Monday, October 18, 2010

"Different Smells of My Life"




In one of the Sunday issue of Brunch, Editor in Chief of HT Media------Vir Sanghavi wrote extensively on the aroma and fragrance of different scents and cologne being invented in the world. But I democratically feel that his article was incomplete because he only mouthed about the one side of the coin i.e. the positive and the manufactured smell which everybody loves to inhale. But the missing part was the negative and the natural smell which is also present in this world and which we all hate.

So THINKING CAP has bore the responsibility to talk ostentatiously of such arrogant and criminal type of smells which have the balls to even kill you leaving no option but to inhale it and die painfully.

1.      As I have travelled enormously through public transport system so I can accept that I am not a stranger to its characteristics like too many people, tiny spaces, low price, jerks etc. But one of the most peculiar features of it is the smell of the sweat. When passengers ranging from tiny teens to pension earners, from a boring housewife to a virgin blonde to breadwinners all lift their hand or hands in unity to take support and guard against the jerks. Raising hands release the aroma of sweat in the atmosphere, sweat which they have earned throughout the day by completing different files, selling unsalable products, standing in queues and performing daily chores. I call it the “mix vegetable” of sweat as everyone contributes towards it. Slowly and gradually the vegetable gains pace & mass and turns in a hurricane. It reaches every corner of the vehicle. The irony is such that you are standing in front of a middle aged male inhaling his sweat into your lungs and still smiling at the rascal and vice-versa. 
2.      I personally feel that the insane smell of “Gutka” can turn the furniture inside your body upside-down. The business houses create addictive brands like “Rajdarbaar”, “Kuber” and “RajniGandha” to create an illusion of luxury to the consumer and make him tour heaven for some minutes. At the time of consuming unexpectedly one of these knuckleheads approaches you, takes his face very close to yours infact to your nostrils, wide open his “Gutka” filled mouth and proudly inquires “Bhai time kya hua hai” or sometimes “ye bus khaa jaayegi”. And you lose your wicket. You are in a situation where somebody has released poison inside your blood and has left you for a slow painful death.
3.      This one is my personal favorite. Every day you inhale it and that too happily, like you’re worshipping. The non-violent, non dangerous smell of the food you could not digest i.e. the perfume of defecation.  Every morning, sitting in the most comfortable position, relaxed as never, you inhale it dedicatedly. You are choice less because this activity makes you blissful and full of joy. Sometimes I wonder that how come the Fried Rice which I was dying to eat a night before can betray me and behind that rich and healthy smell there was hidden a non thinkable smell like this one. But this smell had always gifted me some wildest ideas.
4.      If the previous one was my personal favorite then this is my personal non-favorite. The problem with this smell is that it attacks you like an earthquake and you are not even prepared for it. As an earthquake creates a lot of havoc and destruction this smell too destroys your mood completely and makes life a hell. The perfume of a dead rat. First you hate these jackass monsters roaming in your home or office and breaking your privacy. And then these fuckers hid in one of the damn corners of the home and breathe their last breath. The trouble is that his body is lying and decaying in some part of your home, smells like thousands drains flowing next to you and you don’t even have the slightest idea where the asshole is. You actually want to butcher him on his this sinful act.
5.      I guess this particular smell flows only in the air of developing nations especially India. And this is not a smell but a shame for our country. All other smells above are like a free bird. Nobody can control them. But this shameless smell we can definitely stop. This is the perfume of pee on Indian roads. To attend nature’s call some people look for isolated corners and pee on them. As we are Indians so we all follow. As a result the place officially becomes a pee point and gives a distinct character to the place because of its smell.
In this list of developing nations smell, there is another chap which I guess is multiplying and is in race with our “never say die” population growth. The perfume of the swollen, perished, abandoned and decaying garbage. The implied rule in India is that every single piece of the garbage should be outside the garbage warehouse thus converting the whole place in a bin, making a choice for people to throw anywhere or everywhere. As we ourselves create such smell so we anticipate it when crossing a garbage warehouse and clamp our nostrils till the smell stop chasing us.  
6.      The last in the series is a sinful, dead, negative and dreadful smell which is a question in itself. If you want to inhale it, then go and open the drawer or closet where you have stocked medicines for emergency. Or pay a visit to a dispensary, hospital or a chemist. The smell of medicines. Why the smell of medicines which are actually developed to cure human beings makes me even sicker is still mysterious to me.
So these are the dirty, naughty, notorious and infamous brand of smell whose tyranny we have to suffer almost every day. And they are unbearable is no doubt but they have given an opportunity to crazy thinkers of the world to find out their antidotes. There would have been no perfume if there is no sweat and no room freshener if no smell of the dead rat.
Please don’t perceive that as I have given a lot of space to these smells, I like or love them. Like normal people I too wanna inhale and live in scented and healthy air.


