So, I should be up all night and all day with my geeky-glasses perched up my nose and read, read, read... And read what? Fiction. Yes. Authored by dudes like Agarwal, Bhandari, Gupta and the likes. They don't sound as cool as Archer, Brown or Grisham, but come quite close. Oh yes, they do.. They make for some interesting fiction in the fields of Auditing, Law, Taxation etc.
Anyway, so, here I am, getting myself to enjoy the lovely novellas by M/s. A,B,G.. but I suffer from Dismoodification and all I can think of is:
"(We've got) All the right books and all the right pages, so, yeah, we're goin' down" (OneRepublic).
Soon enough I gathered some concentration, and started to focus on those books. But I realized I had forgotten everything taught in class and wished if someone could "Teach me baby one more time" (Britney Spears).
Come 19th July, 2010, and we were faced with judgement day of our predecessors.. looking at which, all I could sing was,
"Even the best fall down sometimes..."
and
"... I FINALly find, you and I, collide.." (Howie Day).
Thus the frustration begins, and all I want to tell the ICAI is:
"I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
I don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes"
Studying so much, that,
"I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you"
But no matter how much effort I put in, there's no point stressing 'coz
"I know I may end up failing too
But I know you were just like me
With someone disappointed in you" (Linkin Park)
Well, so I took the night off and snoozed away to glory. The next day, I woke up to a new beginning and told myself that,
"I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone" (Green Day)
But sometime during the day, I spoke to a couple of friends and they all just had one thing to say,
"Follow through
Make your dreams come true
Don't give up the fight
You will be alright"
This really gave me some courage, and i concluded that,
"During the struggle, they will pull us down
But please, please, let's use this chance to turn things around
And tonight we can truly say
Together we're invincible!" (Muse)
So, now I stand up with the courage and face the books, the November Pain (G 'n R),and sing out loud,
"I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give
and I'll survive
I will survive!" (Gloria Gaynor)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Reflections
I sit back and reflect
The life I live,
striving to make it perfect.
A childhood full of love and care,
nurtured with joy and happiness
Taught me virtues of honesty,
dedication, patience and kindness.
As I entered my teenage years,
the rose-tint began to wear away.
Of love and hate, truth and deceit,
I had to choose a path that before me lay.
Growing up, stepping into the big, bad world,
Not knowing if I would survive,
Convictions and conscience was all I had,
My biggest teacher was life.
People, like seasons, come and go
As my life's story unfolds.
Some stayed back in my heart,
With feelings still untold.
My strife for Utopia,
A life that's oh-so-perfect..
An endless struggle it shall be,
As I sit back and reflect.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Treasured Memories
As we celebrate the festival of joy and colour,
I sit down with all memories I treasure.
Happiness, love, laughter galore,
Beneath which lie emotions some more.
As I venture deeper into my mind,
My heart feels the pain of scars left behind.
“How?”, “Why?”, questions abound,
Answers to many I have never found.
The luminance of joy brightens the realms of darkness
Brought about by remorse, pain and sadness.
I wonder if the wounds will ever heal..
Time may caress, but can the heart ever stop to feel?
– NP
Saturday, January 17, 2009
True Meaning of Life
Excerpts from A PSALM OF LIFE by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Excerpts from Augeries of Innocence by William Blake:
He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sun rise.
Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Excerpts from Augeries of Innocence by William Blake:
He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sun rise.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
I See Change
The city of Mumbai a week ago has witnessed one of the most gruesome terror attacks ever in an urban, cosmopolitan settlement. Armed men entering a railway station, five-star hotels & opening fire was a sight never seen before. Armed men lodging grenades at a residential building was also unimaginable till that fateful night.
Before 26th November ’08, terrorism was all about bomb blasts in public places & hijacking of aircrafts. Indiscriminate firing & hostage crisis was only heard of in war-stricken regions like Gaza Strip, Beirut & our very own Kashmir. Even when there was a blast outside the JW Marriot Hotel, we probably did nto take so seriously or even expected such a thing to happen to a city like ours. The way it was all executed, very well shows how well-prepared the terrorists were to hold up the city on siege for almost 60 hours… something that had never ever happened – not during the ’93 blasts, not during the ’06 blasts.
The ’93 blasts, of course, had a humungous impact on every part of Mumbai, then Bombay, as they succeeded the Babri Masjid demolitions at Ayodhya & riots all over the city. Though I was a little kid then, I can still feel the impact of the series of incidents that took place all over India.
The 2006 train blasts which happened must have been planned & executed with perfection, as we realized the lack of security of our railways, which is the lifeline of a million people. Yes, it did make an impact. I remember thanking my stars for being a year older so that I didn’t have to take the trains at that hour, or not having gone to Andheri for some classes. Because had I done that, I would’ve either been a victim or a witness. Another impact the blasts made was that many people who had moved to Mumbai had returned to their hometowns secretly attributing the train bombings amongst other more vocal reasons.
But the responsibility of the safety of the public was thrown onto the Railways because the security system of the city’s railways was definitely flawed, if not absent. The target victims of the attack were the ‘aam aadmi’ and thus, even though it affected the middle class primarily, they couldn’t really do much about it as for them, life had to move on, they had to earn their bread & butter. Also, there’s a section of population in Mumbai which has never ever traveled by the Mumbai Locals. So, very evidently, they weren’t really affected much. Another point is that the bombings started & finished in a matter of eleven minutes. Hence the memory was also short-lived.
