Independence Day Wishes

As we get into our 64th Independence Day celebrations, wish my fellow Indians,Happy Independence Day.

Jai Hind.

Two India

Two India
One which toils hard in the field and sweat to earn their rupee to feed their day's hunger,
One which spends their earned money in Air-Conditioned gym to cut down their fat by sweat.

Two India
One which look for atleast muddled water to quench their family's thirst,
One which see for mud in their purified pet bottle while quenching their thirst.

Two India

One which looks for some roofed school in their nearby vicinity of 15 kms to have their kids educated,
One which looks for the best of the schools to get their wards educated in the city.

Two India

One which vote in every election and wait for a change in fate for their village and their future generations,
One which do not cast their vote in the election,debating how their vote can change the nation's fate.

Two India

One which see for stars in the sky above their head,in their village for entertainment,
One which see the stars in the fashion shows head to head,in their city for entertainment.

Two India

One which waits for decades for justice,
One which does not have patience for justice.

Two India

One which dreams that the educated will bridge the difference in the society and bring in equality,
One which creates more sub-class and raise the differences between them and the so-called-not-educated.

Two India

Go on doing their duty with hope,one day,their future generation will see light in their villages,
Go on doing duty,being cynic,due to power failure,that stops them from using their Air-Conditioners.

Two India

One still hopes,that the World will come for their rescue,
One which blames the World that it is the root cause for all their personal hurdles.

Two India

I came across both,
but, i decided, to live for and with the first India,
Who look upon to people for humanity and their progress.

Bhupesh Balakrishnan

Sunday in the Lake Market

Come Sunday. There are two prominent locations I make it a point to visit, whenever I am in the City of Joy. It will be either, the South City Mall, one of India’s largest mall, with the highest footfalls or else, the Lake Market in the Rash Behari Avenue.

If South City mall is my home mall, as I affectionately call, standing tall, just a few hundred feet away, in walking distance; the Lake Market is a place I have to visit to pick my Tamil Weekly magazines from the Malayali anna store, and also pick up some fruits for the week ahead from the fruit vendors.

With South City Mall nearby, it provides me couple of choices to pick my day's coffee... But, Lake Market gives me the true Indian shopping atmosphere, reminding me of my hometown lake market, in Tiruchirapalli, the fruit vendors around Teppakulam ( a pond around which all the vegetable and fruit vendors have their stall put up)…my Teppakulam lake Market existed till late ‘90s…but due to increasing traffic, they were moved to another place where people in the entire Tiruchirapalli city visited to purchase their weekly fruits and vegetable requirements...Infact, every town have a lake market…lake may not be the point, rather the old city market, which brought all city people together for shopping their staples…like, in Madurai, it will be Vizhakuthuun, or Simakal, or around Meenakshi Temple….in Salem, it will be in the Bazaar street, in Chennai, near Mylapore tank temple or near the Renganathan Street…in Bangalore, it will be the Jaya Nagar marketplace, usually near the BDA complex, or the long stretched Gandhi Bazaar in Basavangudi…these days, with spreading geography, markets have come closer to its customers, fulfill the needs of every locality,time being a constraint...making this great indian shopping experience slowly vanish...infact,I had observed the presence of this marketplace very much in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,Orissa and in Kolkata…all these states, traditionally, deep-rooted in their literature and culture.

This Sunday happened to be a much more productive one, compared to the rest, in the last six months of my stay in Kolkata city; The weather played a crucial role in the way I started my day…an innocent weather, which looked like anytime, I will cry( let me not forget the pouring that happened yesterday, with me and my colleagues looking out of our opened windows, seeing the dark clouds engulf the skies, with an hours downpour that took all Kolkata citizens by surprise...needless to say, our worries were very much evident, due to the fact, that this downpour will de-list the purchase of certain summer product categories like the Air-Conditioners and Refrigerators from the ladders of our customer minds, due to the change in the weather conditions...It's neither a monsoon to feel jubilant about a good prospect of increase in Washer off-takes neither)…

As the day progressed, I ensured my home was spic and span, clearing the last couple of months newspapers and magazines. Once the Sunday chores were completed, I decided to shun the South City mall,which is heavily crowded on Sundays, and instead preferred to visit Lake Market alone…And, there, with the city shops closed for some reason, the market was so calm, except for the didi's team's civic election campaign in the corner of the Lake Market…

With the weather so beautiful, I really enjoyed the evening out in the market place. Once my magazines were bought from the Malayali anna shop, I ventured into the market, went around from vendor to vendor, looking for who sells the best of the Mangoes, strawberries and my usual bananas…As I looked around, hopping from one vendor to another, my regular vendor looked alarmed at the prospect of losing his regular customer...and finally, he ended up bagging my order for the week again…with me picking a bunch of strawberries and bananas.A retail person, somehow, am still not interested to the idea of picking my fruits from the local supermarkets...rather, me picking up in the marketplace is what makes my entire shopping a pleasant experience, call it the great Indian experience…maybe, the comfort of shopping along with small town people around me doing their bargaining, reminding me of my hometown...could be the true reason.

