The thinking cap....: IF Only....- Dr. Archana Linganan

The thinking cap....: IF Only....: "The charachters portrayed in this short story are purely fictional.  Resemblance to any person living or dead is only co-incidental... ..."

pushkin quotes

"Не мысля гордый свет забавить,
Вниманье дружбы возлюбя,
Хотел бы я тебе представить
Залог достойнее тебя,
Достойнее души прекрасной,
Святой исполненной мечты,
Поэзии живой и ясной,
Высоких дум и простоты;
Но так и быть — рукой пристрастной
Прими собранье пестрых глав,
Полусмешных, полупечальных,
Простонародных, идеальных,
Небрежный плод моих забав,
Бессонниц, легких вдохновений,
Незрелых и увядших лет,
Ума холодных наблюдений
И сердца горестных замет.
"
— Alexander Pushkin (Eugene Onegin)

"The Vanity of Human Wishes" By Samuel Johnson

The Tenth Satire of Juvenal Imitated

Let observation with extensive view,
Survey mankind, from China to Peru;
Remark each anxious toil, each eager strife,
And watch the busy scenes of crouded life;
Then say how hope and fear, desire and hate,
O'erspread with snares the clouded maze of fate,
Where wavering man, betrayed by venterous pride,
To tread the dreary paths without a guide,
As treacherous phantoms in the mist delude,
Shuns fancied ills, or chases airy good; 10
How rarely reason guides the stubborn choice,
Rules the bold hand, or prompts the suppliant voice;
How nations sink, by darling schemes oppressed,
When vengeance listens to the fool's request.
Fate wings with every wish the afflictive dart,
Each gift of nature, and each grace of art,
With fatal heat impetuous courage glows,
With fatal sweetness elocution flows,
Impeachment stops the speaker's powerful breath,
And restless fire precipitates on death. 20

But scarce observed, the knowing and the bold
Fall in the general massacre of gold;
Wide-wasting pest! that rages unconfined,
And crowds with crimes the records of mankind;
For gold his sword the hireling ruffian draws,
For gold the hireling judge distorts the laws;
Wealth heaped on wealth, nor truth nor safety buys,
The dangers gather as the treasures rise.

Let history tell where rival kings command,
And dubious title shakes the madded land, 30
When statutes glean the refuse of the sword,
How much more safe the vassal than the lord;
Low skulks the hind beneath the rage of power,
And leaves the wealthy traitor in the €Tower,
Untouched his cottage, and his slumbers sound,
Tho' confiscation's vulturs hover round.

The needy traveller, serene and gay,
Walks the wild heath, and sings his toil away.
Does envy seize thee? crush the upbraiding joy,
Increase his riches and his peace destroy; 40
Now fears in dire vicissitude invade,
The rustling brake alarms, and quivering shade,
Nor light nor darkness bring his pain relief,
One shews the plunder, and one hides the thief.

Yet still one general cry the skies assails,
And gain and grandeur load the tainted gales;
Few know the toiling statesman's fear or care,
The insidious rival and the gaping heir.

Once more, €Democritus, arise on earth,
With chearful wisdom and instructive mirth,
See motley life in modern trappings dressed,
And feed with varied fools the eternal jest:
Thou who couldst laugh where want enchained caprice,
Toil crushed conceit, and man was of a piece;
Where wealth unloved without a mourner died,
And scarce a sycophant was fed by pride;
Where ne'er was known the form of mock debate,
Or seen a new-made mayor's unwieldy state;
Where change of favourites made no change of laws,
And senates heard before they judged a cause; 60
How wouldst thou shake at Britain's modish tribe,
Dart the quick taunt, and edge the piercing gibe?
Attentive truth and nature to descry,
And pierce each scene with philosophic eye.
To thee were soiemn toys or empty shew,
The robes of pleasure and the veils of woe:
All aid the farce, and all thy mirth maintain,
Whose joys are causeless, or whose griefs are vain.

