Going Home!!

Well, the long wait is going to be over soon. Tomorrow night I leave for my home, shall reach home no 24th (assuming everything goes well, these days, u never know when a train in india meets with an accident!), just in time for Chhath pooja (for those not knowing abt it, its the biggest festival in Bihar - we worship Sun, and people are on 3 day fast during this period.

I am being so nostalgic that I am not feeling like working! It has been long since I went home. Last time I went was in my sis wedding. But then I was so busy with wedding managemet that didnt spend time with anyone properly. This time, the plan is to fully relax and take rest.

However, on 30th, ghar pe badi pooja hai, and I know I need to work a lot to make it happen smoothly. Also, on 31st, I plan to get the packing done for mummy. She will be shifting to Gaya, due to papa's transfer. And then on 1st Nov, I will be on my way back! So last part of the holiday is anyways going to be busy!

Still, I am goign to enjoy Chhath pooja (for the first time we will have it in samstipur town, rather than in village), guria and both uncles and their family is going to be there...so will have a lot of fun :-) and then have already told mummy to get a lot of dishes made for me :) yummy.....ghar ka khana....I just wish i cud have flown there right now!

Sayonara...till I m back!

What a different Diwali it has been!

Happy Diwali to you all!

Well, for a change, due to demands of situation, I was alone at home in Mumbai this Diwali! And this led to such a different Diwali this time!

For a change, even on Diwali, I was sleeping very late, till someone pressed call-bell! Once awake, it took some time to realize how much work was to be done! So, it started with house cleaning, including pochha lagana J then, sicne cooking gas cylinder was empty, went to arrange for one and finally managed to get at 12:15pm.

By this time, I was hungry like anything, but at least on Diwali, thought of taking a bth, doing pooja and then only having food. Pooja reminded me that I was yet to take Lakshmi-Ganesh moorti J my god….so I ran again to the market and bought silver idols (my god – silver prices have almost doubled since last year!!!)! Along with it, bought Diya, batti, oil, flowers, laddooooooo, ….! Thanks to sugar prices, this year laddooo is selling at approx 200/KG !

Back to home…..cleaned some clothes….and then suddenly, slept without realizing….!! When I awoke, saw many Happy Diwali messages and missed calls! By the time I finished responding to each of them, it was already starting to be dark!

Hurriedly, I arranged the diyas, batti daali, then oil dala…phir took small paper pieces, on which I put the diya in every corner of the home! This part I quite like…..when u lit up all of them, it looks so divine and so attractive! Then did pooja, and uske baad, took some snaps!!

Since then, have been refilling oil in all diyas….!! 9pm and I felt hungry…so cooked Maggie (thank god I got the cylinder today!!)….and on Diwali, ended up having self-made Maggie!!!! He he he J phir, mithaiyaan, jo main laya tha,….had few of them….. My neighbor came, to say happy diwali and good bye! They are going to Goa. Hurriedly, I served them sweet in the sweet box only!! And now….sitting here, enjoying the lighting and hoping for the noise of crackers to go down after 10pm, I am writing my blog! Truly, this has been a different Diwali!

Nobel & Obama!

In one swift & unexpected move, the Nobel peace prize was announced for Obama and most of the intellectual class has been caught asking question in disbelief! Let me clarify on the very onset that I am also an Obama supporter and has nothing personal against him. However, he has just started his stint and is yet to prove his worth in the area of world peace! Not even 1 year of his presidency yet and mostly he has been working on the economic problems being faced in US. One needs to see his initiatives, their implementation and their results in the long run, to decide if he is actually deserving of this.

What’s more surprising that he was nominated even when he had hardly become president, not even completed his 1 month of presidency. So on what basis the nomination was done? Certainly, in the very first month of his presidency, he had not completed any long term peace initiative, forget anything else.

Also to note is:

1. His nomination was hardly 10 days into his presidency
2. His nomination was apparently opposed by 3 out of five jury members
3. He himself believes that he does not deserve it (as reported in newspapers about his email to his college friend in India)
4. He has increased US force strength in Afganistan – does it indicate peace related move?

