Karma matter

Ever since I stopped working, cooking and watching T.V have been my favorite activities. Yes, I love doing a lot of things at the same time and not doing anything at all too.  As I browsed through channels, E! is one channel where I always look for something fun to watch. Some gossip, some real life drama or some useful tips on what (not) to wear etc… One of the popular shows on that channel is “Running in heels.”

In all honesty, I started watching this show only cause of its title. Running in heels so obviously signifies what people in corporate world do to get on top. This reality show was about 3 girls, Talita, Samantha & Ashely in NYC interning for a fashion magazine called Marie Claire. What they capture on camera is the rawness of what an intern goes through in hardcore real world. Alongside, it clearly highlights the attitude of others’ towards the interns, tension between interns, could shoulders and the sabotaging.

I have closely followed all the episodes and it’s been quite entertaining. Today was the final episode of the season. One of the interns would get a chance to continue working with Marie Claire & the lucky name was to be revealed today.

Joana, Chief Editor of the magazine, a tough critic observed girls closely and was the one to choose.  In this episode, while she met all the interns for the last time scrutinized each one of them based on their performances.  These were her comments on them; Samantha- smart, sweet, approachable and a good writer; Tolita- proactive, deligent, but challenged in grammar & spellings; Ashley- Talented, hard working and good presentation skills. Samantha, had more of PR skills, she was not really meant for a ‘magazine’ world. Ashley, along with her talent and hard work she was also a gifted sabotage. There was not a single time she missed out on elbowing someone else to get where she wanted. Tolita, yes, she did have to polish her skills but has proven herself to be hardworking, dedicated & humane individual. No prices for guessing, she was the selected one.

I was so happy to see this climax. It only confirmed my belief in honesty, hard work & persistence. Skills are important but can also be superficial or easily acquired. One cannot reach too far walking on someone else.  I guess its called ‘Reality Show’ for a reason!

The Big TWO FIVE

Musical fountains make me smile, fireworks amuse me, I melt when I see chocolates, cupcakes & cold drinks. There is a child inside me. Something about me that has never changed since childhood is excitement for birthdays. Yes, I love them. I never miss out on candles, wishes, gifts & having friends and family around.  This Birthday, I completed a quarter of my life, meaning, I’m 25.

There is something about this birthday that makes it special to me. Unlike past, this one was not just about candles, wishes & gift, it was also about a few things that I propose as set of 10 Objectives which I am going to work towards the year to come.

Here they are:

1)      Heart is where the home is : We recently moved in to a place which is slightly bigger than what I’m used to. But still I would not want to spare any effort in taking care of it. This definitely is a big step towards growth, independence and a fulfilling a dream that has always been close to my heart, my house. I have so been spoilt by domestic helps & mommy taking care of everything. Yes, an honest attempt to cook better & live better.

2)      R.E.A.D : One of my blogs, R.E.A.D That, speaks a lot about reading’s emotional toll on me. I think I did overcome that. But there are so many books I still want to read. Different genres, rare authors & also read different things, blogs being my favorite, editorial, advertorials… bring it on. Besides just reading, I also want to take it a step forward. Make a scrap book or some sort of collection.

3)      Money, Money, it’s not funny (even) in the rich man’s world : Living in Dubai, world’s shopping capital, I constantly battle my mind about expenses and savings. Unforeseen  future and considering the present times, I have realized how important it is to be financially secure. Hence, irrespective of having a well paid job (or not), I would want to save enough for the rainy day.

4)      Hobby class : I grew up loving to dance. I think I still do, but I guess it’s been good 10 years since I got into that kind a groove. I miss it. Hobbies are fun when we are kids, but as we grow older, it becomes a part of us. It represents us to ourselves. Kathak, is one of the most interesting forms of dance that I wanted to learn. Being unemployed, I have lots of time to myself. This is perhaps the best time to invest in my favorite hobby.

5)      Awareness is a bliss:  Gain information about things around. This includes society, environment & my favorite- Marketing. This is important to me right now especially cause a few months of relocation had pushed my life into a flux. Just want to bounce back, but to a higher level…

6)      Sleep-less : It’s said that an, an average human being spends 1/3^rd of his life sleeping. In my case it might just be more. Sleeping used to make happy, until later I realized, that bit of time can also be used constructively.

7)      Fitter, Stronger, faster: Commit good 30-40 minutes every day (almost) towards fitness & pump heart beats.

8)      Step out of Sabbatical : Hunt for job that builds my career.  Being optimistic even when recession bubble getting bigger.

9)      Retrospect life : ….and live forward. There is so much to learn from things done & undone from the various facets of life. Time to catch-up.

10)   Swimming & scuba diving are my new year’s resolution : It is unimaginably huge for someone who has to battle hydro phobia, but the patience & perseverance will get me there.

Yes, I do have a problem.