Such was the scorn that filled the sage's mind,
Renewed at every glance on humankind; 70
How just that scorn ere yet thy voice declare,
Search every state, and canvass every prayer.
<

Unnumbered suppliants crowd Preferment's gate,
Athirst for wealth, and burning to be great;
Delusive Fortune hears the incessant call,
They mount, they shine, evaporate, and fall.
On every stage the foes of peace attend,
Hate dogs their flight, and insult mocks their end.
Love ends with hope, the sinking statesman's door
Pours in the morning worshiper no more; 80
For growing names the weekly scribbler lies,
To growing wealth the dedicator flies,
From every room descends the painted face,
That hung the bright Palladium of the place,
And smoked in kitchens, or in auctions sold,
To better features yields the frame of gold;
For now no more we trace in every line
Heroic worth, benevolence divine:
The form distorted justifies the fall,
And detestation rids the indignant wall. 90

But will not Britain hear the last appeal,
Sign her foe's doom, or guard her favourite's zeal?
Through Freedom's sons no more remonstrance ring,
Degrading nobles and controuling kings;
Our supple tribes repress their patriot throats,
And ask no questions but the price of votes;
With weekly libels and septennial ale,
Their wish is full to riot and to rail.

In full-blown dignity, see Wolsey stand,
Law in his voice, and fortune in his hand: 100
To him the church, the realm, their powers consign,
Thro' him the rays of regal bounty shine,
Turned by his nod the stream of honour flows,
His smile alone security bestows:
Still to new heights his restless wishes tower,
Claim leads to claim, and power advances power;
Till conquest unresisted ceased to please,
And rights submitted, left him none to seize.
At length his sov'reign frowns‹the train of state
Mark the keen glance, and watch the sign to hate. 110
Wherever he turns he meets a stranger's eye,
His suppliants scorn him, and his followers lly;
At once is lost the pride of aweful state,
The golden canopy, the glittering plate,
The regal palace, the luxurious board,
The liveried army, and the menial lord.
With age, with cares, with maladies oppressed,
He seeks the refuge of monastic rest.
Grief aids disease, remembered folly stings,
And his last sighs reproach the faith of kings. 120

Speak thou, whose thoughts at humble peace repine,
Shall Wolsey's wealth, with Wolsey's end be thine?
Or livest thou now, with safer pride content,
The wisest justice on the banks of Trent?
For why did Wolsey near the steeps of fate,
On weak foundations raise the enormous weight~
Why but to sink beneath misfortune's blow,
With louder ruin to the gulphs below?

What gave great Villiers to the assassin's knife,
And fixed disease on Harley's closing life?
What murdered Wentworth, and what exiled Hyde,
By kings protected, and to kings allied?
What but their wish indulged in courts to shine,
And power too great to keep, or to resign?

When first the college rolls receive his name,
The young enthusiast quits his ease for fame;
Through all his veins the fever of renown
Burns from the strong contagion of the gown;
Over Bodley's dome his future labours spread,
And Bacon's mansion trembles over his head. 140
Are these thy views? proceed, illustrious youth,
And virtue guard thee to the throne of Truth!
Yet should thy soul indulge the generous heat,
Till captive Science yields her last retreat;
Should Reason guide thee with her brightest ray,
And pour on misty Doubt resistless day,
Should no false Kindness lure to loose delight,
Nor Praise relax, nor Difficulty fright;
Should tempting Novelty thy cell refrain,
And Sloth effuse her opiate fumes in vain; 150
Should Beauty blunt on fops her fatal dart,
Nor claim the triumph of a lettered heart;
Shollld no Disease thy torpid veins invade,
Nor Melancholy's phantoms haunt thy shade;
Yet hope not life from grief or danger free,
Nor think the doom of man reversed for thee:
Deign on the passing world to turn thine eyes,
And pause awhile from letters, to be wise;
There mark what ills the scholar's life assail,
Toil, envy, want, the patron, and the jail. 160
See nations slowly wise, and meanly just,
To buried merit raise the tardy bust.
If dreams yet flatter, once again attend,
Hear Lydiat's life, and Galileo's end.

Nor deem, when learning her last prize bestows,
The glittering eminence exempt from foes;
See when the vulgar 'scape, despis'd or aw'd,
Rebellion's vengeful talons seize on Laud.
From meaner minds, tho' smaller fines content,
The plunder'd palace or sequester'd rent; 170
Mark'd out by dangerous parts he meets the shock,
And fatal Learning leads him to the block:
Around his tomb let Art and Genius weep,
But hear his death, ye blockheads, hear and sleep.

