Story of a SOLDIER...!!!

Why do I still serve you?

How you play with us, did you ever see?
At Seven, I had decided what I wanted to be;
I would serve you to the end,
All these boundaries I would defend.

Now you make me look like a fool,
When at seventeen and just out of school;
Went to the place where they made "men out of boys"
Lived a tough life …sacrificed a few joys…

In those days, I would see my "civilian" friends,
Living a life with the fashion trends;
Enjoying their so called "college days"
While I sweated and bled in the sun and haze…
But I never thought twice about what where or why
All I knew was when the time came, I'd be ready to do or die.

At 21 and with my commission in hand,
Under the glory of the parade and the band,
I took the oath to protect you over land, air or sea,
And make the supreme sacrifice when the need came to be.

I stood there with a sense of recognition,
But on that day I never had the premonition,
that when the time came to give me my due,
You'd just say, "What is so great that you do?"

Long back you promised a well-to-do life;
And when I'm away, take care of my wife.
You came and saw the hardships I live through,
And I saw you make a note or two,
And I hoped you would realize the worth of me;
but now I know you'll never be able to see,
Because you only see the glorified life of mine,
Did you see the place where death looms all the time?
Did you meet the man standing guard in the snow?
The name of his newborn he does not know...
Did you meet the man whose father breathed his last?
While the sailor patrolled our seas so vast?

You still know I'll not be the one to raise my voice
I will stand tall and protect you in Punjab Himachal and Thois.

But that's just me you have in the sun and rain,
For now at twenty-four, you make me think again;
About the decision I made, seven years back;
Should I have chosen another life, some other track?

Will I tell my son to follow my lead?
Will I tell my son, you'll get all that you need?
This is the country you will serve
This country will give you all that you deserve?

I heard you tell the world "India is shining"
I told my men, that's a reason for us to be smiling
This is the India you and I will defend!
But tell me how long will you be able to pretend?
You go on promise all that you may,
But it's the souls of your own men you betray.

Did you read how some of our eminent citizens
Write about me and ridicule my very existence?
I ask you to please come and see what I do,
Come and have a look at what I go through
Live my life just for a day
Maybe you'll have something else to say?

I will still risk my life without a sigh
To keep your flag flying high
but today I ask myself a question or two…
Oh India…. Why do I still serve you?

La Planete des Singes...!!!

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is better than anticipated based on the trailers. Like so many of the films of 2011, however, it is flawed in such a way that the successful parts end up leaving the viewer frustrated. In an otherwise well executed entertainment piece, flaws can stand out in high relief, and the viewer (or critic) fixates on them more for what could have been. Since the biggest flaw has to do with the film’s ending, it is impossible to talk about without plot spoilers, so please stop reading if you haven’t seen the film and don’t want the ending revealed.

For the first two-thirds of the film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes does a nice job of side-stepping the central problem confronting most prequels, origin stories, or reboots: you essentially know what the outcome will be. Because this film alters the origin story in the original franchise (which was more of a time-travel conundrum than a true cautionary tale) there are some elements of mystery and suspense about just how the apes will rise.

But rise they must, and rise they will, and when when the film remembers that fact (about twenty-five minutes from the end), Will Rodman (James Franco) does an abrupt 180 from gung-ho risk taker to cautionary Cassandra figure. It is as though the film suddenly realizes that the end is in sight and, lest at least one human character has some kind of pale imitation of a redemption arc, that too many in the audience will cheer for the apes in the final battle and opine that the human race (and not just individual humans) got exactly what they deserved.

In fact, the film’s final scenes are cacophonies of tonal confusion. Here is Caesar looking majestic atop a Redwood tree while triumphal music scores. Here is the human carrier of a virus that will, apparently, wipe out most of the human race while more triumphal music scores the credits. Sure, there are lines over a map that could literally depict airline routes but slyly reference nuclear missile routes in a Missile Command/War Games graphic style (thus paying homage to the original series’ implications about how the earth was lost). It’s not that I mind so much a film that elicits conflicting or ambiguous emotions–if it does so intentionally. The ending here is just confused and confusing, though. How are we supposed to feel?

