Fire and Ice

“Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice “

As the little known volcano in Iceland spewed ash, lava, dust amidst swathes of ice sheets; the above lines by legendary writer Robert Frost sprung back into my memory. News presenters struggled to pronounce its name – Eyjafjallajökull and aviation business became as restless as the volcano with each passing day. My sister and her family were traveling from India during that time. As I anxiously checked their flight status, I couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty of the image of the volcano flashing on the news websites. It seemed like an angry painter picked up his brush and used the boldest, brightest and darkest colors of his palette. The images were just surreal. Strangely, the images of disaster have a mystic beauty associated to them. From the giant waves of tsunami to blinding lightning, every pixel of such pictures command awe and brilliant color schemes. These days when our busy minds always keep on thinking about the “could-haves”, “should-haves” and “would-haves”, this random occurrence surged the following thoughts in me.

A quaint named thing on the globe could connect so many random lives together for a few days. In this overly connected world of disconnected individuals, there are hardly few events which can perturb many. Front line news headlines swiftly go back to page 5 on the next day. Kudos to Mother Nature for holding the attention span of so many people for a few days! As I prayed for my family’s safe travel, I thought how many people like me would have been directly and indirectly affected by this natural drama. What if, something happens and air travel service gets stalled completely? I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if one fine day three volcanoes at the major navigation points of the world (Iceland, Japan and North-west America) simultaneously decide to burst and airlines stop for good. How would we see our near and dear ones living thousands of miles apart? It was a humbling realization what could nature wreak on our lives.

The incoming train of thought was a little philosophical. The elemental forces of nature- Fire and Ice resides in all of us. Passion, desires symbolizes fire and hate symbolizes ice. The norm is to brand these forces negative and destructive. So we always try to harmonize our deepest desires and feelings to pursue perfection. But these aspects of human temperament make us more aligned to the nature. After all, Nature too displays her bad moods in her own ways. So just like the volcano in a glacier; only when we let play these forces for a while in us, we can be truly spectacular and real.

A few more words

Just a few minutes before, a quirky thought passed my mind. I was wondering how many lines or words do we speak these days on an average. If one plots on a graph (having date/day on x axis and words spoken each date/day on y axis), I think today being the first working day of the year would find its place way above than the rest. Thanks to the customary “Happy New Year” salutations. In a world where oral communication is considered neither serious nor reliable, it's not surprising that people prefer to believe only when they get mails or see a facebook/twitter update. For example, back in office no task is considered worth starting till we receive a mail about it. Or, when you are speculating about a friend's relationship status, nothing confirms more than an update on his/her profile :-)

Till the above is done, it's all a matter of conjectures and assumptions. So a typical day of a person belonging to this generation would start with the exercise of checking mails and responding and then continue by working on a computer (which obviously requires no verbal commands). A few meetings and a couple of lines exchanged between colleagues make you realize that the installed system of hearing is still up and running in your body.

It's a matter of thought that if the so called social communication and networking tools are a boon or a bane to social life. I think it was John Locke who said “Man is a social animal”. If he was alive today, he would rephrase it to “Man is a social animal ONLY in internet” ;-).

I am no exception to the rule and I coyly abide by the new age social protocols. Sometimes, I realize it saves me from awkward exchanges with friends whom I hardly want to talk but I don't want to sever ties either. But I just wish to hear a few more words; words of happiness, despair, humor, adventure, love, care. I believe the entire ambiance around us can be animated and made more meaningful by just a few more words. So next time when you are coming up with any thought, don't be stingy in using words and let the human voice be given a chance.

Random Draws

After a hiatus of about 6 months, I have finally decided to pen down some concerning, quirky, interesting and happy events that happened of late. I wonder sometimes out of so many big small things happening on a daily basis, why is it that we only hold a few things in our mind and conveniently erase the rest?

Socrates once told his student to imagine the mind as a block of wax “on which we stamp what we perceive or conceive”. This is probably the reason why we have this oft quoted metaphor “made an impression”. Below mentioned are some incidents, people....which I believe will be indelible on my mind.

Scintillating Sonia

For me it was yet another election in yet another part of the world. I read and saw images of thousands marching with astounding courage on the streets of Iran. I also read blogs and saw video uploads about the gruesome acts. From my limited knowledge about Iran, I do believed that it was a tolerant and intelligent country which had rich culture and civilization. A lot had changed in the recent years because of the oppressive government which had blighted the free will of the people. I just read volumes about the ongoing turbulence in some part of the world but hardly felt anything until recently.

