SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE THE MOON

Humans have always looked at the Moon and admired its beauty.    You would rarely find a person who would not disagree with me on this.  About 3000 years ago, the Egyptians looked at the Moon and made their conclusions about this large object in the sky.  Romans did the same during their golden era.  Indians did the same much before all of them and included it as a part of their science of Astrology.  The Moon has always been a fascinating object in the sky.  People bask in the moonlight.  People want to view it up-close using a telescope. Writers wrote stories about how people settled down on Moon and visited their relatives on Earth.

In the 1960s, when the Moon expeditions began people could finally see the Moon up close.  People saw the large craters, scores of them, that have been caused by meteor strikes.  There was no atmosphere to really talk about.  Humans would suffocate to death without the pressure suit and oxygen tank.

People realized that what looked so beautiful and magnificent from a distance, could only be admired from a distance.  You could not stay there.  Once we look at the Moon up close and see the craters, we realize how dangerous it is to live there if at all we decide to do so.

It is amazing to know that this characteristic applies to people too.  How many times has it happened that you are attracted to a person, but once you start knowing that person, they are not as attractive anymore.  How many times has it happened that you found this person very attractive, humorous, sensitive, likeable, lovable, almost perfect.  This is true in almost all the cases where a man and a woman fall in love with each other.  It somehow happens that they never seem to find anything wrong with the other person. Even if they do find something wrong, it just seems such a small thing that it would not hurt anyone. “So what?  No one is perfect”, they say to themselves.  This is the “Admiring the Moon from the Earth” phase.

However, all this changes once they get married.  Those small teeny weenie little things simply blow out of proportion.  All of a sudden they are the worst habits a person can ever have.  The theory of “no one is perfect” goes out of the window.  Fights, arguments, disagreements, …(I need some help with words here).  This is the “Living on the Moon” phase.

This makes me realize that some people after all are like the Moon.  They seem so perfect to others from a distance, however, you just cannot live there.  But then it occurred to me that the Moon never actually changed.  It was as barren as it is today.  It was as cold as it is today.  What really changed the whole scenario is our viewpoint.  Our over-expectation from the Moon led to our disappointment.  Now, would you blame the Moon for your disappointment?  Well, some people do but we cannot change them.

BLACKY BOY - We Will Always Miss You

                       December 1995 to May 14, 2009

You were and will always be a family member to all of us. We hope that you are in heaven right now. You have always loved us unconditionally. Every time you saw us, you waved your tail and expressed your affection towards us. You came to us as a one-week-old puppy and left us as a 13 1/2 year old. Your leaving us has created a vast emptiness in the home that can never be filled. You are an inseparable part of our family. Every part of the house reminds us of you. Everything we do, we remember you. Every time, I come back home from office, I remember you coming towards me waving your tail in affection and trying to play with me.

Forever you will remain in our hearts. One of the things that stands out about you is the fact that you have never even hurt a cat. We have had so many cats in our house, and you have never hurt them, although sometimes you have chased them away just to show them who's the boss. I still remember the image of you and one of our cats having lunch together from the same plate. You were generous enough to share your food with a cat. No one can beat this. You have actually set an example for us human beings. If you can share your dinner with a cat, supposed to be your arch enemy, can we humans be kind enough to share some of our food with other unfortunate stray animals on the streets.

Cricketers Attacked in Pakistan

Terrorists are gaining strength. The ISI and Army of Pakistan are still not waking up to the fact that they are riding a blood-thirsty tiger and they cannot control it beyond a point.  In my opinion, this attack was not to say that they do not like the cricketers from Sri Lanka, but to emphasize the fact that they can strike at will. This attack has happened in spite of that fact that Pakistani establishment provided adequate security to the cricketers.

I sincerely hope that people of Pakistan force the authorities to wake up and wipe out the Taliban and the likes before the terrorists wipe out Pakistan.

First Black President of USA

The day has finally come when a Black President leads the most powerful country in the world, the United States of America. He is the 44th President of USA.  It is a great victory for those who have really suffered the ugly side of racism in USA until the late 1930s and 40s. He definitely seems to be a charismatic leader and the world hopes  that he can bring about a change in the sentiments of the American people and turn things around.  The largest market in the world has got a new Positive President whose mantra is "Yes We Can".  We all hope that he can deliver what he has promised.

We wish him all the best in succeeding in his mission and get the world economy on track once again.

Terrorism and India's Reaction

Mumbai 26/11 terrorist attacks have again brought out our inability to deal with an enemy that is obviously working hard on his strengths.  We all know for sure that terrorists have nothing to lose.  When someone is ready to die, no law can be a deterrent.  Laws come into picture only when you catch these terrorists alive, which happens only once in a blue moon.  What is most required is our defense establishments to increase surveillance and plugging the gaps in our porous borders.

What happened on 26/11 was nothing less than a grim reminder of what we lack with respect to our defense shield. How can 10 men cross over into our country from Mumbai, and that too through the Gateway of India.  How can three levels of security be breached by terrorists, especially when our forces had intelligence reports of a possible attack.

Corruption is rampant in every part of our life, and our security forces have also been a victim of the same.  It is an open secret now that the bullet-proof vests that were worn by the top cops of Mumbai on that fateful day was of substandard quality.  The fact that the bullets fired by the terrorists could penetrate the so-called bullet-proof vests shows how much we compromise on things.  Of course, there is nothing new about how much we compromise on our national security.  During the Chinese aggression in 1962, our brave soldiers at the Chinese border realized the substandard quality of the guns that were handed to them to guard the national borders.  Most of the guns did not work in extreme weather conditions.  This is how much we care about our soldier who is guarding our borders.  Of course, we are definitely much better of today with respect to the guns at the border.

On the one hand the terrorists and gangsters have upgraded themselves to AK series and M series of automatic machine guns, and on the other hand, our government expects our policemen to counter them with 303 rifles, a technology which the west discarded after World War II.  Remember this was the same rifle the British used during World War I.  Our politicians want "Z Level Security" for themselves.  Of course, for 75% of them it is more of a status symbol than a security need.  However, the security they provide to the general public is policemen with .303 rifles.  During 26/11, at the CST, the CCTV video clearly showed the constable trying to fire at the terrorist, but the gun did not work.  He had no other choice but to throw the gun away and run for cover.

Even after all this has happened, some of our politicians still shamelessly demand high security for no rhyme or reason.

For almost a decade our defense forces have been screaming at the top of their lungs that they need to upgrade their weapons system.  Our fighter jets are dying (and killing our precious pilots along the way), our submarines and ships are dying, yet our politicians do not feel it is high priority.  One might say that some of our ships still have a decade of life more in them; however, what we need to remember is that defense deal is not like buying a TV and getting a home delivery the next day. It takes almost a decade for delivery of the consignment after the order is placed.  If we order today, we will get the delivery after 10 years.

I am proud to be an Indian and I love my country a lot. It pains me a lot that our politicians are so selfish in their motives.  For them their party and power is paramount and everything else comes later.

In hopes of a safe future, I pray to God that in the New Year, they all wake up to the fact that there would be no power without a safe country and happy citizens.

WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009.