One could, I guess, spin the tale allegorically or symbolically, throw in some liberation theology, wax about how the apes show more humanity (they work in teams, sacrifice for the greater good) than do the humans (who are selfish and cruel), and insist that the triumph is one of right over might (or of freedom over tyranny). That only really works though if we conveniently forget what happens in the other Planet of the Apes films–how the apes are just as cruel in their savage mastery as are the humans.

No, like Source Code, the way the film works best is if you don’t think about it too much and don’t care what it means. In terms of pure story telling, Rise hums along efficiently, and the action set pieces are sufficiently grand in scale yet comprehensible in choreography to provide the viewer with a clear understanding of what is happening. In fact, the way strategic learning is depicted through action (rather than through talking about actions) made me wonder, for just a second, what directer Rupert Wyatt might do with a script for Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game (a novel I will persist in thinking unfilmable until someone proves me wrong).

If I lament too much over the ending it is, in part, because it came across as a lack of nerve. The first half of the film gives Rodman a Victor-Frankenstein0-like altruistic motivation: he wants to save the world, starting with his father, from Alzheimer’s. Is self-destruction through medical experimentation any different from self-destruction through military and technological immolation? I would argue that it is. If the film had followed through with Victor’s…err, Rodman’s original motivation, he could be a tragic figure, aware of what he had done and having to bear the realization that good intentions or motivations don’t always shield us from making poor decisions. I’m convinced that it is the film’s belief that the audience cannot abide a flawed or tragic protagonist that leads to abrupt reformation of the mad scientist. Because he was personally kind to Ceasar and because he wanted to slow the clinical trials when only money was at stake, Rodman is largely absolved in the film’s (very) short term memory of the ultimate (of any?) responsibility for a world-wide epidemic that will lead to the near destruction of the human race.

Should he be? How different is Rodman from Steven Jacobs, the business-first man who initially preaches caution when Rodman pushes for human experimentation and then pushes for expedited testing when Rodman, his own father now beyond help, wants to return to slow and steady research? Both characters put self-interest ahead of public safety; neither preaches caution out of principle. It is only when their own interests, such as they are, cannot be met that they advise others to follow the rules. Each is willing to flaunt safety or law, but only when doing so will directly benefit them.

One of the reasons Planet of the Apes works as a franchise is that its symbolism is largely flexible. One can read the central premise as making opaque statements about racism, colonialism, scientific hubris, heck, even animal rights. The best science fiction is about creating a certain amount of distance from the “real” world so that one has (even slightly) more room with which to address taboo or highly charged topics. Given so many angles with which to make a statement about something, it is odd that Rise of thePlanet of the Apes tries so hard to be about nothing.

It largely succeeds, too. As an entertainment piece, it succeeds marvelously in creating a conflict and working a narrative through to a logical conclusion while showing us a world we haven’t seen before. As a work of art, even pop art, it loses its nerve a bit, never really thinking about what it wants to accomplish (beyond setting up more Planet of the Apes movies) or whether its themes, ideas, and point of view are in any way consistent with other installments of the same series.

CAN WE GO AND BE WITH DAD

A tribute to the dad's who wont come back to be with their kids after the August 6th 2011 attack on the US troops in Afghanistan

Jessica Nichols said she couldn't find her son Braydon for a moment. He had disappeared in the house. She was yelling for him looking for him crying hysterically She found him in a closet, curled up on the floor, crying, going through a box of photo albums.

The boy said he wanted to take one of the photos and put it in his wallet.

He asked her, "'Can we go to be with Dad?'"

"It was just so devastating that a week ago or so Braydon had that worried look on his face, thinking about his dad," she said.

"When is Dad coming back so we go camping?" he asked her.

Soon, she assured him. "Your dad is off fighting for this country."

The boy replied, "As soon as he gets home, we're going to go on a camping trip, just me and him."

Jessica Nichols cannot stop replaying that scene in her mind. That's because only a few days later, on Saturday night, she was cradling her boy who was crying once again. Except this time she could not tell him that his father was coming home. She had just received a call informing her that Bryan Nichols was one of the 30 Americans who died that afternoon when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in Wardak province in east-central Afghanistan.

On Sunday AUG 7th  morning, Jessica and Braydon Nichols watched the national news broadcast the first reports about the downing of a Chinook helicopter. They listened to reporters say that 38 U.S. and Afghan service personnel were killed, including 22 Navy SEALs. It was the single deadliest loss for American troops since the war in Afghanistan began in late 2001.

