Being a Middle Class Indian : A Curse and a Bane.

Being a Middle Class Indian: A Curse and a Bane

An obese man in his late 30s, riding his scooter with his wife on the pillion & children adjusted somewhere on the undefined parts of the seat is an image of what we portray of a stereotypical middle class family. The head of the family might be wearing a smile on his face but what lies beneath is what we are unaware of. The rent of the house is due, the EMI for the education loan of his children is to be paid and so many little things that are to be cleared out but the spending for the month has already crossed the set budget. This might be the breaking limit of his concern as loans and rents are all he can think of. A stress free life is all he coveted but fortune of a luxurious life is denied to him. Are the middle class people in India restricted to these things and have no other option to bring about a change in their lifestyle?vote bank, small Probably not because fighting to fulfill the daily needs tires him out.

The struggle to get basic facilities is something that refrains the middle class people to strive for what they aspire or in simple words restricts them from dreaming and taking risks. Even one wrong step might paralyze his life & moreover his family would face the perils of his wrong doing.

In India, the common middle class or say the cattle class man is just another vote for the leaders. His life is addendum to the vote bank and his death is just a deduction to it, other than that no one is concerned about him. Just to get his one file cleared he has to loosen up his pocket. At hospitals, where the cost of treatments are reaching sky high now, there is no source for the middle class man to get his treatment done and has to be settled with a low quality treatment instead depending upon his little budget. In order to ensure a prosperous future for his children he even saves a large part of his dwarf sized income.The always rising rate of inflation and fuel hikes aren’t helping his cause dragging him into a spot of bother. Majority of population in India falls in the cattle class which should have been a boon for them but this class is the most vulnerable of all making it a boon of being cursed for them.

The problems faced by the middle class is not new to our society. Even many writers have mentioned the cattle class in their prestigious works. Hindi Contemporary writer Rajesh Joshi in his poem “ITYA-AADI” which means etcetera has written the bitter truth about this class. He said in his poem that the etceteras are the people who are found to be most in number but are also ignored the most in this world. Only the rich people are noticed in this world. All others live and die as “ITYA-AADIs”. This modern day work portrays the truth that we see around us and pretend to be unaware of.

The struggling class as we can also call them forms a faction of people that have to endeavor themselves to do something which they might hate. The Government has plans for the people falling below the poverty line or farmers while the rich pay taxes that help government execute these schemes. The cattle class neither becomes a part of the schemes nor they get other advantages but have to pay taxes instead. Thus this cream of the population falls somewhere in between the rich and the poor. This corroborates the point that the only respite left for them is hard work. The Government should also come up with plans for people like this who have dreams in their eyes but have to let those fall out with the tears. Now can the Government solve the conundrum of this section of the society to secure their future and pull their forgotten dreams out of the abyss and change the flow of tears forcing them backwards?

http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2011/11/being-a-middle-class-indian-a-boon-or-a-curse/

Pit stops in life

Pit stops in life

What are problems??

They are nothing but a bunch of sporadic pit stops that we come across as we progress ahead in the Grand Prix of life. The moment we enter this Earth we become a new entrant to this race inadvertently and the moment we start our engines to race, we are tethered to a set of rules ergo these pit stops are a crucial part of the whole scenario irrespective of what we want. 

From the leaders to laggards, all have to make pit stops during this race, some lose momentum while some gain it but the main thing that decides our new position on the track is the time taken during the pit stop.

If having a problem in life is like entering the pit lane then the time spent solving it during the pit stop will decide our position in the race. Some times we would just forget about everything and wait for that missing 4th nut-bolt to fit into our tyre. This 4th part may take up a lot of our time but the car just wont move an inch ahead without it. We might risk joining the race without that spare part but eventually we are pushed back into the pits with a much more complicated pit stop this time. We then become obstinate and want that 4th nut-bolt but forget about the available replacements. The moment we realise that we rejoin the race, probably at the back, trailing way behind. 

This example of problems in life to an F1 race is to explain that life is an ongoing race and the more time we spend pondering upon problems is the time we lose out on the race track. Sure these pitstops give our life a variable pace but sometimes when we waste time contemplating one issue, we lose interest in the race.