11^th July 2006 was when Mumbai experienced first bite of terrorism after 1993 riots, popularly called as 7/11. Series of bomb blasts in busy railway stations at peak hours. I was living in Mumbai those days. Memories of this incident are fresh, saddening and frustrating.  It all started with one of my colleagues mention bomb blast at a neighboring suburb station, a few minutes later, another one got up and yelled out saying “there were 4 bomb blasts in the city…” everyone got off their workstations and rushed towards the T.V room. Within 5 minutes of watching news we discovered there were series of 6 blasts that took place in busiest railway stations during peak hours. It takes no genius to understand that local trains & railway stations are Mumbai’s life lines; with absolutely zero security it was certainly soft and easy target!

As soon as I saw T.V I tried calling my parents (who lived in another city) to let them know I was fine and  very soon we realized that all the phone lines and cell phone networks were jammed, to prevent panic (as they said).  Most of stayed in office till late evening cause roads were blocked & all trains were put on hold. Many managed reaching home someway or other and a few others choose to stay back. That entire evening all my friends, family & people I remotely knew called to check if I was safe (this was after phone lines started functioning). What happened next morning amazed me to my disgust. City was back in track, the trains were working, people went on with their robotic routine with very little or no grief at all. And this, as they call it, was the “Spirit of Mumbai….” Every time I heard that, I sarcastically agreed and said “… yea right!!”

Is this how spirit of a city suppose to be? Cold? string of bomb blasts occur though out the city and its citizens shrug it off ‘as a matter of fact.’ Politicians blame on ruling government for poor security measures, government blames it on intelligence agencies for not seeing coming and so on…Finally, what was discovered was that this was series of blasts carried by group of suicide bombers, mostly Muslims.

What followed this event was some action worth some appreciation. All railway stations had 24 hrs security guards at all entry & exit points. Any commuter traveling with box or any kind a luggage was checked & his/ her identity was recorded. Well this was a big deal considering the traffic in Mumbai railway stations. Secondly, many private firms came out with their campaigns requesting a common man be alert note any suspicious activity and (or) suspicious person. This campaign was seen across all railway stations and in all trains. And, finally every business center, shopping mall and public place had security guards scanning every bag and everyone who entered. Though standard of security was questionable, however, I was pleased to see an outcome like this.

Now coming back to the point where I said ‘yea right’ to the spirit of Mumbai.’ If I have to make an unbiased judgment about this spirit, I would co-relate it to more of get- going or the move- on ability and not to what I called “revolt” or “cooperate to operate against terrorism” kinds.

That Politian-tuned- moral police- turned- whatever who had problems with night pubs open after 1:30 AM, had problems with U.P & Bihar citizens settled in Mumbai, who never missed chance of accusing  Big B star for every reason available & who also started the Mee Mumbaikar campaign (which meant I proud to be Mumbaiite); was missing from the scene. His party did not come forward to help those who got injured or died. Did not help his sources to team up with investigation teams and take measures to prevent such instances in future…

Beside, the common man, an average citizen who lives and breeds in the city did not look beyond their house. Their everyday routine and need of survival made them extremely immune to world outside their own.

This history took absolutely no time in repeating. Mumbai was under terrorist target yet again on 26^th November 2008, at a much bigger level. This time it was Taj Mahal Hotel, an historical property which symbolized India’s rich architectural past & assertiveness to be treated as an equal; Leopold café, Oberoi hotel, CST station, Nariman house & one of the hospitals. These places had few things in common. Prominent expat population, celebrated tourist attractions & also spots for local commuters and very little or no security. No prices for guessing that these were the “perfect” targets. Entire event was well planned execution of master minds who clearly intended to drive attention towards their strengths/ capabilities & resources, remorselessness towards innocent lives, spread violence in name of religion etc…

It’s amazing how training, logistics, resources & timing of such a disaster was beautifully crafted. Absolutely flawless, straight to the point & on to the target. How could someone from outside have information of some city/ hotel/ roads to this absoluteness?  This clearly would not have been possible without a local persons’ help.

It’s astonishing that the attackers EXACTLY knew when, where, how and what to attack.

Broadly, the outcomes of both the events do match. They did manage to kill a lot of innocent people, both local & international; entire world now constantly lives in fear and insecurity of terrorism & its surprises; petrified expats and tourists across the world are reconsidering (or simply avoiding) their travel plans to India; contributed to sinking economy by slowing down its growth and risk of trading.  And yes, this is was the last straw of instilling anger and tension between 2 countries.

I strongly feel that if meticulous measures were taken post 7/11, this could have been avoided (prevention is better than cure remember?!?!?).  Apparently US intelligence had warned Indian Navy about possible trouble from the sea front, which was clearly ignored.  Yes, India does have a huge coastal line that include close to 10 states. But if this message was passed to all the navy chiefs’ and followed by relevant actions, things could have been different. Yet again there are “if” and “but” factors attached. Beside, its not just the outsiders, we also have a task of searching & destroying the devil(s) amongst us. This is not just army, military and (or) navy’s responsibility, it also includes an average citizen. Saying that, I still have nothing against fellow Muslims, neither should the innocent ones be harmed only because they share the same religion with the attackers.

I saw this event on T.V while I was out holidaying. But this kept me disturbed and cranky for hours. I am perhaps one of those in millions who’ve lived in Mumbai, loved it & though not live there anymore, do have strings attached.