Musing of a verbose mind. It borders on all that takes a skeptical and highly critical view of whatever is happening or has happened in our world..... do read it and post your comments..... discourse is welcome.....

Beer equals happiness!!!

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Posted on Monday, December 28, 2009 | By Gautam | In ,

I know you guys would have seen it earlier too, but it somehow never fails to tickle my funny bone. As such its the festivities that are having the better out of us and this might just prove handy!!!







My music.....

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Posted on Sunday, December 27, 2009 | By Gautam | In

It was a year of great music. There were off beat movies. And there was music to compliment them. If we had a Piyush Mishra penning a beauty like Yaara maula, we had Gulzar with romance revisited with Pehli baar. Here's a list of songs which made me tap, rock, hum along or just plain old lying-with-my-eyes-closed thing. There's no rating for them. Each one is unique and when played at the right time, had a mesmerizing effect. So here it goes.

Dev.D- Some simply outrageous posters. An awesome take on Sharat Babu's Devdas. Music that made me think. Emosanal atyachar- all the three versions. Three?!! you say? Include the x-rated one too. I know, you possess it. Nayan tarse was another song that I felt was beautifully composed. Hats off!!!




Kaminey- an awesomely written movie wherein each character was so minutely etched that one had no reason but to be in awe throughout. If Dhan te nan was psychotic to some extent, then Pehli baar satisfied the romantic in us. But the show stealer was the title track itself. What with Gulzar and his lyrics. Masoom sa kabootar nacha toh mor nikla. Pure genius.


Gulaal- hard hitting. Crass. Caustic. True. I don't find other adjectives to value this piece of art. Piyush Mishra is one of the most under rated lyricists. Listen to Yaaraa maula and you'll know. Or for that matter, pick up Aarambh hai prachand. Prachand is what that song is. The verse wherein he says- aaj ka launda yeh keh raha hum toh bismill thak gaye...... apni aazaadi toh bhaiya laundiya k dill mein hai is superb.







Other notable stuff has to include
  • Masakali
  • Iktara
  • Guzarish
  • Fiqrana (best thing in a disaster called Blue)
  • Hai junoon
PS: This post is powered by Ubuntu 9.10

The RED Dot.....

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Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 | By Gautam | In , , ,


Lets get some facts straight-
  • Gmail is the BEST email service. Ever.
  • Gtalk is the greatest invention since Windows 3.1.
  • Americans who feel that AOL is better than Gmail prove the 10=35 rule (read One night at call centre if you don't know what that means).

Now why do I write all these facts which everyone (even the Americans) already know? Well for one, I had an incessant itch to post a post for quite sometime now. For others, I suddenly realised how Gtalk has become a part of my life, the way I communicate and all. But the most peculiar thing that stands out is a behaviour pattern that has emerged out of using this chat client is the urge to stay on-line 24x7. Well almost. At least for us Indians.

The moment I get up, my lappy is fired up and I'm on-line. Depending upon my mood, it'll either be a red dot or a green one. But I need to be on-line. Its an urge. A craving. Even if I'm doing something important like watching a movie, I'm on-line. Lesser evils like attending classes do not discourage me from remaining on-line. What with wi-fi and all, being on-line 24x7 is my modus operandi. And this addiction is there for most of us. Even before Twitter became a vogue. Being away, sleeping, et all do not encourage me to get off-line. My lappy's still on-line. My friends who are in the US too suffer from the same problem. And this has become a way of life.

I suppose, and I know I'm not tangential from my hypothesis when I say this, but its something that all of us practice.

Most of the time red works but that does not mean you shouldn't ping me. Except for those days when red really really means I'm busy. But you have no way to find that out. HAH!!!

#FML Google.

PS: Google in no way has sponsored this post.

PPS: Google has not threatened me to make amends due to my earlier posts.

PPS: I would have loved if they'd sponsored this post!!!

PPPS: I'm not a communist and my fascination with the colour red does not construe anything.

Comfortably numb.

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Posted on Friday, December 11, 2009 | By Gautam | In , , , , ,


There's methyl isocyanine filled in the air. People are gasping for air rarely knowing that it may be their last breath. Those who died, didn't have to suffer the trauma of living a life of disorder of the worst kind and frailty. Those who did survive, well, their lives epitomise living hell. Justice is still a far cry for them. Warren Anderson is living a life of luxury. Mothers are forced to give birth to children with serious heart disorders. Its been 25 years since the Bhopal gas tragedy. Governments have come and gone. Much water has flown under the bridge but for those suffering, its still poisonous and they are condemned to drink it. Union Carbide has since long wrapped its business and fled. Yes fled. And what have we done? Well for starters, we have continuously pacified those agitating outside the Jantar Mantar for quarter of a century now. Pacified.

Even the Nazis who operated gas chambers during the Holocaust were tried at the International Court of Justice. Those poor souls in Bhopal that fateful night did not belong to a particular race or religion. They were not political dissidents. What they were though were citizens of a seemingly democratic country. And they did pay for this. With their lives. Justice is still a far cry. Mankind was brutally molested on December 3, 1984. Humanity was raped beyond recognition.

They say- justice delayed is justice denied. What does one say when it has been delayed as well as denied for 25 years now?!! Why is Amnesty International silent? Why are the Americans who pride themselves in sniffing out weapons of mass destruction and then duly fucking a country to stone age silent now? Is it because their people are involved in a heinous act which they are unwilling to accept?