Whatever maybe, the day’s shopping experience was made so lovely, thanks to Lord Varuna, I would compare the evening weather to the weather I had experienced in Kodaikanal or Ooty during my local market visits…in early 2000s…during my MTR Food days.

As the day progressed, i also did a quick visit to the Tamil Sangam, to collect some Tamil writer’s books from the library. I decided to call it a day, and as I was heading home to catch a taxi, something stopped me(say, call of the lord) to visit the Shirdi Sai Baba madir, which is located nearby. I was wondering whether the temple will be opened, since, all my visits have ended up with me praying outside looking at a closed mandir. It was so surprising to find myself participating in the closing aarthi and bhajan performance.

It was also quite new experience for me to observe, with people clapping hands as they were singing the bhajans…which I have not seen/ or would have not observed in the Shirdi Mandir in Chennai…The clapping made the entire atmosphere reverberate some positive vibrations, with me feeling the same vibrations pass through my self. I remember the time when we as school kids used to clap our hands for our buddies who used to score top marks in the examinations…the law of religion and law of education has clearly understood and applied this principle into practice - the more one involves in collective actions,together, the more positive the surroundings will become, leading to positive vibrations, leading to better concentrations,leaving one with a peaceful mind and a purposeful sense for all future actions. That is why,i feel, we involve in such collective actions in temples and schools…be it bhajans or clappings…

How else, could I prepare myself for an another interesting challenging week ahead…with lot many more new people to be met, lot many more customers and businessmen to shake hands with and smile together…

To summarize, this Sunday has been a great one...to face the coming week...

Opposite,no luck

Excuse me, she looked around,

The two men at both extreme, just nodded

She put her bag in the chair next,

And sat in the chair, me opposite,

And, pulled her magazine out,

Started reading, eyes down,

Glass hiding her face,

And, I just sent my mails,

And looked at her, to catch a glimpse of her face,

But, she had other thoughts in mind.

(From Baker st, New Delhi Airport,20th May 2010,9:00 AM)

U wanna ur wishes to come true?

If everyone’s every wish come true, World should become a better place to live in, right…Let’s imagine…the wish of Dalai Lama…a wish where the entire World live only in peace! No war. China does not meddle with the Lama! How great it would be. Hey wait…I hear the wish of someone from a cave…Oh…it’s the Laden…Osama Bin Laden, dreaming about hijacking fifty aircrafts through his network and rampaging fifty sky rise buildings across the World. What a horrible dream…Oh God, Pls. heaven sake, save the World from this guy…And, God staunchly refuses, everyone’s wish will come true…Now, Lama vs Laden…My god…How can World then become a better place to live in…

Fine, let not everyone’s wish come true…but let it be for a very select few good people in this World…say, for a nice guy like me or even you…and so let me make a wish now....Wow, the girl is so beautiful…wish she becomes my girlfriend…hey wait, the girl has not seen me…and has seen someone else…my God…Here again, she dreams of having the other guy as her boyfriend…oh no…not again…Oh God, Pls. for heaven sake , let the Girl wish not come true…And, again, God staunchly refuses, everyone’s wish will come true…Now, I am looking for befriending the beautiful girl, who is dreaming of befriending the other guy….My god…How can the World become a better place to live in?

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decides to work on an extraordinary foreign policy to improve relations with Pakistan. So, he wish that India and Pakistan will become good neighbours leaving behind their ugly past…My god, Chinese army dreams…a fight to break between India and Pakistan, so that, they can intrude into the Indian borders…Oh God, Pls. let the Chinese Army wish not come true. And, God staunchly refuses, saying everyone’s wish will come true. I grump…

I now decide to change my strategy. I wish God will only see to that only my wish come true…Now what will God do? I am smart. Hey, Wait a sec….It’s the God who is wishing for self…what, God wish that I stop dreaming or wishing…Oh God…not again. This time, it’s God vs Me…what to do. God is powerful. God is also good. Let me not play with silly wishes. Let me toe line with God. Okay, agreed. Not everyone’s every wish should come true. God knows which wish of whom should come true, so that the World continues to be a better place to live in. Above all, the creator knows what to give to whom and when. So, I have decided to wait. Hey,wait...what about you? U wanna ur wishes to come true?

The Coffee you make today can't taste the same tomorrow.I challenge.

You can't make a coffee with the same taste tomorrow, as you made it today. I challenge you. Ask the person to whom you serve, tomorrow. "Did the Coffee I prepared and have given you today, taste exactly the same like the one, I gave you yesterday? If the reply is "YES",then,either the Coffee is made in a machine or the person is lying. So, what's the reason behind it? Nothing. It's just like that. Reasons why we don't make big fuss about the same...our tongue can't measure the taste like an instrument, made to exactly measure and report the taste basis some parameters. It is the overall feeling, of enjoying the Coffee...The colour,mix and strength....depending on the mood swings during that particular moment. The day's first coffee we drink in the morning may taste differently in comparison to the one we may taste sometime before noon.