"Their loss is a stark reminder of the risks that our men and women in uniform take every single day on behalf of their country," . "Day after day, night after night, they carry out missions like this in the face of enemy fire and grave danger."

the simple question from a 10 yrs old boy "CAN WE GO AND BE WITH DAD" will haunt me for the rest of my life

O FATHER I WAS NOT THE ENEMY...

My love for soldiers, respect for the sacrifices of their family & curiosity for wars made me come up with this one.. It might be hard for some to relate to this but some would find their story in my story.

The battle field was ready; the soil was staring right in to the face, The guns were loaded, the horses were fed & ur armor was on the place. Soaked in vengeance at the first sun ray, while you were ready to defend.. Did you not know there was someone to arrive at the other end? Miles across the battlefield, under a weak roof, a mother moaned, For it was not the pain of birth, it was for you, who to the pain, was unknown. It was the promises that were broken, it was your absence that was your token.. Not with your love but with your betrayal, I was born! While you designed to knock on the heaven's door, I was knocking to hell.. While you planned to destroy, I was created, for I never knew where to dispel. Why were you always the opposite? O Father I was not the enemy.. Who was just a bride when you departed, is now a mother, She want no husband for she learnt to wait but, for her son she needed his father.. Bullets and bombs and bloodshed was what she watched on TV that night, She knew the war started and on the field fighting bravely was also her knight. Though it scared her to death, she smiled and sang to me my lullaby, Kissing me she said to herself, its yet not the time to say good-bye.. She was chanting her prayers, She was feeling so proud, She noticed no pain & wished for your victory, so loud.. I remember no sin I made as an infant, I made no one cry.. Why were you not there to pay when I so badly wanted a toy. O Father I was not the enemy.. The enemies were in full glory, over their ruined land, Tempting for your blood, they made their entry grand.. Vengeance in their eyes, rage in their hearts, Without no mercy they started tearing you apart.. You indeed were a brave warrior, mother was so right you spared no one, you crushed everyone in your sight.. They attacked our land, they shook our countrymen & that is what they deserved that night.. But, O Father I was not the enemy.. Hours passed, dawn was about to emerge, Momma never slept all night, she was praying for you in the church.. The combat was to end & you knew you have won, Right that moment there was something to stun.. A bullet so strong, so fierce, so fast, Traveled around the field to reside in you and last! Was that the connection of blood or just a saying.. I started crying so loudly & momma had to stop praying.. Your bright grey eyes, your young handsome face, Along with the bleeding chest, touched the earth surface.. You fell on knees so hard; the field shook with fear, Alone with mine was mother's precious tear.. Loud firing in your ears, loud crying in mother’s She never knew we would never see each other.. Uttering the god's name followed by your wife & unnamed child, You wished we always love you, for that pain for you was still so mild. Looking around the hazy field you were assured about the victory.. Assured that your sacrifice will be embossed in our history.. Now I am old enough to read you in my history book, The questions never end & I always want to say O Father I was not the enemy.. The loudest question will always be a worry, Why her un-dried tears still stays "Son, you will join the military!" Did I do wrong or was it just mother's destiny? O Father I was not the enemy.

When I marched away from your mother, All I asked for just this.. "If I won’t see the victory, would you let him do that, please?" I loved my bride, my wife, your mother, For protecting the motherland was my destiny.. O son.. O my son, I was not your enemy..........

Saviour Speaks...!!!: Mein Erstes Gelegenheit

Saviour Speaks...!!!: Mein Erstes Gelegenheit: "Grüße an alle, Sometimes in life, you find an opportunity to make a difference in something you care about, and it feels like, even thou..."

Loafing & Lazing..!!!

In the last two or three odd months when I sat at home dwindling my thumbs after coming to this city, I’ve become quite familiar with the fag out. I started with liking it in the first few days because it gave me time to just be, then slowly disliking it (because of the boredom that crept in), then outright resenting it (because it drained me of all the energy and motivation I thought I had had to create things), then opposing it and then slowly, ever so slowly accepting it and finally just surrendering to it.