The festal blazes, the triumphal show,
The ravish'd standard, and the captive foe,
The senate's thanks, the gazette's pompous tale,
With force resistless o'er the brave prevail.
Such bribes the rapid Greek o'er Asia whirl'd,
For such the steady Romans shook the world;
For such in distant lands the Britons shine,
And stain with blood the Danube or the Rhine;
This pow'r has praise, that virtue scarce can warm,
Till fame supplies the universal charm.
Yet Reason frowns on War's unequal game,
Where wasted nations raise a single name,
And mortgaged states their grandsires wreaths regret,
From age to age in everlasting debt;
Wreaths which at last the dear-bought right convey
To rust on medals, or on stones decay.

On what foundation stands the warrior's pride,
How just his hopes let Swedish Charles decide;
A frame of adamant, a soul of fire,
No dangers fright him, and no labours tire;
O'er love, o'er fear, extends his wide domain,
Unconquer'd lord of pleasure and of pain;
No joys to him pacific scepters yield,
War sounds the trump, he rushes to the field;
Behold surrounding kings their pow'r combine,
And one capitulate, and one resign; 200
Peace courts his hand, but spreads her charms in vain;
'Think nothing gain'd,' he cries, 'till nought remain,
'On Moscow's walls till Gothic standards fly,
'And all be mine beneath the polar sky.'
The march begins in military state,
And nations on his eye suspended wait;
Stern Famine guards the solitary coast,
And Winter barricades the realms of Frost;
He comes, not want and cold his course delay-‹
Hide, blushing Glory, hide Pultowa's day: 210
The vanquish'd hero leaves his broken bands,
And shews his miseries in distant lands;
Condemn'd a needy supplicant to wait,
While ladies interpose, and slaves debate.
But did not Chance at length her error mend?
Did no subverted empire mark his end?
Did rival monarchs give the fatal wound?
Or hostile millions press him to the ground?
His fall was destin'd to a barren strand,
A petty fortress, and a dubious hand; 220
He left the name, at which the world grew pale,
To point a moral, or adorn a tale.

All times their scenes of pompous woes afford,
From Persia's tyrant to Bavaria's lord.
In gay hostility, and barb'rous pride,
With half mankind embattled at his side,
Great Xerxes comes to seize the certain prey,
And starves exhausted regions in his way;
Attendant Flattery counts his myriads o'er,
Till counted myriads sooth his pride no more; 230
Fresh praise is tryed till madness fires his mind,
The waves he lashes, and enchains the wind;
New powers are claimed, new powers are still bestowed,
Till rude resistance lops the spreading god;
The daring Greeks deride the martial show,
And heap their vallies with the gaudy foe;
The insulted sea with humbler thoughts he gains,
A single skiff to speed his flight remains;
The incumbered oar scarce leaves the dreaded coast
Through purple billows and a floating host. 240

The bold€ Bavarian, in a luckless hour,
Tries the dread summits of Cesarean power,
With unexpected legions bursts away,
And sees detenceless realms receive his sway;
Short sway! fair Austria spreads her mournful charms,
The queen, the beauty, sets the world in arms;
From hill to hill the beacons rousing blaze
Spreads uide the hope of plullder and oE praise;
The fierce Croatian, and the wild Hussar,
And all the sons of ravage croud the war; 250
The bamed prince in honour's flattering bloom
Of hasty greatness finds the fatal doom,
His foe's derision, and his subjects' blame,
And steals to death from anguish and from shame.

Enlarge my life with multitude of days,
In health, in sickness, thus the suppliant prays;
Hides from himself his state, and shuns to know,
That life protracted is protracted woe.
Time hovers over, impatient to destroy,
And shuts up all the passages of joy: 260
In vain their gifts the bounteous seasons pour,
The fruit autumnal, and the vernal flower,
With listless eyes the dotard views the store,
He views, and wonders that they please no more;
Now pall the tasteless meats, and joyless wines,
And Luxury with sighs her slave resigns.
Approach, ye minstrels, try the soothing strain,
Diffuse the tuneful lenitives of pain:
No sounds alas would touch the impervious ear,
Though dancing mountains witnessed Orpheus near; 270
Nor lute nor lyre his feeble powers attend,
Nor sweeter musick of a virtuous friend,
But everlasting dictates croud his tongue,
Perversely grave, or positively wrong.
The still returning tale, and lingering jest,
Perplex the fawning niece and pampered guest,
While growing hopes scarce awe the gathering sneer,
And scarce a legacy can bribe to hear;
The watchful guests still hint the last offence,
The daughter's petulance, the son's expence, 280
Improve his heady rage with treacherous skill,
And mould his passions till they make his will.