I met an elderly friend of my landlady who hugged me in the first meeting and said this is how we greet in Iran. Her name is Sedi and she prefers to be called as Sonia. She must be in her forties but was teeming with enthusiasm and energy. Her flawless and radiant skin made me imagine how beautiful she must be in her youth. She migrated to US in 1980s and before that she did her education in France. The curious me asked her all questions about how was the country before she left , the reason why she left, does she ever want to visit the place of her birth. She replied all of my questions. It was indeed a poignant moment for her as she flipped the pages of her life.

She belonged to an affluent family and lived in a city north of Tehran which has thriving oil business. She recalls that city to be an international city where people from every part of the world came and lived. She told she had a lot of “Hindu” friends in her childhood (kids of engineers working in that oil refinery). The point which captured my attention is that she calls everyone who is from India (Hindustan) as “Hindu”. She told that this is how people referred us in her part of the globe. For them, no matter we went to whichever place of worship, we were one identity “Hindu”. I paused their for a moment and wondered if this could reach to the billions of people back home.

She told me how she has never ever wore a headscarf in her life in Iran and beyond, how many men she has dated and why she decided never to marry. She doesn't practice any religion and believes religion as the root of all problems.

She had to leave that evening because the next morning she was going to Westwood to join the protest march against the Iranian regime. I always see her wearing the green band to show her allegiance to the cause.

Since that evening, I have been invited to so many dinners in her home. Her home is decorated with Persian writings, carpet and handicrafts. It is always a pleasure to talk to this woman because she is an embodiment of endurance, courage and free spirit of humanity.

Satsang at Santa Monica

Part curiosity and part boredom made me to visit “Ananda” at Santa Monica. There was a satsang scheduled on that Sunday and I had no clue what was I doing there. My optimistic self told me to hold on and hope of meeting some new people and make some new friends. Parking rates on the roads of Santa Monica surprised me and I promised myself that I won't stay in the hall for more than 30 minutes.

I located the hall by the beautiful motifs of Lord Ganesha and Krishna which made me feel at home. Honestly, I had hoped that this is going to be an Indian affair with desis pouring in. Strangely, I found I was the only Indian sitting in the room. Everyone else was American wearing kurta, pyjama etc. Some were holding harmonium, one was playing tabla, others were clapping and singing in chorus. What amused me were the sanskrit hymns and songs translated in English but sung in our own desi tune. It was just like singing the funny English sub titles which come up in the song sequences of Hindi movies ;-) Everyone else was lost in the songs and were concentrating hard. Unfortunately, the entire setting was comical for me to say the least.

I found it very awkward to disrupt such a peaceful ambiance by walking out in the middle. In the meantime, my feelings were transformed from just amusement to sheer disbelief listening how perfectly the guy played the tabla. I had decided to wait till the end and ask each of them how and where did they learn it.

Everybody chanted “Om Shanti Om” and the Satsang got over after 2 full hours. Individually I went and talked to everyone. The person who was playing the tabla has been going to India since 1984. He asked me where I was from. Till now, I have met very few Indians (leave Americans) who know which part of India is Orissa. So it has been my standard practice to say I am from a place near Kolkata.

Strangely, that guy said a few places of Kolkata and said how much he loved to lay back on the warm beach of Puri. It was nice to know a person thousands of miles away from my home who knows the geography and essence of each part of India.

Conversations with others were pleasant as well. Some people wanted to know the meaning of my name. Some where talking about Gurgaon and Noida. Everyone welcomed me to their group and encouraged me to come their again. This experience turned out to be unexpectedly refreshing.

A Riveting Read: Buy.ology

“Buy.ology-Truth and Lies about why we buy” is the name of the book written by Martin Lindstorm. The author, considered as a marketing wizard, throws light on how neuroscience and marketing will merge their ways to transform the marketing world. This will be said as “NeuroMarketing” which by the help of fMRI, brain scanning and other powerful tools will give us the exact reason why do prefer iPods over Zunes, Cornona over Budweiser or McDonald's over Wendy's.

The book is undoubtedly an interesting read with ample examples and case studies. The more I read about how and why do we buy a certain thing, the more concerned I became about the way these marketing gurus can spy on our minds using the technological wonders.