This cycle took me almost two months to pass and by the time March rolled in, I was ready to do nothing. I mean literally nothing in life. All the lofty ideas and thoughts I had just a few months back, of making a difference by joining a nonprofit, of becoming an entrepreneur, of freelancing full time, just vanished into thin air. However much I tried to force myself to think, to think back to those highly motivated times, I end up with fooling around. I just didn’t have the enthusiasm anymore….for anything. One could call it depression but I beg to differ. I am not capable of being depressed. I was not unhappy at all the last two months. Quite the opposite. I was in this sublime state of existence that is neither sadness nor joy. I let each day pass and did all the things routine life demanded of me. I ignored the Life. I ignored the phone when friends and family rang at times. I sat staring into nothing for minutes together and sometimes hours. I didn’t want to write, I didn’t want to craft, I didn’t want to read. I ignored it all. I just ceased to care.

Then I got into thinking.

Just because I went into non-existence in the constant chatter that is this universe, it doesn’t mean life won’t go on, right? I mean other than the few mails, tweets, and messages here and there, people went on with their lives and so did I. Least importance be to the brand of me that I had built up. Let it crumble. I don’t have an ego to care.

And I wondered. Why all the busyness then? Why all the pretext of a purpose then? Is purpose all that important as I used to think? Why the stress, why the hurry, why the rush, and why the timetable? Why oh why the to-do lists? If you drop them all one day, perhaps the effect will haunt you for a week but post that? The universe is going to realign and put something else, somebody else in your place to continue the game. So why play the game?

Why can’t I just let the empty space consume me?

For the sake of the lofty thoughts, dreams, and wishes I had once cultivated, maybe I will be born again. But this lifetime? No, this is just for being me. No self-expectation, no goals, no wanting to go places. And the best thing of all? I didn’t feel bad at all thinking all this. When I examined my armor, there was not a single dent or scratch that is my self-esteem. I was as confident as ever. As confident as ever of being me. I didn’t need to be ‘some one’ to feel good about myself.

On an aside, for each of us who are doing something – whether you are employed with a great company, whether you are working for something or somebody’s welfare, or whether you are just proud being self-employed to satisfy whatever motivates you – take that role away for a minute. Take away the title, take away the role, take away that identity. Meet a stranger in your head and see how you will introduce yourself. Remember you are no more that employee, employer or do-gooder. You are…..just you with no prefix or suffix or taglines. Describe then what you do to that stranger. See how you feel.

Now coming back where we left off before the aside…

I’m not saying I became enlightened. I am saying I decided that enlightenment is not as great as I thought it to be. And I realized the one thing, the one single reason that I think I am here in this life. It is to discover myself. It is to be in this empty space, devoid of definitions and still being happy enough not to affect other’s happiness around you. It is being in a state of nothingness yet carrying on as usual as if there’s nothing going on inside you (which is true!) so that the others around you are free to slip in and out of their own boredom without having to worry about you.

Perhaps I sound confused. Perhaps I am self-contradicting. Perhaps it’s all a temporary phase of madness (considering that I got back to that ‘busy life’ that gives you the purpose of catching a cab every morning lest you miss it and all the troubles that follows assails you).

Whatever.

ConfuseD :-/

The one word to describe me right now is “RUN OUT”. This is insane. I feel dead tired. And I can’t feel anything. I feel numb. If I did try to feel, I think I will drop dead. And as delicious as that sounds, everything is boring.


I just don't know what to do with myself, coz all i get to hear from door to door is "NO". This probably has become a habit now. I simply don't understand what's wrong with me. They ask me to wait for a month, n all I answer them is that "...i am running out of time..". When I came into this city, all I had with me was my confidence, now three months later, even confidence has vanished and all that I have with me is "HOPE". I have never felt so low on confidence and week.

I have completely lost my story, n all that I am afraid of is of  becoming "HISTORY". Looking Back, what I only regret is this thing, so called "OVERCONFIDENCE". I was always afraid of facing this world, from the point of what I am. Everybody in my world thinks that I am "HAPPY-GO-LUCKY" kind of a person. now I am afraid to be happy, coz every time I try to be happy, something bad always happen.  I am emotionally devastated now. What’s tough now is that, I can’t even complain about it. See, the rebel in me, doesn't like anything. What is more provocative is the  fact  this life, has supposedly thrived at a mere whim.


Some how, I have come to realize that it is alright to make mistakes and learn from them. But this will get challenging for sure.