Unnumbered maladies his joints invade,
Lay siege to life and press the dire blockade;
But unextinguished Avarice still remains,
And dreaded losses aggravate his pains;
He turns, with anxious heart and cripled hands,
His bonds of debt, and mortgages of lands;
Or views his coffers with suspicious eyes,
Unlocks his gold, and counts it till he dies. 290

But grant, the virtues of a temperate prime
Bless with an age exempt from scorn or crime;
An age that melts with unperceived decay,
And glides in modest Innocence away;
Whose peaceful day Benevolence endears,
Whose night congratulating Conscience cheers;
The general favorite as the general friend:
Such age there is, and who shall wish its end?

Yet even on this her load Misfortune flings,
To press the weary minutes Ragging wings:
New sorrow rises as the day returns,
A sister sickens, or a daughter mourns.
Now kindred Merit fills the sable bier,
Now lacerated Friendship claims a tear.
Year chases year, decay pursues decay,
Still drops some joy from withering life away;
New forms arise, and different views engage,
Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage,
Till pitying Nature signs the last release,
And bids afflicted worth retire to peace. 310

But few there are whom hours like these await,
Who set unclouded in the gulphs of fate.
From Lydia's monarch should the search descend,
By Solon cautioned to regard his end,
In life's last scene what prodigies surprise,
Fears of the brave, and follies of the wise?
From Marlborough's eyes the streams of dotage flow,
And Swift expires a driveler and a show.
The teeming mother, anxious for her race,
Begs for each birth the fortune of a face: 320
Yet Vane could tell what ills from beauty spring;
And Sedley cursed the form that pleased a king.
Ye nymphs of rosy lips and radiant eyes,
Whom Pleasure keeps too busy to be wise,
Whom Joys with soft varieties invite,
By day the frolick, and the dance by night,
Who frown with vanity, who smile with art,
And ask the latest fashion of the heart,
What care, what rules your heedless charms shall save,
Each nymph your rival, and each youth your slave? 330
Against your fame with fondness hate combines,
With distant voice neglected Virtue calls,
Less heard and less, the faint remonstrance falls;
Tired with contempt, she quits the slippery reign,
And Pride and Prudence take her seat in vain.
In croud at once, where none the pass defend,
The harmless Freedom, and the private Friend.
The guardians yield, by force superior plied;
By Interest, Prudence; and by Flattery, Pride. 340
Now beauty falls betrayed, despised, distressed,
And hissing Infamy proclaims the rest.

Where then shall Hope and Fear their objects find?
Must dull Suspence corrupt the stagnant mind?
Must helpless man, in ignorance sedate,
Roll darkling down the torrent of his fate?
Must no dislike alarm, no wishes rise,
No cries attempt the mercies of the skies?
Enquirer, cease, petitions yet remain,
Whlch heaven may hear, nor deem religion vain. 350
Still raise for good the supplicating voice,
But leave to heaven the measure and the choice,
Safe in his power, whose eyes discern afar
The secret ambush of a specious prayer.
Implore his aid, in his decisions rest,
Secure whatever he gives, he gives the best.
Yet when the sense of sacred presence fires,
And strong devotion to the skies aspires,
Pour forth thy fervours for a healthful mind,
Obedient passions, and a will resigned; 360
For love, which scarce collective man can fill;
For patience sov'reign over transmuted ill;
For faith, that panting for a happier seat,
Counts death kind Nature's signal of retreat:
These goods for man the laws of heaven ordain,
These goods he grants, who grants the power to gain;
With these celestial wisdom calms the mind,
And makes the happiness she does not find.

Who is GENE SHARP ??

The GO TO man for most of the last couple of decades non-violent revolutions ...

