Luxury to Poverty..All in a blog!

I had the opportunity to view the day to day activities that happen at Deep Griha Society in Pune courtesy my sis who went there. I would like to mention that at this time, I am humbled more than ever. As modernization engulfs the world, people tend to get lost in the materialistic world to no ends.

We need to be thankful for the presence we have in society, a good education provided by our parents, who burn the midnight oil to make ends meet. Seeing these children at Deep Griha Society was an eye opener on the hardships the young children go through. Most of them being orphans, completely rely on the institution for their food, clothing and shelter-essentials we take for granted.

They say that "Luxury becomes a necessity when the neighbourhood has it". How true! The picture above shows that young minds of tomorrow are still in dire poverty. We talk at length about globalization and economic foundations, but can't we dedicate a small portion of our wallets for these kids? There is another instituition "Udavum Karangal"-translated to helping hands. This organization is based in Chennai and is doing very good work to feed, educate and shelter orphaned kids. There are plenty of selfless social workers who dedicate their lives for these kids. Blessed are these people who give expecting nothing in return.

I am not urging anyone to donate any money. Nor am I propagating any organization. All I am asking is to take some time off to think about the world outside shopping malls and excessive spending. I am sure you will get lost in introspection. Just like me...

Anyway, on a lighter note..hearty congratulations to my sis, who became a graduate with honours. Welcome to the world of ignorance....But then again it is bliss ain't it???

Something To Me...

This will bundle up a few thoughts that I'd been gathering purely for the purpose of blogging!I guess I'm getting the groove alright!This list will be a mixed bag of both serious and casual remarks,so don't get overly bored!I'll try to keep it as exciting as possible.

Introspection to me is....A means of discovery
Life to me is....A quest for a destination we do not know
Bliss to me is....Taking a leak after holding for long
Romance to me is....An act that happens only once in a lifetime
Failure to me is....A motivation to stand up and try again
Motivation to me is....A urge to accomplish something
Beauty to me is....Maharani Gayatri Devi
Raunchy to me is....Silk Smitha
Grace to me is....A tiger stalking it's prey
Ecstasy to me is....Watching a BMW whizz by
Team to me is....Something you belong to.Something you have to earn
Work to me is.....An everyday survival
Knowledge to me is....A relative affair which makes you want to bury yourself
Pain to me is....Seeing children without parents
Security to me is....Knowledge that your family is behind you
Support to me is....A person whom you can call anytime,to talk about anything
Family to me is....Something that cannot be described in words
Friends to me is....A rare combination of quality and quantity
Culture to me is....Something that runs within you
Sprituality to me is....Something that will always elude me
Uneasiness to me is....A feeling of rejection when proposing to a girl
Music to me is....Mark Knopfler
God to me is....An illusion that's a sure reality
Fear to me is....A feeling that can only be explained by the Supernatural
Success to me is....Shortlived because you will soon find shortcomings in it
Analysis to me is....A introspection on this post

I have listed mine.Have you done the same?

Whose Mumbai Is It Anyway?

I recently went through this article that claimed that Mumbai has lost it's Marathi Ethos.After having read it,I could not agree with the author less.

The author talks about how the once Maratha dominated Mumbai is now the field of play for every Indian from all across the country.In this context,he feels that the glory that used to synonimous with the city is now on the decline.The city of textile mills,according to him,has been swept by an array of multi-storied buildings and in the process of globalization,has lost it's identity.

I have been one of the "outsiders" to city.Having spent the better part of my life here,I have actually seen the city evolve and develop into the powerhouse it is today.On some occasions,even New York City comes a far second compared to Aamchi Mumbai.I am sure there will be thousands like me who support my view.

The Parsis turned this city to a financial hub.The mantle was carried on by industrialist J.R.D.Tata,then Dhirubhai Ambani,then the Birlas and the trend continues to grow with Ratan Tata,Kumaramangalam Birla,Mukesh and Anil Ambani.These people put the city and eventually the country on the global map.

What is it about the city that draws people to it like a moth to a flame?The vibrance,the acceptance by it's people and above all the never say die attitude of the inhabitants of this wonderful wonderful city.The author in the column goes on to add that during the bomb blasts,only the people of the chawls came to the rescue of the affected.While I agree with him on the fact that these people were there to help first but the others were not far behind.I was there when the blasts happened.I could see the city being overcome by humanitarian approaches.For once,walls of society were broken.A lot of innocent people shought refuge behind sheltered environments and not once was the hierarchical order brought into play.It is during these times that we forget our positions in society to help human-kind.

