Sleeping With The Enemy

It’s a perfect case of GQ=Glamour Quotient overtaking the EQ and IQ! The external glitz has been translated into presumed effectiveness in talks between two nations who do not share much camaraderie.

Somewhere we are overriding a sense of responsibility towards objective coverage and reporting of important news.Trivial and  superficial has suddenly turned into significant!

Birkin Bags, Jimmy Choo shoes,Chanel glares? Aww gimme a break!...has this got anything to do with external affairs? But most of what I saw being “broad” cast was related to this designer labels being an intrinsic part of the Foreign Minister.Anyone who has lakhs of rupees can walk out there and pick a Choo or a Chanel! It seemed a lot like just that, made the whole difference to the efficiency of  Khar!

Looks are deceptive….Real beauty lies within…Never judge a book by it’s cover….now this was something I have heard all the way through School and College! Seen the contrary during Elections and Selections.Actors being roped in for governance and as they say improve”face value” of the party.Could the current disgust with the  dirt and sleaze in Politics/Governance be washed out by a Birkin toting Item Bomb?

Somehow I felt it was just advertising disgusing as politics! Again ample evidence to prove that Humans are after all consumers, and here was a product that could sell!

Do brands radiate an aura that in any ways multiplies the effect the wearer has on others?....I would be only too glad if our Speech chor who’s also a known Maakhan chor, is motivated to play hard in the arena of “external affairs”

The victims of blasts and terror do deserve a lot more than designer coffins and tombstones!Not that the burnt got any seasonal discount in crematoriums!

There must be some dignity in death….The current exchange that just happened between the ministers can only provide  for designer clothes for the  the dead!

Something's Fishy!

I know two types of men…those who  fish for sport and those who fish for fish! 

Abubacker was on the water at Allepey for his monthly fishing trip. Every single day he managed to bait a lot many varieties….On the the third day just as he was about to leave fishing, his cell phone rang.

It was a doctor notifying him that his Biwi had just been in a terrible
accident and was in critical condition in the ICU. As he hung up, he realized he was leaving what was shaping up to be his best fishing day ever!

Abu decided to get in a couple of more catches before actually heading to the hospital. He ended up fishing the rest of the morning and it was after the third catch he decided to stop.He was jubilant....then he remembered his wife!

Feeling terribly guilty, Abu rushed to the hospital. He ran up to the
Doctor in the corridor and asked about his wife's condition.

The physician glared at him and shouted, "You went ahead and finished your fishing, didn't you? I hope you're proud of yourself! While you were out enjoying yourself on the lake, your poor Biwi has been languishing in the ICU! I hope you really enjoyed yourself, because it will more than likely be the last jolly trip you will ever take! For the rest of her life your Biwi will be paralyzed and require around the clock care, and you'll be her Miya forever!"

Abubacker felt so horrible at what he had done, that he broke down and howled.

Then the doctor chuckled and said, "I'm just messin' with you. Biwi’s dead. What'd you catch?

Good things come to those who bait if Abu had to say it “his”way!

Food Minister,K V Thomas, has written to the Prime Minister to create a separate Ministry for Fisheries!...Sharad Pawar is obviously upset!....Now Pawar thinks Thomas has an intent to bifurcate the Agriculture Ministry but Thomas knows better!...I was told that Madam at No. 10 Janpath was mighty thrilled with the fish curry made by Mrs Thomas earning the Minister the nick name “Thirutha Thomas"

Little did Sharad Pawar realise that Thomas maybe going the Abubacker way!!!;-)

What a way to pay obeisance!!!!....Truly Fishy!

...of all the liars among mankind, the fisherman is the most trustworthy.  ~William Sherwood Fox, Silken Lines and Silver Hooks, 1954

In Black and White

Thirty years ago when I had read what P.G. Wodehouse said "There is only one cure for grey hair. It was invented by a Frenchman. It is called the guillotine," …I enjoyed a hearty laugh.

Today a single strand of Grey does not seem so funny after all!..I for one, had refused to dye!  Whenever queried either by my students or  my friends would assuage their concern by passing it off as dignity granted prematurely. I have lots of grey hair now. I have very dark hair so it shows up better. I am not worrying about it. I know greying hair is genetic, and also part of the aging process.