Isn't this an equally unethical trend as the idea of creating genetically designed babies? Aren't we inducing human minds to crave for something? What will happen to the small and mid sizes business who don't have sufficient financial resources to conduct these expensive studies. Unfortunately, if the mighty corporations actually implement whatever is written in the book to exactly stimulate mirror neurons or some other wire in our brain, all other business will gradually perish.

A century back people started creating genetically altered plant seeds and brought about the so called “green revolution”. A century later, we have found that we have lost hundreds of species and people are now back championing organic food.

I wonder if the current trend of altering (or rather interfering with everything that is natural) continues, human being will cease to comprehend, enjoy, behave as they are supposed to be.

New Arrival !

Naah..It's neither the iPhone 3GS nor the sleek Palm Pre. It is our bundle of joy Gia (my niece). She can run for the cutest wonder of the world contest :-). Being with her makes you forget your biggest worries and enjoy pristine happiness. Her innocent eyes can see only what we show her. She can hear only what we say. This infuses an unusual sense of responsibility alien to me. It is such a pleasure to watch and to be with her. We are so blessed to have you Mittoo!! (I fondly call her by this name). Welcome to the world!

Death of a legend

It was a day as usual..I was slogging in my office. I heard some fellow programmers discussing that Michael Jackson had been admitted in the hospital as he had a cardiac arrest. I chose to ignore as I was hurrying for a meeting. Minutes later I came back and attended my sister's call who sadly informed me that Michael Jackson had died. The office work froze for several minutes and every where it became the topic of conversation. Some disclosed how they had their posters in their rooms in their teens, some recalled his chart busters. Some pledged to visit his LA home to pay tributes. It's going to be more than a week now but still you won't find any website, newspaper, forum not lauding the legend. Sadly, his death brought him back into public memories. It would have been great if the same radio stations and media houses, who are now devoting their prime time to showcase his life, would have helped him in his troubled times which caused his death.

For now, I would just pray "Rest in peace".

This is all I chose to remember and cogitate in the recent times.
Thanks guys for reading such a long blog ;)

Slumdog Splitsville

Much has changed since the day the movie “Slumdog millionaire” was nominated for various categories in the coveted Academy awards. AR Rehman and Resul Pokutty made Indians across the globe erupt in joy and pride. The kid brigade of the cast marched their way on the red carpet. Then they were greeted like rock stars in airport. Then some of them were beaten by their parents for not obliging to the journalists feeding the insatiable monstrous 24 7 news channels. Congress party recently made “Jai Ho” as its anthem for the upcoming election. Admist all these moments of ecstasy, pride, cynicism; the argumentative Indian in me is relentlessly introspecting this entire sequence of events.

While wandering very close to the Kodak theatre in the evening of 81^st Academy Awards, I was checking every second to find if A R Rehman has won any award yet or not. Although we knew that the Hollywood Boulevard was sealed since a week, we still kept on hovering the area just to be a part of the historic moment so that some day we could say that “Oh..we were so much there when AR Rehman won two Oscars ;-)” Inspite of this feeling of pride, the other half of me wrestled with arguments like “O..Saaya” and “Jai Ho” were hardly great music by AR Rehman. Most of us would rate melody of Roja or Taal higher than Slumdog. But then the purpose of the award was not to pick the best ever composition by a musician but to select the best of a certain year of certain movies. Being a hard core fan of ARR, I settled with myself to be happy about his win. Resul Pokutty whose craft is hardly noticed in India also deserves accolades.

Then came the tough one in my mind: “Why haven’t I seen this movie yet?” What is in me that is stopping me to just accept that the slums and whatever else shown in the movie is not fiction in its entirety and there are acres of sprawling slums across the length and breadth of the country. Something in me protests and says that the stuff shown in the promos is so stereo type. Outsiders love to still show the nation as the country of snake charmers, impoverished and unruly people. Why can’t a movie highlighting the beaming workforce, intrinsic innocence of the countrymen, diversity and resilience of the country win an award in an international platform? Then the alter ego stated that why can’t I just accept that it is just a story, take it maturely as a figment of somebody’s imagination and enjoy it that way. Would I have reacted the same if the movie was not about a slum boy fighting the odds and would have been like the movie Guru. The movie Guru was too hugely appreciated in India and had the same fabric of a “rags to riches” story intertwined in corruption, bureaucracy but ultimately building the face of the Indian multinational company.

