Endnote - reasons and seasons

The D-day has arrived. The year is up. This is it. Or is it?

One of my friends asked me - "was it worth it?"

Honestly, I don't know.

But I truly believe, life is worth it - all the choices and decisions we subject it to!

Of course, I have changed. It was supposed to be a life-changing experiment remember? Of course, I am not in touch with a lot of friends, people who at some point in my life were essential to my very existence...

But change is good and life is as much about letting go as about hanging on. As a wise lady once said, some walk into our lives for a reason, some for a season and that's that!

So I leave you to contemplate the mysteries of the universe while I continue to endeavour in my quest for self-discovery - one way or another, its the journey that matters!! ;D

Meow!

end end-note: Can't believe I took 45 minutes to pen this down! The holiday has made me rusty! But will park that for another day;-))

when time stops...or the essence of a deadline lies in the fulfillment of a quest!

Maybe a year is not enough,

Maybe a life is not enough..

Maybe the quest of our existence is not to find God or truth (as Gandhi believed) but to find ourselves..

And if for that we need a lifetime, maybe that's ok too!

The price of freedom

What makes a leader? Is it the ability to inspire? or is is merely old-fashioned didactism?

I don't know.

Fear, shock, anger - This week's events on the global stage have been outrageously horrifying to say the least. Are we well and truly free? Or is freedom a state-controlled myth? Does a leak of "sensitive" documents really give anyone, even the most powerful state in the world, to hound, threaten, coerce and as some leaders have suggested "assasinate" an individual for merely publicising something?

Is big brother just a television show? or did Orwell get it right and what he saw is no longer limited to the pages of his seminal work, 1984?

Is freedom of speech a myth? maybe the notion of freedom itself is a myth. For if, the United States as the biggest power needs to protect its "national security" so fiercely, what happens to the rest of the world?

Is this really about Wikileaks leaking sensitive documents or is this about how-could-one-organization-dare-to-bare-global-leaders-in-front-of-mere-mortals? How dare you, a fly, challenge the power and the flight of the eagle? 

I feel sick, saddened and sorry. This is the legacy we pass on to our children. Be powerful and you can do anything you want. Afterall, the world is a regulated, well-ordered stage where all the men, women and children are merely performers and the human race, though seemingly unshackled from the leagcy of imperialism and narrow caste-class-colour-based biases, remains a mute spectator to whatever has been decreed - whether by China (don't you dare attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony honouring Liu Xiaobo) or US (just google wikileaks and the angst of US policymakers will flood your search). We are evolved you see and far superior to our poor ancestors who neither had the gifts of technology nor the ease of life we are used to. If in the process of an "easier", taken to be a synonym for 'happier', life we have to consent to minor adjustments like surrendering to state control, then so be it. Afterall, there really is no lasting harm.

Acton got it right, way back in 1887 - "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely!" 

Though he noted his this for individuals, and the effect of power on men in power, the phrase sums up the life and times of today as the distinction between leaders and states gets blurred - it is the individuals who define the character of the state.

Arm-twisting is the new norm and just as the line between individual power and state power gets blurred, the line between democracy and totalitarianism too becomes a blur. Afterall big brother does know best.

Is it Assagne who dictates the freedom of the press or is it Clinton?

You decide.

Pink - its my new obsession!;-)

For pink is the colour of fashion!

Yup, its that time of the year again - when the quilts come out and people vanish below them..When garam garam chai is best served with mathi and achar...when cakes are plummed up, not iced….When a morning walk is best walked at 11 and the day calls it a day at 6…when heaters warm frozen souls and welcome hugs thaw frozen hearts, Yes, its time to say hello to winters!! And here I am, in the heart of the capital, finally catching up with dilli ki sardi after a hiatus of 3 years. Admittedly, I was home for holidays, but this time it’s a season and not a reason that'll see me around!

Meanwhile, while Father Claus is getting ready for spreading Christmas cheer, and Delhi University is gearing up for ruining it with a mere week off to revel in the festivities (is that fair, I ask you??), this season, its not just red and green but definitely, clearly, strongly, pink! Specifically fushia if I may!!:D

Happy December my friend, the pinks will pink me up for sure!;D

Meow!