Murder On The Orient Express

The movie is OK. Sure, Ingrid Bergman won an Oscar. But, the book is brilliant!!! Alright, let me come out and tell you that one of my guilty pleasures is (was?) reading Agatha Christie.

The story is gripping. But, I thought the ending was horrible. It just did not make any sense to me that 12 people can get together and murder one person. For them to be successful, the team should have been tight and cohesive. I just brushed it aside as rubbish.

It’s been aeons since I read that book. For some odd reason, the story has been bugging me for the past one week. Well, certain things are truly unexplainable.

I plan to read ‘Being Indian’ by Pavan K. Varma in the next few weeks. Alright, let me sign off now. Oh, and before I go, whatever happened with the Bob Woolmer case. Who do you think killed him?

Dravid & Co., Salut And Goodbye!!!

It’s the 29th over of the Indian innings and the scorecard reads 112/6. And the most talented of all, Ajit Agarkar is coming in to bat. Do you see any problem here? Perhaps not, if you are a die hard fan like me, you still hope that India is going to win, somhow magically!!!

The problem is right there. Fans like me….and a billion of us. We have no better thing to do. Spineless cowards like us believe that Indian team is always the best. We are made to believe that the World Cup is designed and created for us and we whole heartedly buy that story.

What’s up with the sleepless nights? And, how about a billion dreams? Dravid and boys have mercilessly killed them all. “Men in Blue” are fit for flashy advertisements and fat contracts, again courtesy, fools like me.

You know what, I am fed up. For the Nth time, I have decided not to watch cricket anymore. And, this time I am quite serious. I should also stop buying all products which Tendulkar and friends endorse. That’s the only way these idiots will realize their place.

Dravid, Ganguly, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Zaheer, Munaf and the three players who never got a chance to show their “talent” should be retained in the team. The rest should be thrown out tomorrow. I know Sehwag played well, but he lacks consistency. And, we need a coach, not a politicain, just a coach. We also should realize that great players will never make good coaches (that’s my wife’s take and I believe that). Let’s do what South Africa did 4 years ago. Revamp the team and bring in new faces. How about Kaif for the captian? Well, I am just rambling here. That doesn’t mean I will soften my stand and watch cricket again. No no….

More than ever, now I am convinced that Karma Theory makes sense. Billion plus people must have done horrible things in our previous births. Why else are we put through this?

Karma Theory And All That Stuff

A lot of things happening around me made me wonder if “Good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people” is really true. My thought process included stuff like “What’s the point in being good?” and “Should I really believe in janma theory?” among many other things.

Finally I decided to send an email to a very good friend, whose opinions I value a lot. Incidentally, he is an excellent blogger as well, and I am sure some of you have visited and appreciated his blog.

This friend of mine pretty much said the same things I knew. Karma theory, re-birth and all that stuff. But what was different was the way in which he put it. His email made me think more and made me think in a more balanced way. The fact that he was absolutely not interested in convincing me to believe in what he believes, made me want to believe in what he said.

Make no mistake, I absolutely believe in God. I always lean on God when I am scared or when I need comfort. But, I still cannot understand the concept of sowing in one birth and reaping the good or bad in another birth. It is just not fair. Life should be like an exam. You write the exam and get the results within a few months. Similarly, you should benefit or suffer because of all the good and bad things you do, in the same birth.

I don’t believe in posthomous awards, so why should I believe in Karma theory ? Well, that’s a little tricky, because I do.

tAta is 104 today!!!

tAta is 104 today !!! I am sitting here and humming the, oh so monotonous “kariyaA I love you, karunADa tAyANe”, trying to figure him out. He has lived a very healthy, successful and a serene life. His strength, belief and love of life is unparalleled. What did I learn from him ? What makes him so close to my heart ?

He would take me to the school interview, to the barber shop, to all his friends’ houses – always wearing the crystal white jubba and kachchE paMche. What would Versace have said if he met tAta? Would he have laughed out loud, or would he have been inspired to create another expensive outfit ?

His clear British English is as musical to your ears as his rendition of B.M.Shri‘s ‘Ashwatthaman’. He is so fond of music, drama and literature. Why didn’t he ever write ? Other than the long letters, of course. Sure, his hand writing is very hard to decipher. Is that a good enough reason ? I bet he would have been an excellent blogger, as well.

It has been 37 years since ajji died, way before I was born. tAta has lived with his children all along. Does he miss her ? If so, how much ? I have always wondered. I cannot recall tata ever talking about ajji. I am sure he would have had dreams of spending the old age with her. If I am such a hopeless romantic, then I am sure one of those genes were from tAta.

His love for cricket and politics is unbeatable. The shine in his eyes when he sees India win or BJP coming to power is a reflection of my own eyes. No, I don’t look like him, I don’t talk like him, and I definitely don’t like coffee like he does – He likes it “bitter like poison, hot like hell and thick like paste”. We are so different, yet so similar.

Stepping into his 105th year, tAta has been a brilliant source of enthusiasm for people around him. I wish him a very Happy Birthday!!!

The Good, The Bad And The Human

“Human being is born bad. He develops good qualities”.

“Human being is born good. He develops bad qualities”.

Which one do you believe in ? I strongly think that the latter is true but my mother completely disagrees with me. We always attach innocence and goodness to children. So, I don’t understand how humans can be born bad. I am convinced that we are all born very good. We pick up the bad qualities.

Doctors, Doctors And More Doctors

From California to Texas, and from the dense forests of South India to Bangalore, I have exhausted all doctors. Of course, that’s an exaggeration, but you get the point.

My friends, their friends, their friends’ friends’ friends have all spoken to me. The top specialists in the world and the modest fakir have all talked to me. I have waited for hours to meet the super specialists, and I cannot remember the number of international calls I have made.

My driving skills and the my car’s strength have been well tested with all the driving between remote villages in search of that nectar which will cure him completely.

I try, I try harder, I try again and then I hope.

The other day I got a call from someone and she said that God is looking at everything I am doing now and some day in the future something very good will happen to me. Sure sure, that is lovely indeed. But, I just ask the same God to let that very good thing happen right away. My prayer is simple, “God if you are listening to me then I just have one question. Why him ? Why did you choose a person who perhaps has no clue what anger is, who is undoubtedly the nicest human being I have ever known and who is so full of love and warmth. Where is justice for him ? Let him get back to normalcy soon. Let him be his old self, full of laughter with his brilliant sense of humor. Please…..”.