A shade of hypocrisy of me got highlighted in this episode as I rejoiced when three Oscars were given to fellow Indians but didn’t want the entire country to be shown going mad with joy in CNN as if we didn’t have ever something to celebrate or as if this was an Indian movie. Then popped the next question “What is an Indian movie?” The movie produced and directed in India or a movie about India with Indians in it? As this movie was a British venture and was in English language, I stamped it as an alien movie. But what about those movies made in India having English as its language or movies produced by NRIs? Is language a barrier for us from accepting it? What about our FilmFare awards which is of, by, for Indians but still it is hosted in impeccable English? If Slumdog would have been produced and directed by a Brit Indian, then how would I have reacted? It is difficult to decide what is alien and what is home grown in this inter connected world.

Media hyped the movie as the ultimate story of hope and the movie triumphed at the awards ceremony. Many who have seen the movie said that it is an average film that does not deserve an Oscar. But it’s a known fact that all the award committees around the world are often a victim of the hype bug and shuttles between honoring the best talent and the best marketing. Starting from Academy awards, Noble Prizes to apna civilian awards like Bharat Ratna, all have been tainted and criticized to the core.

The field of Art is always open to interpretation and there can never be a unanimous echo to it. Regarding what is Indian and what is foreign and whether foreigners have the freedom to make movies about the country is a debatable one and is often an arrangement of convenience. Everybody in the world wants to move past an image and would like to have an updated one in the profile. Am I shying from the reality or protesting being typecast as a citizen? Am I being kiddish by not accepting the movie as a work of fiction or am I being rightly touchy? In this topsy-turvy state of mind, I would not like to conclude but just say “And the argument continues…….”

How much is "too much"?

The title “How much is “too much”?” was a prime time theme of a leading news channel recently. Yes..it aptly fits in the current context and beyond. There is so much of thought, anger, and helplessness in me that I don’t know how to condense it to a write up. But still I would give it a shot because unfortunately this is the only thing that I can do.

India, as a country getting attacked is not at all a “breaking” news. Time and again, we have made sure to project ourselves as lame ducks and the easiest possible target. Starting from Air India plane hijack, Parliament attack way back in 2001 to the recent Mumbai mayhem, I am yet to see a comprehensive list of people responsible for it and steps we have taken to counter it.

We keep watching the attacks, riots and read ridiculous headlines like “The spirit of Mumbai” the next day. Every time I read such cover stories, my blood boils as an average Indian has to go to work the next day to keep his livelihood moving. Going back to work is definitely not the spirit that is being projected but the mere compulsion of an Indian. So seriously this is the moment when each of us should question how much is too much? How long we are going to be a mute spectator of these barbaric acts? When will we start taking actions to those countless small-big injustice like Mumbai occurring almost every month in India? Sometimes it is a nun raped, sometimes it is a blast in Assam, sometimes forceful bandhs across cities…the incidents are just countless.

One of friends in an obvious state of distress said that why don’t the terrorists blow up the Parliament..atleast we will get rid of the inept bunch of politicians. With the home minister of the state of Maharashtra saying “These kind of incidents happen” to the total reaction time taken by our entire security forces, it looks like there is no accountability anywhere and a reaction as aggressive as my friend’s is not at all a shocker. I do not see a reason why millions of unemployed youth are not getting trained as some anti-terror force or some intelligence agency or why police constables are still expected to fight with wooden “lathis”? Why the tax payer’s hard earned money is going to be spent on buying Russian submarines and other fancy war ships when our Navy along with special Coast guard forces is not able to detect the vessel containing explosives? Random questions like these end up nowhere.