One is forced to feel like two great brands – Obama and Nobel prize – Has lost something very basic – Credibility! Due to this un-justifiable (in my personal view) move, across the globe, people are still in disbelief, and blogosphere is full of such stories!

Some obvious Ramifications

This has some ramifications also.

• In future, what if US goes to some war under his presidency?
• If US for some reason need to take any offensive, will the nobel prize become a deterrent for such action sactioning in Obama’s mind to take the corrective action?
• It gives easy way out for the critics to find out loop-holes in arguably the most reputed prize on the earth! In future, other winners, may also be doubted unnecessarily due to this incident.

Is it possible?

Some thoughts have cropped in my mind. Why is it so that such unfair treatment favor always go to countries like US/UK and Australia? It never happens to India or China or SA? This also makes me think, that is it possible, that to draw the attention of the US public in general away from the difficulties of recession and failed economy and job losses, US govt somehow managed to get it done??? These are thought without any evidence, but practically it is possible. If the US govt wants, they have enough power to influence even the nobel committee.

Finally, I just wish that OBama says no to the prize before receiving it actually. This will save his grace at least and give a route for the nobel to announce some other deserving winner and get back its aura!!

Oddly Funny! - Indian Politics

With elections so near in Maharastra, everywhere the election fever is high and temp is moving up only! Today, I read some news items related to some odd happenings in and due to elections and that led me to think how complex the Indian politics is and no matter what, so many odd things keep happening. I have mention some of them that quickly comes to my mind, and these are intended to read from the view point of “odd-ity” and then laugh out at it :)

• Election symbols – I have seem everything that can come to your mind as a symbol of parties and/or independent ones. It varies so much that no brain in the world can define any category for them. Add to this, one more fact, that some of these are used by more than 1 parties!! So if u vote for a bicycle, in one state u may b voting SP but in another u may be voting TDP!

Some examples are: Coconut, Needle, Cycle (For SP as well as TDP, same symbol!!), Charkha, Hand, Lotus, Elephant, Flag, Arrow, Lantern, Shankh, Lady Farmer Carrying paddy on her head, Seedhi (Ladder), Lion, Murga (cock), Hand-pump, Rising Sun, Pen, Star, Whistle, Spectacles, Plough, Telephone, Bow and Arrow, two leaves, scales, umbrella, flowers and grass…the "diverse" list goes on.

• Madhu Koda became the CM of Jharkhand. He was an independent candidate, without any support or party! Only in India you can have a single independent become a CM while parties with 25-30 MLAs not able to get CM post!

• Uddhav Thakre – in his rally yesterday, ended up appealing to his voters to vote for NCP-Congress!!! Can you believe this!!! In Maharastra, the fight is between BJP-Shiv Sena and NCP-Congress!! But Uddhav said to supporters, you are not happy with Shivsena-BJP then you vote for NCP-Congress, but don’t vote for MNS!

• Coming to MNS – The party is fighting on issues like Marathi people should get reservation in jobs and marathi should be spoken as main language in maharastra etc. But newspapers report that he has outsourced his election tele-calling to AP !! And then, he got his advertising pamphlets ets printed in Hindi, Gujrati, Telgu and what not!!

• Congress and Trinmool (TMC) are together in central govt. They recently fought municipal elections against Left in WB, but after election, congress, which fought with TMC against Left, has formed Municipal corporation board with Left, against TMC  ha ha ha…..it’s so funny!! Now Mamta is taking this “breach of trust” issue to public to vote against congress, but still she is supporting congress at center!

• Lalu, Mayavati, Mulayam, Nayaran Rane, Jayalalita, Chand Mohammad (Haryana Dy-CM who changed religion, remarried, divorced, again changed religion…and the saga is still going on!), Mamta, Karat, V. S. Achuthanandan (Kerala CM, who himself officially works against party official line on his adversary, and still is CM!!), Modi, Jagdish Tytler, Padam Sinh Patil (currently under arrest by CBI),..the list is already so long, and we have just started! - Only India politics can have such diverse characters and only Indian Politics can tolerate and accommodate all of them simultaneously!!!


Seriously, I just kept thinking about these oddly funny things and laughed out loud on these!!

Would love to have your comments on this topic!!