26/11/2008, this night is probably the longest night of Mumbai. This was one dark night in world history that lasted for more than 60 hours. How it began, the mystery is being unraveled bit by bit. But it ended with a mixed bag of emotions – victory, anguish, hope, despair, pride, grief…
The events that preceded made way for those that followed. And at the end of it, there was one big political fiasco. What the city under siege brought with it is anger, pent up in the hearts of Mumbaikars since 1993, questions – a lot of them. The biggest one being : Could this have been averted? The anger & the questions have now teamed up to form awareness – awareness among a section of people who, till last Wednesday thought that they could never be the targets of the terrorists. They are the ‘elite’ class of the society, whom the militants had never targeted anytime in the past.
After the siege, it now stands proven that terrorism has no class. It could happen anywhere to anyone, BUT IT CAN BE PREVENTED. Intelligence reports by the IB, R&AW, ATS et al have proved that they were anticipating such an event & the respective Government authorities were apprised of the information. Then why weren’t any preventive or precautionary measures taken? Why wasn’t any heed paid to such essential pieces of information? Why was the ruling coalition diverting the interest of the media & general public to other staler issues like the Malegaon blasts in 2006, when half a dozen such incidents had occurred in the current year? WHY, WHY, WHY?
It is these questions that have brought about the attention of youngsters about the state of the nation. The frenzied live coverage provided by the media and the magnitude of the situation are other important factors. But the point is that our youth is now getting the point. They, now, are realizing what sort of dirty politics is being played by our national leaders. They are now waking up, raising their voices against the power games being played.
The youngsters, most of which were only bothered about their own well-being, are raising their voices today for the cause of good governance. They are disgusted, they are anguished. Because the siege has affected them in one way or another. They are gaining interest in the State & the country’s political affairs & are willing to vote for change in the upcoming elections.
The little spark of revulsion & awareness stemmed out of the past events should turn to a raging fire if we really want India to become a clean, controlled democracy. The fire shouldn’t die down early. Change is here to stay…
Before 26th November ’08, terrorism was all about bomb blasts in public places & hijacking of aircrafts. Indiscriminate firing & hostage crisis was only heard of in war-stricken regions like Gaza Strip, Beirut & our very own Kashmir. Even when there was a blast outside the JW Marriot Hotel, we probably did nto take so seriously or even expected such a thing to happen to a city like ours. The way it was all executed, very well shows how well-prepared the terrorists were to hold up the city on siege for almost 60 hours… something that had never ever happened – not during the ’93 blasts, not during the ’06 blasts.
The ’93 blasts, of course, had a humungous impact on every part of Mumbai, then Bombay, as they succeeded the Babri Masjid demolitions at Ayodhya & riots all over the city. Though I was a little kid then, I can still feel the impact of the series of incidents that took place all over India.
The 2006 train blasts which happened must have been planned & executed with perfection, as we realized the lack of security of our railways, which is the lifeline of a million people. Yes, it did make an impact. I remember thanking my stars for being a year older so that I didn’t have to take the trains at that hour, or not having gone to Andheri for some classes. Because had I done that, I would’ve either been a victim or a witness. Another impact the blasts made was that many people who had moved to Mumbai had returned to their hometowns secretly attributing the train bombings amongst other more vocal reasons.
But the responsibility of the safety of the public was thrown onto the Railways because the security system of the city’s railways was definitely flawed, if not absent. The target victims of the attack were the ‘aam aadmi’ and thus, even though it affected the middle class primarily, they couldn’t really do much about it as for them, life had to move on, they had to earn their bread & butter. Also, there’s a section of population in Mumbai which has never ever traveled by the Mumbai Locals. So, very evidently, they weren’t really affected much. Another point is that the bombings started & finished in a matter of eleven minutes. Hence the memory was also short-lived.
26/11/2008, this night is probably the longest night of Mumbai. This was one dark night in world history that lasted for more than 60 hours. How it began, the mystery is being unraveled bit by bit. But it ended with a mixed bag of emotions – victory, anguish, hope, despair, pride, grief…
The events that preceded made way for those that followed. And at the end of it, there was one big political fiasco. What the city under siege brought with it is anger, pent up in the hearts of Mumbaikars since 1993, questions – a lot of them. The biggest one being : Could this have been averted? The anger & the questions have now teamed up to form awareness – awareness among a section of people who, till last Wednesday thought that they could never be the targets of the terrorists. They are the ‘elite’ class of the society, whom the militants had never targeted anytime in the past.
After the siege, it now stands proven that terrorism has no class. It could happen anywhere to anyone, BUT IT CAN BE PREVENTED. Intelligence reports by the IB, R&AW, ATS et al have proved that they were anticipating such an event & the respective Government authorities were apprised of the information. Then why weren’t any preventive or precautionary measures taken? Why wasn’t any heed paid to such essential pieces of information? Why was the ruling coalition diverting the interest of the media & general public to other staler issues like the Malegaon blasts in 2006, when half a dozen such incidents had occurred in the current year? WHY, WHY, WHY?
It is these questions that have brought about the attention of youngsters about the state of the nation. The frenzied live coverage provided by the media and the magnitude of the situation are other important factors. But the point is that our youth is now getting the point. They, now, are realizing what sort of dirty politics is being played by our national leaders. They are now waking up, raising their voices against the power games being played.
The youngsters, most of which were only bothered about their own well-being, are raising their voices today for the cause of good governance. They are disgusted, they are anguished. Because the siege has affected them in one way or another. They are gaining interest in the State & the country’s political affairs & are willing to vote for change in the upcoming elections.
The little spark of revulsion & awareness stemmed out of the past events should turn to a raging fire if we really want India to become a clean, controlled democracy. The fire shouldn’t die down early. Change is here to stay…
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