held tightly, an intelligent combination of such verbal & non-verbal cues can really get on the nerves of your opponent. By jabbing a threatening phallusy thingy at your enemy like a wild animal, more than just belittling him, you are relieving yourself! You are venting out your frustration.

 When I began to understand the nuances of this trick called “bird flipping”, sometimes appended with “Take this” or “Kiss it,” I wondered how women use this technique. How on earth could they “flick” someone off? They don’t have it, right? Then what do they raise it for? Gradually, I began to realize the universality, apart from versatility, with which this finger can be used. I believe it is the most effective & quickest means to threaten or mock at somebody. It’s almost as great as Tendulkar as a batsman or Napoleon as a dictator. All it takes is that little something.

The middle finger is the first refuge of the teenagers. It is the most silent way to make the victim known that “Dude, I am in no mood of a conversation with you. You annoy me any further, I hit you real bad.” A real boon for the timid & timorous out there - an effective way to get even with the one who tries to bully you, considering the fact that you hardly possess the moral fiber to come to grips with your opponent. It’s a psychologically cathartic tool! Quite handy!

So, the moral of the story is, instead of shunning this "obscene" gesture, we must treasure its rich cultural heritage. We are living in the Golden Age of The Finger. Get used to it. Cheers to  the middle finger! Go & give it!

Wisdom from the Moon

I sat by the lake

With melancholy as company,

The rippling water-canvas painted

With the sky lit up dimly.

The moon stared at me

Inspiring me no end,

Little secrets of success

To me, its rays seemed to lend.

From a cluster of white dots

Scattered above in space,

Like the moon stands out

Make felt, in a crowd, your presence.

The moon outlines with silver

The clouds dark and grey,

You too are unique

In your own special way.

Engulfed by black clouds

The moon least cares,

Striving to light up the earth

Every night it dares.

Revealing only the bright face

To the earth all time,

‘t says, “Cover your weaknesses

With strengths, like rime.” 
  

Making hay in the day

Till the sun shines,

Throwing light at night

‘t teaches us lessons so fine.