One thing is important, no matter how much time we spend in the pits, the battle out on the track is important. Your rank in this race does not matter because even the participants in an F1 race are handsomely rewarded.

So no matter how many times you enter the pit lane, just make sure you are out of it as soon as possible to finish this Grand Prix of life on the podium.

Sachin Tendulkar

Dear Sachin,

I still remember the time I wished for 2 wickets to fall quickly so that you would come out to bat. 

I still remember the time when I used to fight with my friends when they doubted your credibility.

I still remember the time I entered a never ending euphoria the moment you raised your bat.

I still remember the time when I wished you stayed at the non-striker end because I was scared that you might get out

I still remember the time I held that bat for the first time with a dream to play alongside you one day

And

I will always remember the time you played for my country, made me believe in cricket more than any other religion and brought me vis-a-vis to passion and devotion.

I have become so numb, everything around me stands still because now is the time to bid adieu but there a place in every Indian's heart reserved for a man named Sachin Tendulkar. You made people of this nation love cricket the way they do now

We Love you and the cricket field will never be the same again.

Even after this conformation our eyes will search for that no.10 jersey and that 187 inscribed on your shirt...

Yours Lovingly,

One of the infinite fans that you have...

F.R.I.E.N.D.S - A sitcom that became an obsession

F.R.I.E.N.D.S - A sitcom that became an obsession

In 1994, 6 friends began their journey on the small screen & ended it 10 years later but not before multiplying themselves into millions. This super successful TV series had many viewers & moreover, tons of admirers which helped it reach the place it is today. The always Sarcastic & funny ‘Chandler’ (Matthew Perry), The smart paleontologist ‘Ross’ (David Schwimmer), The hot imbecile actor ‘Joey (Matt Le Blanc), The uncanny blonde ‘Pheobe’ (Lisa Kudrow), The sweet & sexy ‘Rachel’ (Jennifer Aniston) & the scrupulous ‘Monica’ (Courtney Cox) formed the cast of the show.

The show aired its’ 10 seasons & yet we wished there were more. FRIENDS keeps you glued to the TV sets and the popularity of the show can be judged by the fact that the repeats of it are still being shown on TV. The series is a situational comedy which revolves around the lives of 6 friends & how they tackle the various problems in the battlefield of life without drifting the plot away from the genre of the show i.e Comedy. Keeping a smile on their faces they also ensure that it remains there on the face of the audience.

In one decade that belonged to FRIENDS, it changed the orthodox rule of having friends. Everyone now craved to have a group like the one in FRIENDS. Apart from the group, they probably wanted a girl friend as hot as Jennifer Aniston or have a sense of humor as breathtaking as Matthew Perry. The curtain to the show fell in 2004 but the essence of it is still felt in the air. Watching FRIENDS is still as enjoyable as used to be before. But we, the die-hard fans won’t mind if a season 11 comes showing their lives 8 years from where the story ended.

Possible things that we would love in the new season would be Chandler & Monica facing a financial crisis which lands them back to the famous apartment of FRIENDS which is there in all the seasons. Joey despite growing old is still single and living his Casanova life, the “How You Doin’ ” of his is still as charming as ever. Rachel & Ross are married but still have that empty void that can only be filled by the group. Phoebe who was married to Mike is feeling lonely as Mike stays out most of the time after being a famous pianist. These circumstances lands up all of them together again to “Central Perk” where it all began.

Over the years after FRIENDS went off air, many sitcoms were made and were hits as well but still FRIENDS remained the quintessential sitcom. Even after watching the repeats it feels as if it’s your first glimpse at the episode. The joke you heard so many times that you can even consider giving a title of a cliché, sounds incredibly funny just because it was from Chandler. Some people (like me) are really obsessed by this TV series & would want this to be immortal. A new episode of FRIENDS everyday is something that will be similar to oxygen for my body.

http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2011/11/f-r-i-e-n-d-s-a-sitcom-that-became-an-obsession/

End of an era...is it??