The Methods of Nonviolent Action

​​​​​(from Gene Sharp, The Methods of Nonviolent Action, Boston 1973)

THE METHODS OF NONVIOLENT PROTEST AND PERSUASION
FORMAL STATEMENTS

1. Public speeches
2. Letters of opposition or support
3. Declarations by organizations and institutions
4. Signed public declarations
5. Declarations of indictment and intention
6. Group or mass petitions

COMMUNICATIONS WITH A WIDER AUDIENCE

1. Slogans, caricatures, and symbols
2. Banners, posters, and displayed communications
3. Leaflets, pamphlets, and books
4. Newspapers and journals
5. Records, radio, and television
6. Skywriting and earthwriting

GROUP REPRESENTATIONS

1. Deputations
2. Mock awards
3. Group lobbying
4. Picketing
5. Mock elections

SYMBOLIC PUBLIC ACTS

1. Displays of flags and symbolic colours
2. Wearing of symbols
3. Prayer and worship
4. Delivering symbolic objects
5. Protest disrobings
6. Destruction of own property
7. Symbolic lights
8. Displays of portraits
9. Paint as protest
10. New signs and names
11. Symbolic sounds
12. Symbolic reclamations
13. Rude gestures

PRESSURES ON INDIVIDUALS

1. “Haunting” officials
2. Taunting officials
3. Fraternization
4. Vigils

DRAMA AND MUSIC

1. Humourous skits and pranks
2. Performances of plays and music
3. Singing

PROCESSIONS

1. Marches
2. Parades
3. Religious processions
4. Pilgrimages
5. Motorcades

HONOURING THE DEAD

1. Political mourning
2. Mock funerals
3. Demonstrative funerals
4. Homage at burial places

PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES

1. Assemblies of protest or support
2. Protest meetings
3. Camouflaged meetings of protest
4. Teach-ins

WITHDRAWAL AND RENUNCIATION

1. Walk-outs
2. Silence
3. Renouncing honours
4. Turning one’s back

THE METHODS OF SOCIAL NONCOOPERATION
OSTRACISM OF PERSONS

1. Social boycott
2. Selective social boycott
3. Lysistratic nonaction
4. Excommunication
5. Interdict

NONCOOPERATION WITH SOCIAL EVENTS, CUSTOMS, AND INSTITUTIONS

1. Suspension of social and sports activities
2. Boycott of social affairs
3. Student strike
4. Social disobedience
5. Withdrawal from social institutions

WITHDRAWAL FROM THE SOCIAL SYSTEM

1. Stay-at-home
2. Total personal noncooperation
3. “Flight” of workers
4. Sanctuary
5. Collective disappearance
6. Protest emigration (hijrat)

THE METHODS OF ECONOMIC NONCOOPERATION: ECONOMIC BOYCOTTS
ACTION BY CONSUMERS

1. Consumers’ boycott
2. Nonconsumption of boycotted goods
3. Policy of austerity
4. Rent withholding
5. Refusal to rent
6. National consumers’ boycott
7. International consumers’ boycott

ACTION BY WORKERS AND PRODUCERS

1. Workers’ boycott
2. Producers’ boycott

ACTION BY MIDDLEMEN

1. Suppliers’ and handlers’ boycott

ACTION BY OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

1. Traders’ boycott
2. Refusal to let or sell property
3. Lockout
4. Refusal of industrial assistance
5. Merchants’ “general strike”

ACTION BY HOLDERS OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES

1. Withdrawal of bank deposits
2. Refusal to pay fees, dues, and assessments
3. Refusal to pay debts or interest
4. Severance of funds and credit
5. Revenue refusal
6. Refusal of a government’s money

ACTION BY GOVERNMENTS

1. Domestic embargo
2. Blacklisting of traders
3. International sellers’ embargo
4. International buyers’ embargo
5. International trade embargo