There are times when I think of considering taking the big step -- finally ditching the dye, and letting their silvers shine! Telling people that going grey  is really not as scary as they think. As we all know, this is a very personal decision, one a woman makes only when she is "ready." When she is tired of the upkeep of color, the roots peeking through before two weeks are up, the chemicals and the scalp problems. I have told many of my Friends to educate themselves on all the different ways you can help them look great, no matter what way they grey. Check it out yourself if you’re young and unsure of the choices.

This is not a decision a woman comes to lightly, but when she does -it's magic! People think you can’t be glam and grey, too?  I am on my way to being grey and great.

 I didn't want to mess around with coloring it all black….Maybe add a shade of brown, blonde and burgundy!  It's not so bad and actually sets you apart from society instead of being the same old thing. Takeaway point: If you've got roots, flaunt 'em! Never before has the "in" style been so kind to transitioners!...I’m actually enjoying every bit of having gone grey! or even multicolored! In fact I feel great!

 For all my men friends out there going Grey,imagine the lineup you’d find in case you want to find just the perfect shade to give them that Clooney/Cooper/Gere thing….It’s a whole new world of going great and going grey!

Do not regret growing older.  It is a privilege denied to many.

Death Becomes Mere Statistics!

A country of billion plus people goes gaga with fervor when a cricketer reaches a milestone or their favorite actor does something but are muted spectators when common folks, one among them dies day after day due to act of terrorism. Death becomes mere statistics! 

INDIA last night condemned the three terror blasts that ripped through heavily populated Mumbai suburbs .

My deepest sympathies are with the innocent victims and their families.

How does one deal with serious tragedies such as the loss of a loved one? What about tragedies like natural disasters, famines and terrorist attacks?  Is it only human to feel down and depressed after such events, or is it possible to remain conscious and positive throughout?  Is there a deeper meaning behind these seemingly random and tragic experiences?

My views on this subject stray a lot from the social norm, my intention is to help people think about such things more consciously. Social conditioning teaches us to interpret events like the death of a loved one, as tragic. To experience emotional pain when such things occur is considered perfectly normal behavior. Usually the process we follow sequences denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally maybe acceptance. Some people never complete the “getting over it” part.The tragic loss becomes a death sentence.

When we become attached to circumstances and then experience an outcome that runs afoul of our expectations, emotional pain is the natural result.  And the greater the attachment, the greater the pain…..But is it worth all of it…how long how often?The root of attachment is fear.Without fear there’s no attachment to circumstances… no emotional resistance to outcomes. On average over 150,000 people die on this planet every single day.That’s more than a million a week.  Given those figures why should the deaths of people we know be any more tragic than the deaths of people we don’t? 

Babu Rangraj, who helped to carry six bodies to the morgue wrapped up in tarpaulin from the opulent Opera House area in downtown Mumbai, said such attacks had become commonplace in the city."We have got used to them. Dealing with their aftermath is like following a drill," he said. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/8638138/Indian-security-forces-under-fire-as-Mumbai-wakes-to-the-aftermath

Our social conditioning frames our lives within a context whereby certain events are labeled as tragic. The Mumbai blasts where places are repeatedly attacked by terrorists. India is supposedly spending billions of Rupees on Intelligence. (Hope Rajas, Marans, Kalmadis, Karunanidhis et al have not pocketed these funds). Those responsible had "worked in a very clandestine manner -- maybe a very small group that has not communicated with each other", Mr Chidambaram said, adding: "All groups hostile to India are on the radar." http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/mumbai-blasts-leave-18-dead/story-e6frg6so-1226094941439

We will not improve the circumstances of this physical world by labeling them as tragic.  That robs us of all our power to think and to act consciously.  Such attachment defines us as victims instead of as the creators we truly are.  Victims cannot save our environment.  Victims cannot end our wars.  Victims cannot transform our corporations.  Only creators have the power to make these changes.

Just as it takes time to clear the rubble and repair the damage, it takes time to recover your emotional equilibrium and rebuild your life.

What is your choice Mumbaikars? 

Do you prefer to be a conscious creator of your life, or the unconscious victim to it?  You have the free will to do whatever you wish.  But even if you choose to deny yourself the full exercise of your true power, you can never deny yourself the existence of it.  It is always there, locked away in a safe place, and the state of joy is the key that opens the door.

So given the choice between being empowered and disempowered, I choose to take the more empowering path.  Perhaps, I’m just a misguided left-hander in a right-handed world!