During the recent train blasts,I was overjoyed to see Mumbai take to the street to help the victims.I know that nowhere in the world will you see such compassion.So to disagree with the author that Mumbai has lost itself to non-Maharashtrians,I would like to add that Mumbai has rediscovered herself in new hands!

It is important in this age to progress rapidly with technologial advances.But,if we remember our roots,our origination,our culture,we are doing more than our share of keeping the spirit of India alive.To sit back and revel at the past and brooding over it is an act of foolishness.But to remember that past and move on..that's progress.

I am an Indian,born in the temple city of Madurai,spent my pre-teens in New Delhi,tempered in Mumbai and surviving in USA.I represent the spirit of Mumbai.I am a Mumbaikar!

Why a Desi?

It's almost been 2 years in the big bad USA for me and two long years away from the land I call home.I have been meaning to write these thoughts for a while now but now I have a medium!

Almost every Indian who comes here tries to inculcate practices and customs followed by the Americans.It's almost tailor made because we hear so much about the "western civilization" that we adopt it subconsciously.We know every state in USA before we know our own!Pubs,night clubs,strip clubs..you name it we have heard of it!

An extremely annoying thing is the way we try to find fault in the culture and the land that's in our blood.Once an Indian sets his ass on American soil,he tries to bring down fellow Indians so that he can fit into the "American culture".Is this something we do for kicks?If an Indian crosses the street when the lights are not in his favour,how many of you go,"I know it!That guy is an Indian"?Well,the next time you become all judgmental imagine the shit you were in when you got here.We criticize the Indian government for the chaos the nation is in.Every country is in shit.Just that one uses toilet paper while the other uses hands!

How many of you call a fellow Indian DESI???Haha..this must be good!I can see people hiding their faces as I type!Oh,he does not have a car....he's a Desi.Oh,he writes colour instead of color..must be a Desi!Oh he wears a tshirt with trousers...must be a Desi.WTF is wrong with you people??

I agree that it becomes difficult to adjust to new environment when you come from conservative backgrounds.Just for a moment think that you were in the same position not so long ago!So why the double standards?

This attitude is pathetic and sad.To bring down a fellow Indian just to mingle and look good amongst others is something we have been very good at!Why can't we treat our countrymen with the same respect?Why do we pour our compliments to people here?

Some things to muse and fuse your brains!

My first blog!!

Yipeee....I never knew this was so easy!

So to begin with,do not feel scared or overly "excited" about the blog title.Stupid google returned invalid results for every f!@#$%^ word I typed.Just then the idea of being original came to mind.So underwearemotions was born!Please do not think double meaning and all....I swear to god..me good boy..None of my friends will swear by that!

So why the new blog=your question..Hmm..Inspiration from another friend=my answer.Anyhoo,having taken a LOT of pain in creating this blog,I have to go through even more pain in keeping it alive.So immediately after me postings,you replyings.OK?

Next hardest thing...to talk..oh ,blog about a topic.Sharry...new boy you see.No knowings of lingos yet!

It is every person's dream to "un-work" at work.This does not mean redo the work you did.I would have said re-work then!I have been fortunate to have done that for 9 months.The best part is that you get paid for it.A lot of less fortunate folks look at other means to derive pleasure at work.Sightings the figure in the next to next to next desk->Getting no response from her->not giving up hope and retrying the same thing again tomorrow.Damn,I want that!Not that I want work..but I should feel satisfied at the end of doing nothing productive.

As engineers(if I can call myself that!),we are trained to optimize everything.With the best free advice given by many many people(parents and teachers especially included),we continue to optimize on a lot of things.Food,sleep,figure/dude sightings are examples.So it is by default that we need to optimize un-work!Agree with me here.The more support I get,the more productive and optimized at work I can be!

So far,I have managed a lot of random bakwaas.I just realized that to blog,you need to have a clear picture of the topic in mind.Since this is my first blog while I'm "optimizing" at work,echoos me!

Well,that's about it on this one.I have come up with a lot of topics and thoughts over the past couple of days and it's just a matter of time before I put pen on paper...or in this case keyboard on monitor!See you guys soon.