THE METHODS OF ECONOMIC NONCOOOPERATION: THE STRIKE
SYMBOLIC STRIKES

1. Protest strike
2. Quickie walkout (lightning strike)

AGRICULTURAL STRIKES

1. Peasant strike
2. Farm workers’ strike

STRIKES BY SPECIAL GROUPS

1. Refusal of impressed labour
2. Prisoners’ strike
3. Craft strike
4. Professional strike

ORDINARY INDUSTRIAL STRIKES

1. Establishment strike
2. Industry strike
3. Sympathy strike

RESTRICTED STRIKES

1. Detailed strike
2. Bumper strike
3. Slowdown strike
4. Working-to-rule strike
5. Reporting “sick” (sick-in)
6. Strike by resignation
7. Limited strike
8. Selective strike

MULTI-INDUSTRY STRIKES

1. Generalised strike
2. General strike

COMBINATION OF STRIKES AND ECONOMIC CLOSURES

1. Hartal
2. Economic shutdown

THE METHODS OF POLITICAL NONCOOPERATION
REJECTION OF AUTHORITY

1. Withholding or withdrawal of allegiance
2. Refusal of public support
3. Literature and speeches advocating resistance

CITIZENS’ NONCOOPERATION WITH GOVERNMENT

1. Boycott of legislative bodies
2. Boycott of elections
3. Boycott of government employment and positions
4. Boycott of government departments, agencies, and other bodies
5. Withdrawal from governmental educational institutions
6. Boycott of government-supported institutions
7. Refusal of assistance to enforcement agents
8. Removal of own signs and placemarks
9. Refusal to accept appointed officials
10. Refusal to dissolve existing institutions

CITIZENS’ ALTERNATIVES TO OBEDIENCE

1. Reluctant and slow compliance
2. Nonobedience in absence of direct supervision
3. Popular nonobedience
4. Disguised disobedience
5. Refusal of an assemblage or meeting to disperse
6. Sitdown
7. Noncooperation with conscription and deportation
8. Hiding, escape, and false identities
9. Civil disobedience of “illegitimate” laws

ACTION BY GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL

1. Selective refusal of assistance by government aides
2. Blocking of lines of command and information
3. Stalling and obstruction
4. General administrative noncooperation
5. Judicial noncooperation
6. Deliberate inefficiency and selective noncooperation by enforcement agents
7. Mutiny

DOMESTIC GOVERNMENTAL ACTION

1. Quasi-legal evasions and delays
2. Noncooperation by constituent governmental units

INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENTAL ACTION

1. Changes in diplomatic and other representation
2. Delay and cancellation of diplomatic events
3. Withholding of diplomatic recognition
4. Severance of diplomatic relations
5. Withdrawal from international organisations
6. Refusal of membership in international bodies
7. Expulsion from international organisations

THE METHODS OF NONVIOLENT INTERVENTION
PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTION

1. Self-exposure to the elements
2. The fast
1. Fast of moral pressure
2. Hunger strike
3. Satyagrahic fast
3. Reverse trial
4. Nonviolent harassment

PHYSICAL INTERVENTION

1. Sit-in
2. Stand-in
3. Ride-in
4. Wade-in
5. Mill-in
6. Pray-in
7. Nonviolent raids
8. Nonviolent air raids
9. Nonviolent invasion
10. Nonviolent interjection
11. Nonviolent obstruction
12. Nonviolent occupation

SOCIAL INTERVENTION

1. Establishing new social patterns
2. Overloading of facilities
3. Stall-in
4. Speak-in
5. Guerrilla theatre
6. Alternative social institutions
7. Alternative communication system

ECONOMIC INTERVENTION

1. Reverse strike
2. Stay-in strike
3. Nonviolent land seizure
4. Defiance of blockades
5. Politically motivated counterfeiting
6. Preclusive purchasing
7. Seizure of assets
8. Dumping
9. Selective patronage
10. Alternative markets
11. Alternative transportation systems
12. Alternative economic institutions

POLITICAL INTERVENTION

1. Overloading of administrative systems
2. Disclosing identities of secret agents
3. Seeking imprisonment
4. Civil disobedience of “neutral” laws
5. Work-on without collaboration
6. Dual sovereignty and parallel government​​​​​

Life is a song !!! albiet a complicated one !

Life is a song !!! albeit a complicated one , with all its intricacies, all the twists and turns of vocal chords pronouncing various ragas, which form the main basis and accesory tones and instruments which form our choices.