I feel incapacitated in these troubled times as I don’t know how as an Indian apart from doing my job dutifully, never breaking a law, paying tax regularly can contribute in alleviating our situation. I know I don’t have any right to be foul mouthed about politicians when I am doing nothing. But the current political and administrative system has no room for people like me. I don’t even have the right of vote because I do not have a place of stable residency. In my 24 years of life, I have shuttled six different places which makes me disqualified to vote for a place. And I know there millions like me in India who want to contribute but don’t know how. Even suppose my voting problem is sorted, what do I do next? Voting for Congress or BJP is like choosing the lesser of the two evils. While one fractured India on the basis of religion in the recent times, the other has been a constant divisive force who chooses sometimes caste (read reservations) or pseudo secular acting to split the country. Regional parties are no better. On regional parties like the ones owned by the Thackeray clan, who were chanting slogans “Mumbai for Marathi” just a week ago, I want to ask a simple question. Will they ever ask a NSG commando, risking his life to salvage Mumbai, his state of birth? Let them stop the non-Marathi men in uniform from entering the burning “Taj” the same way they had stopped Biharis from attending the Railway exam. And what are their so called “sainiks” doing in this moment of crisis? The more I ponder on all this, the more agitated I become.

If you turn the pages of history, starting from Moghuls, Turks to the British, every one of them has successfully executed their plans to slaughter people of our land and walk away casually. I don’t see any instance where Indians have fought for their rights and protected their country. Let’s do something to prove that the fight for independence was not an oddity to the sequence of events. Let’s please define how much is “too much”?

The Pursuit of Happiness

“The Pursuit of Happiness”- these famed words were of Thomas Jefferson spoken for United States Declaration of Independence. Long since they were said in 1776, these words continue to inspire people across the world. In 2006, a movie based on the life of entrepreneur Chris Gardner was released with the same title having a letter intentionally misspelled. Ever since I had read those lines and then seen the movie, it had stayed in my mind. But recently, I was able to truly read between the lines and appreciate its meaning.

Recent solitude in my life has lead to many probing thoughts.
One of these is a basic question..”What makes us happy?”
Happiness is a state of mind and it is very relative..Sometimes it oozes from professional achievements…sometimes it is personal bliss..etc.
In this highly competitive world where your every success can be dwarfed by somebody else’s achievement, it can be hardly concluded that academic or professional achievements are a measuring scale of happiness.Similar is personal bliss which stems out from your equations with everybody around you. News of break up of “oh-so-perfect” couples poses a serious question about the authenticity of their seemingly perfect happy days.So what in a day makes it look happy & different from other?Well my cognitive mind says it is the pursuit or the chase.

If you observe relationships which we develop, whether it is with friends or with a special someone (excluding parents because those are purely unconditional & not sublime) the initial days are pretty interesting because we put in some much of our energies to know other’s likes , dislikes and then nurture it. It is always a pursuit of understanding each other and finding ways to impress or share anything & everything that we know or have experienced. Slowly the process gets over and when you think you have totally conquered other’s mind and behavior, the person becomes predictable and irksome.

Same analogy can be built in professional life as well. When you first join a company or start a project, you are all starry eyed having a patient ear and a receptive mind. With the passing days, you become acclimatized to the environment and the work becomes drudgery.

All of us need to understand this unavoidable cycle and learn the art of interest sustenance. Happiness always lies in pursuit. For only minutes of a completion of a task, the sense of exhilaration and contentment prevails. After that the restless mind craves for more. So within the same mundane, we should try to create & chase certain goals, interests to keep the fire within us alive. On the personal front, go and follow your hobby or surprise your near & dear ones with something you haven’t tried before. Professionally, keep learning from every conversation and every thing that we do in a single day. Make realistic goals for yourself and wake up with a sense of purpose.The experiences that we gain while doing a task is much more enriching than accomplishing it. So the bottomline is that there are illimitable things that can be pursued and the simple fact that “Chasing is more fun”.

Let's Play !

Empowerment in India manifested in more than one way in these recent days.“Chandrayan” zoomed into the skies and the ISRO scientists rejoiced.While some of my countrymen were busy exploring the unexplored..surpassing all limits and reaching Moon…some thought it would be wiser to restrict their energies within the man made boundaries. Gone are the days when Indians used to debate and fight for their borders shared with their troublesome neighbours. The peculiar focus these days are on the lines drawn within the country i.e. states. People like Raj Thackeray continued to capture the Page 1 of all newspapers and performing Indians like Viswanathan Anand (who is marching ahead again in the World Chess Champonship) found themselves in the remotest corner of the paper. I saw some videos of burning taxis of people (who struggle to make their both ends meet) by people who will themselves be paid a meager sum for this act and will head back to a small chawl in Mumbai in the night. Cases in Bihar were filed against the MNS head and the “Maximum” city (as described by the author Suketu Mehta) was under curfew. The status message in “Gtalk” of one of my friends living in Mumbai was “Riots in Mumbai :(” .

