The Pensive

It is the year 3210. The epidemic is spreading quickly. After the fifteenth world war it has become tough to see hope and happiness on earth. Mayan's prediction finally is coming true. It sure looks like life on earth is about to end not due to natural calamities but due to the deeds of the earthlings, to be precise of humans. Rapists are still roaming freely on streets. Terrorists are still flourishing. Corruption is still prevalent and crimes are rampant. Killing each other for power , money and jealousy has become very common. Law and order has gone to dogs. People have lost control. Every one started taking law in to their own hands. "The crusaders" started fighting and killing unconditionally to become powerful. "The governmentalists" tried and failed in peacemaking. They appointed a special squad with the name " The greyhounds " to deal with the crusaders. Greyhounds could curb the destruction by putting a check on the pursuits of crusaders bu...

Originally published at "Half Baked Voices Blog" Please leave your comments on the link above! Getting clicked at the Pangong Lake is in my wish list. Bollywood does impact our wishes and desires. After Ladakh is shown in many movies like 3 idiots and Jab tak hai jaan I started loving it more. Not that I liked Jab tak hai Jaan but the part of the movie shot in Ladakh was a delight to eyes. The pristine blue water is a rare vision in India. The lake is heavenly and huge. It extends from India to Tibet.  Ladakh means “land of high passes.” It is in the state of Jammu and Kashmir inhabited by Indo-Aryans and Tibetans. Leh is the largest town of Ladakh.  Reaching Ladakh via road is challenging. People who go on a trek to Ladakh carry heavy luggage which comprises of huge canvas tents and collapsible string beds as well. Trekking to Ladakh is the most adventurous trip in India. People residing in Delhi and nearby areas travel to Ladakh even on bikes. The journey is naturally...

Felt like writing this after reading Purba Ray's post here -  "A dark cloud over Nina Davuluri's win" Nina Davuluri is a house hold name now. More than her Miss America 2014 title it's the twitter which made her victory more special. She is the first Indian to be crowned Miss America. Nina tasted the victory just after September 11th which in the history of America , is a sad day. To that matter it is a sad day for all of us. Few ignorant folks imagined that she is an Arab , a terrorist or a member of Al-Qaeeda and got offended by her victory in the beauty pageant  . The hate tweets followed like below. How ever Nina didn't flinch. She says  that  she’s grown up with so many stereotypes about her culture that she just knew that it was something that she needed to advocate for. Even if she was slammed by tweeple it didn't effect her much. Few nincompoops can't take her title away. She sure made us all proud but the fact which I felt funny is ...

My third article on " Half Baked Voices " Almost every Indian who has access to media and cricket would know the declaration by many die-hard fans that, “Cricket is their religion and Sachin is their God.” There is no denial here. The three things which always flourish in India are religion, Cricket and movies. Of course weddings can also be added to the list. Be it legendary players like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil dev, Mahendra singh Dhoni , Rahul Dravid or the master blaster  Sachin Tendulkar, people worship all of them. Even if hockey is our national game its cricket which strikes chord with the nation. People celebrate if the team wins and don’t mind using profanities and burning the effigies of their favourite players if the team loses. Our country is obsessed with their cricket stars and celebrities.  The coca cola caption works for most of us in India which is – Eat Cricket, sleep cricket. Drink only Coca Cola. Not long back, when I was in high school I remem...

Team work in a typical software company click on the Image for a better view

Riya opened her mail box on one dull morning. She monotonously checked the date on her tablet. It showed 05-09-2030 . She jumped off the sofa as she remembered that Ganesh chaviti is just 2 days away. The client meeting which was in UK kept her busy the entire last week and she totally forgot about the Ganapati festival which she devotedly celebrates every year and performs pooja for all the nine days. She panicked and couldn't decide what to do as she had a day long client meeting that day and the next day near Lonavala. The smart watch around her wrist blinked red and started ringing in Bob Marley's  "don't worry be happy"   tone. One line in that song---   in every life we have some trouble. When you worry you make it double  always rises her spirits. The bio censors in her smart watch detect her mood and play this song whenever she is upset or panicky and on request it always lists down the reminders  she has set one by one. The song calms her down ev...

Bill gates said  “We are changing the world with technology.”   Douglas Carl Engelbart an American inventor, and an early computer and internet pioneer quoted that ,  “ In 20 or 30 years, you'll be able to hold in your hand as much computing knowledge as exists now in the whole city, or even the whole world " .  Keeping aside the rapid progress in knowledge and the way digital revolution made life easy, if we discuss how it impacted the childhood and adolescent life it most of the times doesn’t seem very positive. In 70s and 80s researchers termed the modernisation caused by TV in Germany as “Television Childhood” and “Loss of childhood.” Parents are always insecure and fear that television may affect their kid’s personality development. Not that Television hasn’t been educational but it is famously phrased as “Idiot box” the way it influenced everyone’s life. Even cartoons are provocative at times. Instead of playing in the ground nearby kids s...

It is extremely tough to write about that one place which I would love to visit with my family or friends. There are many places through out the world and in India which I want to visit provided I have enough money in my bank account. From London to Paris to Egypt to the U.S.A. I want to roam around the world if not in 80 days , at least in 800 days. Before roaming around the world I would love to cover the beautiful places from my own country - INDIA. As they say India is incredible. The cultures , colors , festivals and anything about India never ceases to fascinate me. I would love to do some job in travelling and travel around the country but alas! I am stuck with many other things and hence can't even think of it. The two places which come to my mind right now are Kerala - God's own country and Kashmir- the paradise on earth. Being in the company of nature gives solace and you don't even need any company when you are in the God's company! Kerala is on my hit...

" Salaam -a-lekum Malika-e-Hindustan. This is your room," the maid showed Jodha Bai her room in the huge palace. The room was regal. Every corner of the room exuded richness. Jodha Bai was impressed even if she was feeling low as she moved to a new place and has to live among new people. The beauty of the " Mariam_uz-Zamani " palace stole her heart "This palace  is so stunning." Jodha said in a low voice. " Maham Anga  ji wants to meet you Mallika," another maid came hurriedly to inform Jodha. Jodha bent her head down so as to show respect to Maham Anga who is the foster mother of Akbar. " Namaste Maham Anga ji," Jodha greeted Maham Anga. "Namaste! What kind of greeting is it? When you are in this palace you have to follow the ways here! You got to greet every one with salaam!" said Maham Anga in an authoritative tone. All the maids bent their heads down as they feared the glare of Maham Anga. All of a sudden ther...

Caution:  It’s a real life incident. Resembling anyone living or dead is quite possible. Inside gym, in mid of the happening bustle I finally found a free cycle. Caught hold of it. After all the settings started my cycling .There was a guy on my left who was pedaling vigorously at a speed of 20 and a girl came settled just to my right. She was setting the level and speed. There was a huge mirror in front of me. Obviously everyone was checking their own reflections [ eagerly to see if they lost a chunk from a cheek or a thigh   ] The girl next to me was checking her reflection .  She was very chubby but pretty!! I gave a glance at her! The way she slowly continued her setting and resetting process made me feel she will take one hour to finish her 15min of cycling and 3hrs to finish the rest of her cardio (t readmill + cycle + cross-trainer)  but whatever pretty girls do is cute to boys! So there he was glancing at her, smiling, pedaling, checking hi...