Every morning when i pray and do the traditional Surya namaskar while walking in this snowy desert devoid of life and emotions at that hour or for that matter at any hour !!! it reminds me how precious is our life and how seemingly delicate our the people living in it.
we humans are creatures spoiled by choice and react sheepishly with the abundance of it in front of us, without ever thinking about our predecessors the ancient ones who didn't have any thing to choose from, we think that these choices are for granted, its our right to choose without visualizing the facts that there are millions who will never get the same choices like us and there will be thousands who will have it better than us.
by understanding this simple fact we should be able to suffice our choices as given and cherished , and not be taken for granted, these choices range from materialistic to emotional to things of no physical value. like love, loving someone meant to accept them as a whole with their flaws and not changing them, but we still do try even though this is what we speak all the time,
there was also another statement " If you love someone you let them go and if they come back they really loved you too" but i say if you love someone how can you let them go ?????

enough about all my foolish ramblings:-

lets get serious, there is this person i do love and there is this person i loved, but am i right to put them both in the same sentence and my expecting my present love to accept it also, aint that way wrong. i understand that my present did not do anything wrong and they love me for who i am, still why do i have this urge to ask them to accept my past. for sure i can make all the necessary changes to erase my past if it pleases my present. but will it be love then because it means i am changing myself for the sake of a better future, but do i need that future when i am happy with my present one, which includes me ,my thoughts,my memories,my character and my life. and if i change all this then i am not the same person the present fell in love with, will this not be worse r ?

what should i do ? with all these mini revolutions going on in my brain and my heart ? should i follow the brain, or the heart or just simply flow with this river and time will fix everything, stop all this constant barrage of thoughts stressing me and give life another chance !!!1

people advise me that whatever happens it happens for good and happens for a reason and also god is watching over you he chose the best way , then i ask them back god is surely watching but with me as a part of a over 6 billion strong species i don't think h has enough time for my emotional conundrum! my personal panic , so i have to do the job , make the choices and MOVE ON !!!!

Change = do i need it ?

I took an initiative today, to accept the past and remove it from my future for the sake of my present.... it was not an easy task, but i hope it was worth it. is deleting your past enough or is it just the beginning of a series of compromises One makes in lieu of peace of mind.

i tried it today and even though it bothers me immensely ,i still would have done it eventually, if not today then some day in the future, but at that time it would have been for me and this present sense of compromise would not have been there. alas its too late to recoup now, the task is already done.

it is difficult to separate this constant unease from the peace. all i can hope is the line gets drawn here, i am not good with authority and esp. not the forceful kind, but still i forced myself to do something which changes the balance in my relationship.

i feel a bit like che but only in the affairs of love, socialism combined with pseudo communism leads eventually to autocratic capitalism. i hope my heart stays a democracy with all the rights of a republic.

The WOLVES are coming !!!!!!!!!!

RUN RUN RUN ! THE WOLVES ARE COMING !!!!

This phrase has been used many times in the past explaining the falsity of a deed against the populace , thereby when the deed actually occurs the the populace due to overexposure is left unguarded....

This is what is happening in the middle eastern pan- ARABIC revolution , the news agencies, the pseudo governments and the vested interests have been crying foul over the radical Islamization of the populace and for that they have kept their dictatorial controls . but the present revolution which bears its root to the humble people of Tunisia and it emerging strength and voice to the Youth of EGYPT had been soiled in the west and all over the world by wolves like NEWS channels and the Muslim Brotherhood, accompanied and unwittingly aided by oppressive regimes of the likes of Mubarak.

We know what is true and what is false, we know when it is true but the continuous use of the media as a nuke to bomb governments and the use of the social networks to galvanize opinion against a regime, to flare violence, to spread panic to aid in helping these revolutions to succeed - just shows how far the world has united, there are no borders here there are no frontiers, today we sit in our houses and actively are able to voice are opinions about an event occurring 1000's of miles away, we are able to support our brethren in their movements, are able to offer aid, be it during natural crises or man made, we are all one people and we all stand together, the only need left in the present society is to understand when we are being used and when we can use these resources to our advantage !!!

these are random rambling and hold no personal opinion. no harm intended.

On DEMAND !!!!