As I walked into the stadium last night, I was prepared to witness the end of an era. The level of excitement was at its pinnacle but It wasn't the only emotion that my heart exuded. There was a fear running inside me, I was scared, scared of the fact that this is the last time. This is the end. I should call myself and the 26,000 other people present there lucky but I would restrain myself from doing that. We would have been lucky if we got what we wished for. I personally wished that this era continued in the same flamboyant way as it has been but the luck was just not on my side.

Yesterday I saw two of my heroes, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, take guard for the very last time in coloured uniforms, together. The relevance of their last appearance was resonant from the large turn up at the stadium and the copious amount of emotions that pervaded the air were palpable. As both the legends walked onto the field to bat in their respective innings, the loud cheers in the ground were in immeasurable decibels, yet nothing less than a symphony to the ears. 

For the 20 years that I have known and played this game, the only answer to 'What is Cricket according to you?' was, a game played by Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and thousands other players who would come and go. The time they both were at the crease yesterday made me nostalgic, all those times I sat in front of the TV and cheered for them were right in front of my eyes. The ovations they received from the crowd gave me chills, they gave me goosebumps.

There is an expiration date to almost everything that exists on this Earth but for some obvious reasons I evaded the printed dates on these two products. 

Though Sachin Tendulkar will still be seen in whites, Rahul Dravid will never be seen on the field again.

You made me love Cricket the way I do now and I will always be your biggest fan.

The world of Cricket will miss you the way no one has ever missed anyone before.

Navratras - The never ending fad

Navratras

Today is the first day of the sacrosanct Navratras which binds us, the omnivores, to give up flesh for a while. During the next 9 days we would be voluntarily creating a famine of non veg, thus making it covetable after this period. But do all of us believe in the sanctity of these auspicious 9 days?

Many of us do it because of the fear of God, some do it to not offend their religious parents while some do it to preserve an image in the social groups they belong to.

We give up on meat because we might feel that God is watching us all and he might reprimand us for this act of cruelty but how can we be sure that God is only active during these 9 days. If having flesh is an act of cruelty for 9 days, then it must be the same through out the year. 

But this is a fad in our society and it will certainly remain one for a very long time.

If you are a flesh eater then giving up for 9 days wont make a difference. Sure, people do it because of their faith but in reality you are either a vegetarian or not, this is just an act of faith but it wont make any difference because God has created you and he will love you despite your    preference in food. 

The Tiger on which the Goddess sits is a carnivore and would starve to death if not given flesh for 9 days. 

THINK!!!!

The Perforated Sheet

THE PERFORATED SHEET

Amidst a trillion,

We are more than a billion.

Amidst that billion,

One man stood alone to make the ends meet,

But what he saw,

Was a life through the perforated sheet.

He saw her getting married during her teen,

He protested this enigma,

But this is how it has always been.

Completely baffled from head to his feet,

What he didn’t realize,

He was seeing life through the perforated sheet.

She was a goddess, worshipped by all,

During the day, on top of this world;

But at night suffered a massive fall

Abused, beaten & bruised to death;

She was helpless & fettered,

& was made to pay even for her single breath

He visited her with a sympathetic greet;

Advising her to revolt, but forgot;

He was seeing life through the perforated sheet.

She wants to read, she wants to learn;

She dreams to be educated,

But has been told to wait for her turn

This wait might never end,

Her turn will never come.

& so, inside;

He has developed immense heat.

But was stymied by one thing,

He was seeing life through the perforated sheet.

She wants to fly like a bird;

She sets the flight, touches the sky,

& brought back to the tether of a turd

She faces a crime which is a national shame;

Her life now is not easy,

Her life now is not the same.

He is now suffocated,

He raised his voice against this turd;

But was brutally beaten on the street,

What suddenly flashed across his mind,

He was seeing life through the perforated sheet.

He is tired;

He is vexed,

No more interested in that hole,

As it leaves him depressed

He wants her world to be free,

No more pores in the canvas,

He wished she lives with glee.

He tried to make the two ends meet;

But the truth is,

The thing that pall this nation,

Is this perforated sheet