Few silly harmless superstitions are fun sometimes. I also have a few superstitions like seeing one myna is for sorrow, two is for joy, three is for letter and four is for boy! And crossing your fingers when you see a mail-van and opening them once you see a crow brings good luck! And many more…Its now that I realise that we depend so much on birds for our good-luck!
There is a post-office not very far from my college so I see a lot of mail-vans on my way. And today I noticed that finding a crow has become simpler than it was some years ago.
I tried to find out the reason and got that its one of the many consequences of 'global warming'. Because of the rising temperatures, it has become difficult for birds like sparrows to survive. That’s the reason we see so few sparrows nowadays. Birds like pigeons and crows can survive even in hotter climates and that's why they are growing unaffected by this.
And its after I read this that I noticed that till a few years ago I heard so many sparrows singing from the bushes and climbers near my room’s window but now I hear so less of it. I remember it was so soothing to get up from sleep everyday hearing their sweet voice first thing in the morning. It was like they have clubbed with my father to wake me up. Even my father didn’t mind my tantrums for 5 min of extra sleep because he liked the songs of these sparrows and, thus, didn’t mind coming to my room a few extra times to wake me up!!!
Neither me, nor my father have changed but both of us will always miss those sparrows.

Nothing Is Forever

Niether good times, nor bad times.
Almost half of all the shops in Madhu Vihar are open again and the other half are carrying with the renovation work. This is the best time for the shopkeepers to renovate their shops as they have already removed all the goods from the shops fearing from the MCD inspectors. Yesterday I saw the Navratri rush in that market and the Diwali rush will follow suit in some time. It feels good to see Madhu Vihar coming back to life.
And the best part is that I didn't miss my samosas even a single saturday:) and I am sure we won't have to change our shop for birthday cakes:)

Traders on Warpath

Violent clashes and massive roadblocks by city traders brought the national capital to a standstill yesterday as protests against the sealing drive intensified. Most of the major markets remained closed for the day with around 500 different trade bodies participating in the strike.

For the past few years, the citizens have not quite understood the urban laws of this city that have grown defeating all rules. But were there any rules, one may ask. Maybe there were, but a host of options were graciously made available provided you were ready to 'pay' for them. Once in a while a cosmetic drive was undertaken but to no avail.

We see the best of a city when some outsider strikes it (like we saw in Mumbai a few months back) and we see the worst of a city when its own people strike it (like we saw in Gujrat a few years back and in Delhi yesterday).

Today, in the prevailing confusion no one knows what will happen. I just know one thing that many small shop keepers earn a day to day life, and if deprived of their income, they will be deprived of their bread and their children's school-fees.
Laws when broken with impunity land you in situation when picking out the honest from the guilty becomes an impossible task. But one must remember that when it is a question of livelihood, seemingly placid people can turn violent. The French revolution is a sad reminder of that.

But I have a very disturbing question lurking in the back of my head. Are those people with masked faces whom I saw yesterday on news really the traders of Delhi? I saw them thrashing the glasses of DTC buses, jumping on top of the cars and roaming around with sticks and glass bottles in their hands. I heard in news that one such bus was carrying deaf and dumb school children in it. Would the traders of Delhi behave in such an uncivilised manner or its the hooligans of Delhi and adjoining areas taking advantage of this crisis and having a field day??

Two children died in yesterday's firing, but would their death solve anything or will they become a sad statistic in Delhi's history. We all know that justice, the symbol of justice is a blindfolded lady, but can we beseech her to open one eye and see with her heart before more children become sad statistics.

All the shops of a big market (Madhu Vihar), near my house, brought their shutters down a few days ago. The shopkeepers were selling their goods at almost half the rates to clear their stocks. Its very disheartening to see Madhu Vihar in such a state. As far as I am concerned, all this sealing drive means to me is- no samosas and jalebis on every saturdays from Singla Sweets, no fresh cookies from Sapra Bakeries, no yummy birthday cakes from Unique Pastries, no window shopping in its endless shops.....the things that I have loved doing here in the last 12 years is endless....I hope everything comes back to normal. Stuck in the traffic jams caused by these shops is much better than walking through it's deserted streets.

Steve Irvin 1962-2006

I was quite shocked to hear the death of Steve Irvin, popularly known as 'The Crocodile Hunter' who died at just 44. Steve died of an attack by a stingray while he was shooting an underwater documentary.
I have been watching his programes since when I was in school. I remember watching him in Animal Planet and Discovery everyday after returning from school. I always found him to be a very enthusiastic, fearless and animal loving person.
Steve was a great environmentalist, and promoted the cause of conservation of wildlife. He traveled around the world to spread awareness of wildlife conservation, and became popular among animal lovers around the world. He was most popular for his fearless handling of snakes and crocodiles. He was also the owner and operator of the Australian Zoo, which is home to a variety of wildlife from around the world.
His public image was dented a couple of years ago when he triggered a controversy by holding his 1-yr ols son within inches of a big crocodile.
The world has lost a great wildlife icon and a passionate conservationist. His death has certainly created a void in the animal loving world that can never be filled up.
He was almost never seen in anything but khaki shorts and shirt and heavy boots. I believe he was a very fortunate man as he was doing the work he loved so much and he was doing it even till his last breath.
RIP

One day, in school, the chairman of my school was lecturing us during an assembly of some school function. He was talking about the exorbitant sums of money that kids of public schools spend on useless things. And he jokingly remarked that when he comes to our school for the farewell party every year he feels very delighted! The way students dress up makes him feel as if there is no poverty left in India!! That day we all laughed at it but I didn’t understand the deeper meaning (actually I wasn’t expecting anything profound from him!). But now, I think, I do. When I see school children going to school with mascara, lip gloss and blow dried hair, I actually pity them. They don’t know what they are missing. The innocence in oily, plated, ribboned hair looks so much better! And I pity their parents much more. How do they don’t know that their children would be more happy if they said ‘no’ to a few things? If a 20 year old-I can understand this they why can’t the 40year olds.

In 20th century India, the queues used to be for telephone and gas connections; now they will be for D&G and Prada handbags. Cigarettes are passé as cigars are lit by the upwardly smoky. Five years ago, drinking Johny Walker Black meant ‘bad man’; today’s malt whisky collectors treat tasting sessions like Masonic rites.

Gandhi burned foreign clothes and dressed like the half naked fakir. But nowadays, all that Gandhi means to us is a 100 or 500 or 1000 rupees note!
Where has all the poverty gone?
Luxury used to be a dirty word. Showing off was so politically incorrect, that it became a political slogan. A socialist half-century was build on the dogma that soberness was the correct moral ethos for a country filled with street dogs, maimed beggars and starving children. India used poverty as moral high ground, and its ethical arrogance came from self-denial.
The symbols of today’s India have changed. The foreign clothes are back, in chic boutiques with outrageous price tags, semi-nudity is trendy, and logos have become symbols on their own.

The symbols of poverty seem to be changing.

Gandhijee said India lives in villages. But the villagers that live in them desire urban symbols. Most aspire to wear jeans and tees, they steal electricity to run their TVs, and crime is fuelled by immigrant ambitions. Family members who migrate to cities enforce urban wedding values on villagers, throwing them into irredeemable debt, forcing them to mass suicide.
Influenced by the west, we are embracing their institution and are adding them to our own. But we should not forget that we are the residents of an incredible country called India and we should be proud of it. I am.