Vasai Beach

Once, four friends went to a desolate beach on a weekday afternoon.  The sand was hot, and the only sign of civilization was a white washed village far of in the distance. They decided to take a walk along the beach, even though the heat was penetrating through the soles of their shoes. There was no point in turning back now, as the rickshaw driver that reluctantly dropped them off had left a long time ago. As they walked along this narrow yet long stretch of beach, they came upon an island; a small island cut off from the mainland by a few meters of water only two and a half feet deep.  The island was broad and had vegetation growing on it. The sand looked firm and had shells on the far end. It was almost as if it was calling out to them.  So they decided to wade through the knee deep water and check out the island. It was better than it looked.  Not only were there colourful shells at the far end, but the sand was a bit damp and hence much cooler. They enjoyed their time out there. They sat and watched the sea and flung sand balls at each other. But as time passed, they noticed something a bit odd: the island was shrinking in size! They jumped up and made a dash for the ever widening channel. They were dumbfounded! How could this have happened?  One moment they were digging the foundation for a sand castle, and the next, they were frantically scouting the edge for a shallow point to get back to the main land! They finally narrowed down on one place, and started to walk, and then invariably swim across to the other side. When they finally reached the other side, they were all wet, their wallets were drenched and their phones had all but conked out. They found a large log, a few meters away from where they landed, and used it to dry their shoes, and socks, and money. After hopping around in the hot sand they found some solace under the shade of a casuarinas tree.  There, the four friends rested, and talked. They talked about the day they just had. They talked about the days gone by and the days to come. They planned their future, and they buried the past. They talked for a long time, but not too long, as they had another adventure lying ahead of them; they had to hit the main road, before it was too late.

A note to all NRIs

Remember the bad roads, the frequent power cuts and the pan stains all over the place?

Ever remember sitting down with friends, over a cutting, to discuss these topics, and how you’ll were going to change India for the better?

Ever remember the fresh tea & hot vadapao, during the cold rains?

Or the buttery parathas, at that dhaba, you used to frequent so often?

What about the friendly people, as warm as the weather and as chatty as the rains, who are ready to talk about anything under the sun?

Do you wish you could have the best of both the worlds?

Do you think you can solve any problems faced by your fellow NRIs?

Brace your self, for a chance to do what you’ve always wanted to do; make a difference to India and Indians across the world.

Attend Pravasi Bharatyia Divas. In Delhi on 9^th January 2011.

abhay: Explore. Dream. Discover.

abhay: Explore. Dream. Discover.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

-Mark Twain

That being said, why don't you go the distance, and break free from your routine.

You can always jump in your Aria, and go on long road trips; our country is a vast & diverse one.

You can cover greater distances, by cruising down our numerous national highways.

You can either travel with friends.

OR

You can drive with just some great music to keep you company.

You can drive all day (but wear goggles; protect your eyes).

OR

You can drive all night.

But the question still remains: will you be back by Monday morning, or will you continue to Explore, Dream & discover?

Railway Rhapsody

Railway Rhapsody

My name is Abhay and I hail from Andheri
When I reach college I’m in a real big flurry
When its time to enter my Churchgate fast,
It’s mostly me who gets in last
So that means I got to stand right next to the door
Which is a ticket to the coffin floor.
Now I don mean to brag, but,
When I flex my muscle,
The other dudes in the train don want to tussle.
But some times when I’m gagged against one of the walls,
I got some guys brief case probing my balls
I just take a look back, beyond the grill,
To see there aint nothing but people until the window sill
I manage to spot an empty seat,
But every body’s eyeing it like a piece a meat.
One guy steps on another guy’s toe
The latter calls the former a bloody hoe.
They get into a fight……
And this my friends… is a real common sight
This guy takes out a symbol and starts to sing a hymn
so I wonder, “What’s up with him?”
Now, when we reach grant road and almost every body goes,
The empty seats start to blossom like a rose.
Now, I sit for 2 stations but I stand for 4
My mom says it’s ok as long as it’s not next to the door
But some times, I have to commit this hideous crime
When I’m pressed for time
Coz after the 7:24 comes the 7:42
So what do you suppose I should do?
Now when it’s time to get back to my crib
I have to do it at the risk of my rib
coz, some times when I get into that borivily fast
And 6:30 has already past,
There are so many people in that carriage,
That you’ll find less people at a Indian marriage
Now all of you’ll who agree
That you’ll are in a similar situation as me
Put you’re hands up in the air
If for Bombay’s railway system you care.
Coz I say that we unite
And put up a big fat fight.
And demand that you be treated like a human

And shout that the railway need’s some groomin.

Extentions of man

Ever since the beginning we have had the need to send and receive communinication through all of our senses. Talk through our mouth listen through our ears see through our eyes and show gestures through our body actions. But as society progressed and expanded these natural tools of communication were not enough to convey a message so we adapted to that by coming up with tools to help expand our ideas to a far and wide audience by coming out with the written word(which later evolved into the typed word after the invention of Guttenberg’s press). Later on we needed to expand our voice over a larger area….to people half way across the globe. So the radio was invented to enhance the speaker’s voice. But then these were only one way communications. The sender needed a feed back immediately, so people started to use the telephone in order to enhance their voice and hearing.
Sometime audio just isn’t enough to convey a message and the press did not have such an immediate reach as the radio did; the sender needed to use audio and visual to convey his/her message. So, the TV was invented and once people saw the power of TV and how it could enhance their vision to see some one else in a far of land in a different time, they got addicted hook, line and sinker.
After TV had a good reign over the public for over half a century, there came another media which gave us wings…no not wings but tentacles. Tentacles, of an unlimited kind (so we could have a tentacle in each pie). Yes I’m talking about the internet. When I’m gaming online I can be who ever I want to be, I can live out my dream of being a warlock or I can rule the world…all on my tiny computer screen. Anyone can have that wonderful feeling of power just by being a moderator on an Orkut community. This friend of mine once told me that he does not have a TV at home and he doesn’t even get any news papers. So I told him, “man you’re totally cut of from the rest of the world”. He replied by saying, “I have internet at home so I’m connected to the parts of the world choose to be connected to not just those narrow bits of the world that your newspaper editor/TV channel connects you to but the whole world who wishes to be on the net. You see, there’s no middle man involved here!”
Then after the internet we as a species stepped into the wireless age; we have all (more or less) become telepathic. Any time I want I just have to take out this tiny device from my pocket and enhance my voice and hearing to interact with any of my friends. Basically the cell phone is the ultimate extension of our senses. We have become so dependent on this tiny but major extension of our ears and mouth that our world would come crashing down without it. We have now become slaves to our cell phones we depend on it to know about our lectures, we depend on it to co-ordinate between each other while working on a group project. Cell phones have become such an important form of communication that if the networks are down then so are we. People are as good as deaf mutes if there cell phones are not working.