Bridging The Deficit

India and Pakistan are bad neighbours is mild way of putting the tension between the countries since their birth. And the relationship has never looked to be heading for the good.

Well, people concerned do use the right words to describe it- "trust deficit", but what they do to bridge this deficit doesn't speak much for their vocabulary. Throwing dossiers and accusing each other for attacks in respective countries doesn't exactly bridge a trust-deficit.

Day in and day out, you see news channels on both sides of the border spitting venom on the other side, accusing each other of things that could be.

Infact, today I saw this news channel, running a program about strengthening ties through cricket. The visuals showed either Pak bowlers getting a thorough bashing from Indian bastmen or Pakistan batsmen loosing their wickets.

Art and sports can only take us this far.Lazing around one fine evening and talking about the similarities in both countries will never help bring a change .The people at the helm have to understand that all they have to do is believe. Someone has to bend. It is painful to see a region that could be an economic and cultural powerhouse, torn apart due to vested interests.

Even if some people do agree to the above, they expect thier counterpart to bend first.

Both parties are at fault and nobody's helping the cause, neither the government nor the people.

Lets not walk into the hole the bad dudes want us to fall into. Let us listen to each other for a change. Lets believe in each other for once.

GODS

Aman was a 12th std. student in Delhi. He led a normal life, except for the fact that he could lift a truck with his right pinky.

Yes, Aman was a superhero. He saved women, banks, kittens, the president and did his chemistry projects.

That day had been particularly taxing on him. He usually sprains his wrist when he lifts a dozen cars at a time. Aman dragged himself to his room and dozed off instantly.

That night, he had a dream. Not one of the horrible ones, in which you are a mute spectator, but the rare ones, which you feel are under your control. Aman flew past cities, past the Himalayas, and into a, dark, deep tunnel, leading into a cave.

There he saw, an old, frail, breaded man stooped, and chained so heavily that he could hardly see a patch of skin, except for his head. The man looked up and Aman saw a face so featureless, yet screaming out for something, help, maybe, Aman thought. His eyes were sea blue, swollen and very dry.

With a weak, but probing voice, the man spoke, "So, finally, you've come."

Aman was confused, "You know me? How come...But I don't.Who are you?."

"You see Aman, this world, this universe is all about balance. Everything you see is always at balancing its negative self. "

"Mountains are there to balance the craters and trenches, air to counter water, hatred for love, good for bad. So when you earned those amazing powers, you terribly shook the balance of the creators great work."

All this was over-whelming for Aman, "Wait. I save the day and I'm blamed for it? What balance is this now, eh?"

"You used your power to help mankind and not otherwise, those are your values and your good nature. But you are a superhuman and there needed to be a counter-force for you too. And that force, is me."

"Yes, I'm weak, frail, these chains are the burdens of hopes and aspirations of all man and animal kind. I take their misfortunes, their pain and suffering."

Aman,"But I thought I do that."

"You wipe off their tears, I keep them. All the pain and suffering don't vanish, they come to me."

Aman, "So, why call me here?"

"Because the time has come. We must switch places. It is your turn to be the hope-keeper now." And the man raises his hand towards Aman.

Aman reluctantly puts his hand forward,"But who are you? And how do you know me?"

"I..., We, are the creator's two most trusted men. Commonly known as GODS."

As both touch each others' hands. A SNAP.

Adam wakes up with a start. He gingerly walks up to his balcony and flies out into the Manhattan skyline for his early morning vigil.

A Comic Situation

I flip through the pages of my old Champaks and Chacha Chaudharys. The pages are still crisp and the yellow tinge adds a hint of value to them, as time does to wine. I can't help but wonder, where those days of halcyon went?

Comics meant everything to me as a kid. And not the Marvels and DCs mind you. What fascinated me were the Billloo, Pinki, Raman, Sabu, the affable Chacha C and not to forget the Nagrajs and Dogas. Our very own Diamond and Raj comics were dearest to me.

But with each passing year, the quality of content deteriorated and so did my (and probably others') interest. Diamond is as good as non-exist ant and Raj comics have lost the art of story-telling.

It puzzles me, when I get hold of one of these 'modern' Chacha Chaudharys- should I cry at the lame and stale one-liners or should I laugh at the alarming frequency at which the colour of Chachaji's turban changes every 5 pages. Sometimes, I hardly ever get through 5 pages!