Life is the same. It can't produce the same results or bring in people or make events happen the same as it did happen once, when,we felt it was fabulous. It's just like that. The department of heaven have fewer staffs, but, huge huge population to manage, that, they have to keep looking for satisfying everyone...and constraint...like in any production department, costs and number of people they could keep happy every day. So, if it was someone else chance to feel happy yesterday, it could be someone else turn to feel happy today, and, someone else opportunity to feel great with life tomorrow. My good God and Goddess, they are working overtime everyday, to keep everyone happy in this World, that include me and you.So, it just is like the taste of the Coffee.

Tendulkar's bat can't score a double ton in every match. And, so do Schumi,who can't keep continuously winning races in every circuit. And, so, is Fed.And,so can be Barack Obama. And, so, it can be you and me.

If the Coffee which is in our control can't be prepared to produce the same taste everyday, then, why talk about Life which is not in our control...

I feel, that, the pleasure of tasting a Coffee, with different taste everyday, along with the person I love, is like seeing rainbow in my life, everyday. Life will be boring and dull, if it’s the same...It has to give us the wonderful opportunity to enjoy different taste.

So, next time, if anyone feel the question arising in our minds..."why my life is not the same like "that day"?"...let's remember the Coffee made...It just has to be like that, to enjoy it. Life is just happening in front of our eyes. It is exactly like the aroma that we feel, as we go about tasting the Coffee. If we just drink the Coffee, without feeling the aroma and colour, then, there is no pleasure in drinking the Coffee.And,so is Life. If we miss to enjoy the small moments in life as we experience it, we are missing the aroma and colour in it. So, next time, you drink a cup of coffee...just enjoy it. Don't rush it. For it is not about just drinking a cup of coffee. It is all about living and enjoying your own life. Experience the moment like a cup of Coffee.

As time moves...something like the Schrodinger's equation.Life is experienced.

Was lucky and it was rare to get such a lovely day like yesterday,a breezy Sunday with roads empty,a walk crossing the lake in Kolkata,returning back home,after drinking a cup of Filter Coffee from the only Udupi Hotel in the city. Hey,wait,do time change one's life?I paused my thought. Nopes.Time do not change any one's life. As a Physicist,knew that time on earth is a result of movement of the Stars and the other heavenly bodies in the Solar System.I think,I was moving to one of my favourite paper during my graduation days,the Quantum Physics...It's all about Observations...I realized that it's not time that change any one's life...rather,it is the experience that one undergoes,which make them observe life in different perceptions.So,it's the observation that is a result of the past and present experiences.Time just keeps moving on as it was.It is just our mind,which either gets conditioned or change its observation patterns,basis the external influences,leading to internal observational changes in perceptions towards life.

If we draw a wave in a graph,with Time in the X-axis and Experience(Observations) due to external influences impacting our perceptions towards life,in the Y-axis. The emerging wave pattern is nothing but a result of mere observations and perceptions, due to conditioning of mind as a result.It's something like the Schrodinger equation.Time just move on,as it move on in everyone's life...as it does in the Solar System. It is just our experience,which condition us to observe time differently, as a result of the past observations/perceptions due to external influences in our life. So,does time change one's life?Answer is no. Do life change as time moves on? Answer is Yes. It's the observation's in life,that keeps changing,with moving time.Time moves.And, Life is experienced.

From the Bakers ST

As she moved, I fell in love;
Her wings did not flap,
Oh…she got a tail;
So long her body, so wide is her belly;
Cute her look, spiky her nose;
Oh…what a turn, on her heels;

Majesty her name, beauty she is;
As she moved, I fell in love;
A poised move, to be where she belongs to;
As she moved, she gained speed;
Off her feet, flying so high,
Lost her my eyes, from its sight;

Am going to fly, with her in the sky;
She took me, into her,
And, I started, to cuddle her,
Feeling her warmth, fell into a deep sleep;
Opened my eyes, to the sudden rays;
Saw us sailing, on the clouds;

Together we were, flying in the sky;
Up she went, closed my eyes,
Back to sleep; she glided again, in the sky,
Spiking the clouds, with her nose;
As I woke up, she flew down;
Touched the ground, in her style;

As I jumped, from her belly,
She stood there, behind me;
She is so pretty, and
She is my dear Magnificent lady!
As she stood, I started to move,
As I moved, I fell in love with her again!


The Bakers ST is a bakery cafe in Delhi Airport. My favorite spot is the bar stools facing the runways. I love to sit there, with my cup of steaming coffee or green teas, facing the runways, seeing the planes take off and land on. Always early to check-in to get my A or F seat, rows 1-6, get a full one and a half hour time to observe the beautiful white birds, taking off and landing on. Especially in the early hours during the sun rise time;