Any man who is young, capable of demolishing property using no more than a steel rod or a stick, having a group of like minded destructive friends is unfortunately the most empowered citizen in the country. Such is might of this bunch of people that a government having all access to state police forces, paramilitary forces and even when necessary central armed forces could not stop the hooliganism. Slowly but surely seeds of hatred were sowed by the polarizing forces and the government enjoyed the drama. This is just not about Maharashtra, similar events happened in other parts of the country as well but in different context. Unfortunate riots and brutal rape of a nun occurred in Orissa. The poor people of Singur are languishing in their now infertile land as Tata’s concrete for Nano plant has penetrated deep into its productive soil. This chain of events is surely alarming and puts a serious question mark on the fate of a young nation like ours. Just analyze slightly on the reasons rooting the events. Didn’t people migrate before in search of jobs and better opportunities? The dawn of our great civilization occurred by the footsteps of Aryans (a clan from central Asia) on the Indian peninsula. From Aryans to the New Age Indians who are excelling in offshoring business, it has been always survival of the fittest. Didn’t we learn from our constitution that India is a federal nation where everyone has the freedom to move and settle anywhere he/she likes? Why are the people (who are busy vandalizing) not creating job opportunities, open schools, do community work to uplift their brethren? Didn’t factories were built before? Why did the West Bengal government prefer to give acres of fertile agricultural soil without public participation to a corporate house? Even thereafter, why there were no peaceful negotiations? Why are the unfortunate people left in the lurch now? Unfortunately, it seems that questions like these don’t have answers in the recent times. It always makes me think don’t these people have any other work? Well answer to this question is fairly simple…NO ;-)

Well my idea to resolve this mess might sound odd to many. But here is my novel solution. Most of the antics by these politicians are arranged and focused to grab attention to them. Their stupid one-liners become the thought for the day and unemployed youth easy bait. It might have gone un-noticed but they will never launch an agitation if IPL finals are scheduled that day. This is because their main motive to hog the headlines would not be served. All political agitations are perfectly timed to leverage the maximum.

The bottom line is to create enough occasions/reasons in our country to be together for a cause and to create enough events for the youth to participate than those silly riots. So when did I see the last time our entire country rejoicing together? Hmmm….Honestly, I think Chandrayan’s launch would bring a smile to a few..but yes winning Twenty- twenty World Cup was surely a reason to party for the entire country.
Seriously the enthusiasm that cricket creates in our country is unparalleled.
Imagine, if we become from a one-sport country to a multi-sport country…how eventful will our lives be? Like USA has distinct sporting seasons..first half of the year people are hooked into NBA and second half citizens rejoice NFL. This is skillfully punctuated by baseball season, swimming championships, NASCAR, athletic meets giving opportunities to many and entertainment to millions. Ever wondered why there are so many African – Americans in sports and not much in academia. This is because they have deftly channelized their strengths into fields where they can excel the maximum.
Ever wondered the outcome if we encourage our tribal people who are genetically more strong and sturdy into sports? If you carefully analyze, the parts of our country inhabited by the tribals like Orissa, Jharkhand, the north-eastern states are plagued by naxalites or their own terrorist outfits like NSCN, ULFA etc. Recently, I read from a news site that the meetings between NSCN (the chief separatist organization of Nagaland) and our central government are resumed and is going to be organized in Netherlands!!!!
Imagine the same amount of money (which will be invested in organizing those futile meetings in a foreign country) will be invested in building a sports complex. I am sure all those people who run daily in those difficult terrains to either train themselves or stay away from army won’t mind running on synthetic tracks with a renewed sense of purpose. From athletics to archery, there can be 101 career options.

Also the logic says the political parties will have enough days in their calendar ( Superbowl like event for Cricket, hockey, soccer etc) not to start their agitations or create nuisance because firstly there won’t be much people watching it and also not much people participating into it. There will be different teams for different sports having members from different parts of India. We will be creating unity, jobs and reasons to celebrate.

May be this can sound frivolous to many that we can solve problems as complex as ours by playing. But we need to think laterally to streamline our strengths and to minimize the negative energies around us. This approach might not wipe away our worries..but still would provide hope and ambition to many and of course help in keeping the socio-cultural fabric of India intact. So I would just say “Let’s Play!!!!”