Life has its own virtues and its own paths, we may try to tread one and dread the other but the final eventuality always leaves us dumbfound. i write this with the fair knowledge that this may sound a bit rhetorical;

OK Then how do we treat LOVE, is it easy to fall in love or is it easier to come out of it, is it the same for one and all or each one of us experiences it with our own understanding and situational logic,
i agree with the latter, i believe love knows no bounds, love has no beginning and no end, it just has a buoyant volume, which may go up and down depending on the stage we are at in our respective relationships,

What is the exact period of time to announce the end of a relationship ? and for how long do we mourn ?, can we ever forget the person we loved ?, all these questions are part of a double edged sword ? we look at them and consider what will we do in such cases, some people really have it easy they are able to smoothly move from one form of relationship stage to another, from being in love to hating the individual they loved, just because the relationship ended,

Is it so easy to hate the person you loved at one time, I believe in the true essence of LOVE-HATE - respect yourself, respect your love and respect your feelings for your loved one !!!!
Because if you did love someone you can never hate them , you may feel bitter, you may ramble nonchalantly but you can never HATE !!!

India's 'black money': 'Hoodwinking' the people? - Soutik Biswas

One analyst calls "black money" or illicit money India's curse. He's not off the mark - I have been hearing of and reading about this scourge ever since I was in junior school. Several decades later, the problem has only worsened. The government reckons there are no reliable estimates of "black money" inside and outside the country - a "study" by the main opposition BJP in 2009 put it at anything between $500bn to $1.4 trillion. A recent conservative estimate by the US-based group Global Financial Integrity Index pegs illicit capital flows

Thanks to opposition and public ire over a series of corruption scandals, "black money" is back in the spotlight. The Supreme Court has been chiding the beleaguered government for not doing enough to unearth illicit money. "Is there no basis to figure out black money?" the court wondered on Thursday. "What is the source of black money, which has been stashed away in foreign banks? Is it from arms dealing, drug peddling or smuggling?"

Strong words indeed. But they may not be enough to uncover India's biggest and longest-running scandal. This week, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee unveiled what critics said was a laundry list of tedious platitudes and obscure, non time-bound plans to check the "menace of black money". This includes joining a "global crusade" against it, creating appropriate legislation and institutions to deal with such funds and imparting skills to officers tasked with detecting such funds. In effect, what the government is saying is that after 63 years of independence, India has no institutions or trained people available to curb a brazen and thriving underground economy which rewards tax evaders, humiliates tax payers and widens inequity.

There is enough evidence to show that there is little political or administrative will to curb "black money". India has double taxation treaties with 79 countries. But 74 of these treaties need to be tweaked significantly to include exchange of banking information between the countries. (Letters have been issued to 65 of these countries to initiate negotiation, says the minister.) India has apparently chosen 22 countries and tax havens for negotiating and signing exchanging tax information. Last year, a law to prevent money laundering was given more teeth - but laws are often flouted with impunity in the world's largest democracy. The government says it plans to hone direct tax laws further to begin taxing deposits in foreign banks and interests in foreign trusts.

It also talks about a new amnesty scheme for "black money", which is really a slap in the face of the honest tax payer. Since Independence, the government has offered the "voluntary disclosure scheme" six times, most recently in 1997. Less than $1bn was declared, which most experts believe was a fraction of the black money in the market at that time. India's autonomous federal auditors once remarked that the disclosure schemes encourage people to become "habitual tax offenders", knowing full well that they can hoard money without paying income taxes.

Independent economists believe that despite the government's recent noises, "black money" will continue to blight India and its economy. For one, it is a systemic problem. Those who don't pay taxes or stash away illicit money overseas comprise the political and professional creme de la creme - politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants, judges. That the government is not keen upon cracking down on illicit capital flows was evident, analysts say, when, in 2008, it refused to accept a compact disc from Germany containing names of account holders in a Liechtenstein bank. Last year, under opposition pressure, the government accepted the CD, but refused to disclose the 26 names of Indian account holders in it. Many believe that a year is enough for the account holders to move their money out of the bank. "Unless there is political will to dig out black money, nothing will happen," says Arun Kumar of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, who has investigated India's underground economy in detail. And the humiliation of the honest citizen will continue. between 1948, a year after Independence, and 2008, at $462bn - an amount that is twice India's external debt. India's underground economy today is estimated to account for half of the country's GDP.