And now the best act of them all. The Indian government. The same government which vows when taking an oath of maintaining the sovereignty. The same government which vows on the constitution of withholding the welfare state flag. The same government, on the 25th anniversary of the innately tragic Bhopal gas tragedy, gifted the nation with a gift called the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill. Sounds innocuous, doesn't it? Well it is, lest the fact that it pegs the compensation by MNC's building (or even supplying parts) in case of a nuclear holocaust at Rs. 2500 crores. Its a measly sum for companies like GE. Especially when we consider the fact that the market for reactors is around Rs 60000 crores. The compensation in dollar terms would be $ 450 millions. How cheap are the lives of Indians any ways. For the organisations though, its like minting money with limited liability. Because all this while they knew that one can get away even after killing 25000 people. They had full faith in the incompetency of us Indians to bring the guilty to justice. Whatever happened to the fundamental rights guaranteed to us all in the constitution?

And what does one do when the government goes ahead in fixing the liability of companies when it comes to lives of hundreds and thousands? Rejoice. For they can be rest assured now that our own government values us as nothing more than maggots swarming the face of earth.

Why does Greenpeace stay silent? Why do our so called NGO's stay silent? Why do our legislators who are too busy in carving out states for themselves stay silent?

States are inhabited by people. Else they become ghost towns.

How many more Bhopals do we need before we wake up?

When Bob Dylan said that the times are a changing, he was wrong. 'coz they are for the developed countries. For a developing country like ours, life is still cheap. Dirt cheap.

Democracy FTW.

But for the perpetrators of crimes against humanity, here goes-
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead
-Bob Dylan

PS: I have full faith in the indifferent attitude of my fellow countrymen. My son would be writing a similar post on the 50th anniversary of the tragedy.

Five Milds and a Verve.....

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Posted on Wednesday, December 09, 2009 | By Gautam | In ,

Freedom is over-rated.....

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Posted on Friday, December 04, 2009 | By Gautam | In , , , , ,


It’s easy to fight for freedom but it’s tough to retain it.

Readers beware. The following post is going to take some digs towards the concept of freedom as we've conceived it and are portraying it (at best). But portrayals seldom last a lifetime. They too are subjected to the lifecycle of an idea sprouting and dying a death. Natural or forced alike. Be warned.

Freedom is over rated.

There, I said it all. And before all of the freedom loving bandwagon jumps into the debate with their cohorts, read on. Just what is it about freedom that means to you the most? To have our fundamental rights in place? Guess what, its passé. When was the last time the state did not encroach upon your right in the name of national interest?! To pee or spit on the roads?! I’d not venture down that dirty road. But what is it about freedom that makes us jump up out of our slumber and start ranting all about it is a question to which I have no answers till date. It happens all too regularly when we encroach upon the rights of others crushing them under our inflated egos and the false sense of superiority. The meek take the hit. The poor take the hit. Every-damn-time. The right to freedom of speech/ expression are the most hit. Still we vow to live by our constitution and champion the cause of freedom. Farcical.

Let us take some leaves out of history and understand this phenomenon better. France championed the cause of freedom almost 300 years ago. It did a good job at overthrowing the despotic rule of Antoinette who had suggested them to have cakes when they couldn’t afford bread. This particular event in history inspired many a revolutions all around the world. But did it? Almost a couple of years back, Paris faced one of the worst riots in its suburbs, ghettoising them. The prodigal champion of instant democracy all over the world- the US is a classic example. Bombing sovereign countries because they have a hunch that the rouge country is hiding weapons of mass destruction seems to be their forte now. The Noble peace (?) prize declared, Obama decides to up the count of soldiers in Afghanistan by 50000. Some nobility there. The Russian revolution was to create a classless and just society. But we all know how Stalin killed his own countrymen in the name of upholding the honour and dignity of the fatherland. Did someone say China? Mao. His cultural revolution. The Tien Mann square massacre. The image of a boy braving a battle tank. Freedom??? ‘nuff said.

But the cited examples raise a quintessential question. Why is it so? Why did freedom fail when the intentions were good? Pious? As Edmund Burke has succinctly put- All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. And believe me you, history bares naked the impotency of good men. Men of honour reduced to mere spectators by their own indifference and ignorance. And indecision. Yes. Indecision is one of the foremost reason I recognize when talking about the failure of institutions. Take an example on a micro level. There in our classes we’ve have had vociferous kids who would seem to make all the decisions all the time. And we would be left cribbing. And it’s sort of a vicious cycle that continues. But why is it so, is the food for thought here. Our indecision. Whenever we have a public with diverse interest and wants, fighting about what needs to be done, not for one moment stopping to find a common minimum interest, a figure rises and towers all the confusion bringing stability. And stability is what we long for. An equilibrium is what makes the masses happy. Period.

The best example to support the logic would be the rise of Adolf Hitler himself. In a county with a bruised ego and divided thought process with an incredible amount of indecision and political instability, he brought some sort of orderliness. And when people started to blindly follow him, reposing in him their faith and support, an unprecedented genocide begun.

So as we all can see, freedom is short lived. Humans somehow cannot take cognisance of that the fact their inability will lead to their downfall. One way or the other. Chaos is eternal. And so will all those with dictatorial tendencies lurking in their heads.

Equilibrium will be attained. But at the cost of freedom.

Gentlemen, the melancholy event of yesterday reads to us an awful lesson against being too much troubled about any of the objects of ordinary ambition. The worthy gentleman, who has been snatched from us at the moment of the election, and in the middle of contest, whilst his desires were as warm, and his hopes as eager as ours, has feelingly told us, what shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue~ Edmund Burke