 999




The Article was written after being inspired by Brunch (HT magazine).

Feel free To Comment!!!

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Friday, October 8, 2010

"A COMPLETE NONSENSE"



Just a few steps away from my home there is a very famous road in West Delhi called “Sanatan Dharam Road” On the road stand a large Hindu Temple, a beautiful Sikh Gurudwara and a cute Christian Church. The 3 symbols of 3 religions share a common wall with one another. They are like 3 brothers standing next to each other----tall, united and peaceful. If on Sunday the church is bubbling with Christian prayers, then on Gurupurav the Gurudwara organises a lavish “langar” on the famous road where everybody is invited impartially for the feast. And on Janmashtmi, Diwali or other numerous Hindu festivals the temple gets overcrowded with devotees. For secular people like me it’s like a festival which is celebrated round the year. Every religion contributing. Similarly in Mathura (UP), my mother’s birthplace and also Lord Krishna’s, just next to very famous and ancient Krishnajanm-bhoomi we have a mosque which adds to the beauty of the place.
These are just two examples of Secularism which I came across. There will be many. So why, why and why somebody please tell me why we are fighting like cats and dogs and that too wild ones over a tiny piece of land in Ayodhya for not years, not decades but over a half a century???
I don’t want to talk about history and divulge from my point. The point is not that this place belongs to X or it belongs to Y. The point is that a mosque (Babri) was there and in a country where policy makers bark to the world that we are secular how can we even tolerate to allow insane people to demolish the structure just on the assumption that earlier there was a Ram Temple. And if the sin was committed then why sinners were not arrested and punished severely at that time only??
Just think for the moment that many of India’s great monuments are built by Muslim rulers because they rule India for many years. We don’t even know what they broke or what they destroyed to build such magnificent structures which are all world heritage sites today. Tomorrow if somebody stands up and starts shouting that Taj Mahal was built over a place where there was a temple of XYZ God. So are we going to destroy Taj Mahal? Just think!!!!

Do we even know that Babri case has given rise to insecurity among Muslims? It has perpetuated terrorism in India and around the world. The terrorist organizations quote Babri’s example to young boys when turning them anti-Indian and a complete terrorist. Infact many Muslims have started perceiving that India is not for Muslims and the country is trying to erase Islam within it.

In Ayodhya there are lots of mosques and a lot of temples. And the controversial piece of land is so large that it can accommodate both a temple and a mosque. Nobody has the proof that there stood a temple but we all know that Babri was there for centuries and we must believe what we see.
Now what has happened---has happened. To maintain peace and brotherhood either both mosque and a temple should be build there or the land be declared “No man’s Land”. The best solution which I discovered on Facebook is to build a HOSPITAL there for everybody or a GREEN PARK as a symbol of togetherness. The court has to maintain the balance between two sensitive parties; a little extra weight on either side will give politicians another chance to wage riots and violence. Though a SEMIFINAL DECISION has come but some troublemakers are still crying and planning to approach Supreme Court. So the saga has not ended.
PostScript: Common man like you and me is least interested in this non-sense. But we are scared of this decision and expecting riots. The more this country will gossip about religion the least develop we will be!!!!


999

The Article was written on the morning of the HighCourt verdict.
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