Rekindling an old dream...

[ Mood : Contemplative ]
[ Song : Roadhouse Blues ]

I know the song doesn't match the mood but thats what I am listening to right now.
Well I have taken the plunge, atleast for now...I am preparing again...for CAT. Even as i wrote that I could sense all the hesitation that has taken me over recently. I have found it difficult to commit myself to the effort and time needed...but commit I must!!
It will be difficult ofcourse...knowing that I may not have anything to show for it in the end. But there is no way out, afterall this is what I want and I wont get there unless I go for it, Right?
It is almost sounding like an incoherent drivel...:))

The future’s uncertain, And the end is always near.

Windows Vista

Microsoft on Friday finally brought an end to the 'Longhorn' and a new title is on the horizon...literally...Windows Vista.
Thats the title of the next version of the long overdue OS from the Microsoft stable. Its been 5 years since their last release, Windows XP (personally I am happy with my Win2K Pro).
The company stopped short of providing a launch date for the new version, though it won't reach us before next year.
The new software is going to sport a new graphical interface, giving it a new look and feel, and enhanced security and communications features.
Lets wait and see...

Communalism in the 40s

Have been reading "The Dicovery of India" and its been a great read so far. Especially thinking about the times it was written in...seems India was so much more dyamic then...in the sense that so many people were working together for a common cause...

I came across a passage where Jawaharlal Nehru discusses the communal issues...his understanding of the communal problem is so much superior to the leaders of today...or maybe the leaders of today just shut their eyes and make plans to exploit it (Mulayam Singh Yadav is a prime example). His writing brings out his love for the nation so clearly that I feel a bit sorry that I had reservations about his being the first PM....more on that some other time..

This is what he had to say :
"The Communal problem, as it was called, was one of adjusting the claims of the minorities and giving them sufficient protection from majority action. Minorities in India, it must be remembered, are not racial or national minorities as in Europe; they are religious minorities
... There is no dispute about the usual provision for minority protection, such as the League of Nations used to lay down. All those were agreed to and much more. Religion, culture, language, the fundamental rights of the individual and the group, were all to be protected and assured by basic constitutional provisions in a democratic constitution applying equally to all.
... What remained? Fear that bigger numbers might politically overwhelm a minority.
... Having assured the protection of religion and culture,etc., the major problems that were bound to come up were economic ones which had nothing to do with a person's religion.
... It was not clear how even a majority could injure the interests of a huge minority like the Moslems, concentrated mostly in certain parts of the country, which would be autonomous. But fear is not reasonable."

Planet with three suns!!!

How would it feel if we had 3 suns?? Sounds wierd but I guess that would have seemed normal then!!
Well apparently a planet, slightly larger than Jupiter, has been discovered that has a 3 - Star System! It orbits the main star of a system known as HD 188753 in the constellation Cygnus ("The Swan"). It is about 149 light years away... hmm thats close!!!...sometimes the sheer size of the universe overwhelms me, I mean what are we but a mere speck of dust in the scheme of things....
The picture is an artists' rendition of the planet and three stars, as seen from a hypothetical moon, courtesy ( http://pr.caltech.edu/media/trinary_sunset_small-1.jpg )

The Signs

Somehow the book 'The Alchemist' has been drifting in and out of my thoughts since yesterday...not that I am a huge fan of the book or anything...it just has been there somehow!!

Especially the part where the Alchemist tells the boy to follow the signs all around him, signs that will ultimately guide him to his destiny.......and I have been trying to understand the signs around me.
It seems to me that they are pointing to a direction which I once desperately wanted to take but now am hesitant to pursue. The hesitation is not so much in the choice as it is in the effort that will be required...which i once had put in with zero returns.
I have come to a stage where I can't postpone it any further...and need to make a decision one way or the other...
Which direction will I take??

To the Moon & Back

I am back from Delhi, back to this mundane lifestyle, back to this insipid existence.
It was good while it lasted, nine days of mega - fun with family and friends.

Now the clock is reset to zero and I start counting the days before I will get a chance to be back home...

Religion and State

Now this is a touchy topic, most people dont feel comfortable when discussing it.

Well educated and rational people often start defending the indefensible if it happens to be related to their religion.

These thoughts swirl in my mind as I think of Imrana bibi; raped by her father- in-law, the interpretors of Islam and Sharia suggest that she can no longer live with her husband or children as she has come in sexual contact with a blood relative of the husband. Hello? I thought she was the victim here...

Infact this is what the head of the local masjid of the village where Imrana belongs to has to say on the issue:

"After sex with her father-in-law, the girl has become haram for her husband. According to me she should accept her father-in-law as her new husband and her old husband as her new son."

Wasnt the torture and humiliation of the rape enough?

There is a debate raging through the country and different versions/interpretations of the Sharia are coming out almost daily. But my point is do we even need to have a debate on it? Shouldn't it be an open and shut case of rape with 7 yrs for the father-in-law as the law of the land perscribes? How can religious law take precedence over secular state law. Are we going to treat victims differently based on the religion they belong to? Isnt this the most blatant form of communalism?

Its nauseating to see a country with ambitions to participate in world matters and social justice across the globe not even able to handle such a basic requirement for her own internal well being.

As for Imrana, I can't even remotely imagine her plight. I wonder if she curses herself for even raising the issue in the first place...

Homeward bound

Homeward bound
I wish I was...AM
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought’s escaping
Home, where my music’s playing
Home, where my love lies waiting (Actually I will be waiting for her...:) )
Silently for me

Ok the song doesn't quite fit, but still this is the song thats playing in my head as i prepare to get going. A lot has happened since I last met my family and friends. My di is engaged, my dad is better, some friends have moved out of Delhi, etc etc...plenty to catch up on. Am feeling really upbeat about this visit probably because I am going back after 4 and a half months!!

Yay!!! Mamma I am coming home :))