Comics in India is AILING. We need more Prans. We need sharper minds and willing people going into this floundering industry. Comics are a significant part of our history, and they ought be preserved.

Brain Games

Sub-conscious brain is perhaps the most powerful tool that man has been gifted with. The problem is that its like a double-edged sword. And most of us do not know how powerful it is and upon mastering its control, how much more fulfilling one's life can be.

For better understanding, let us take the example of 'Bhool Bhulaiya' and 'Karthik calling Karthik' . For the uninitiated, these are B' wood films deal with the adverse effect of sub-conscious brain, or mental disorder, in short. However, what both the films portray, is how strong a person's inner will can be. It can create a completely new person out a man/woman and it can adversely affect our conscious self.

Although both the films show sub-conscious brain in a bad light, what is undeniable is the fact that sub-conscious brain has surprising, almost super-human powers.

Controlling our sub-conscious brain is the ultimate self-realization of a human being. And the only way this can be achieved, is by developing a strong-willed conscious brain. When we truly and consciously believe in our abilities and wishes, a connection between both the mind-sets is snapped closed. And then our sub-conscious brain unleashes its effectiveness.

But the belief has to be unabashed, true and pure.

Take for example walking- You never fall on solid ground because you are supremely and truly confident about your walking-credentials (I know, I'm overrating the art of walking.). But the second you are blind-folded, you stumble. That's not because of the blindfold, it's because your conscious mind red flags the thought of falling and the sub-conscious mind doesn't waste time in realizing it.

So, try to believe in your goals and aspirations. Act as if they have been achieved. If you want to be happy, BE HAPPY. Or at least act as if you are. The results will surprise you.

Addicted to Blame

Lets not mince words here, cause this thing really pisses me off.

How many of you think that Twitter is an addiction?

I mean, gimme a break! When was the last time you (or anyone, for that matter) thought that sharing doodles with your friends was an addiction?

To those few who are giving a thought to the above question(if you are, c'mon get a life... or a Twitter account.) Socializing may have been harmful in caveman days when people used club each others' heads in the name of inter-personal communication.

Mainstream media here in India is hell-bent on proving Twitter an addiction. The only (and perhaps the decisive) arguement against this conclusion is that socializing is a human need, it completes a person. It defines the human race and binds us togather. Existence is impossible without interaction. Even war and crisis need socialization.

And about the addiction thing, lets see an example-

"Oh my dad's dead, (laconic smile) Why not tweet this....."

To those few who do not think this scenario as naive and funny and think that there is a serious possibility that such a thing could happen, you might as well stop reading this post now.

And you know what's really crappy about all this? To hear all that s**t about twitter-addiction and in the end- "What did you think about todays show? Tweet us at @hitmeIamanas**le"

The Fact About Fiction

The world has seen a lot of talented fiction writers. Their ideas were new, appealing and gave a new meaning to their (and others') lives. But what was that one thing that made them so special?

There are hundreds of 'writers' guide' that keep incessantly gloating about doing things 'differently'. In fact, if something is stale, it is these rhetoric. But then, (I hate to sound repetitive) what was the thing that clicked for these brilliant minds?

We are born and brought up by our parents, and by the time we are capable of brewing intelligent thoughts, we develop what I like to call a 'cast'. The ideas that come into our mind must fit into this cast, lest it displease a section of our society. It is like writing for others, we are more interested to make our ideas and writings sound sensible rather then making them sound interesting. Sample this: You won't ask your neighbour if he or she likes beige or metallic interiors when you are painting your house, would you?

Of course, sounding somewhat logical is called for but your fantasy should follow your logic not the world's norms.

That's what these fiction writers did, they could shake off the constraints of trying to justify their writings and write for themselves, ending up with classics and bestsellers.

But, its easier said than done (as every cool and awesome thing on self-help blogs and books is). Even the best writers can never completely uproot what they go by in the real world. At a certain level it will influence one's writing. But such a touch is involuntary and is either unpalpable or pleasing.

You can go "Oh that's easy," but you'll know exactly how tough it can get, when you write. At the end of every line, you'll be asking yourself, "Oh, what will people say to that?". These kinds of thoughts are very hard to ignore. But, once the self-realization sets in you'll find such questions melting away. You'll want to know how YOU will react to a line, and that's when your imagination will really take over.

It's not Mr President's G8 speech, its your world that we are talking about, your playground. So go, play God.

Its all about realizing that only YOU can write a book that you will love to read.