The lover in a hooligan

Ever since as a child I admired the role of Radhe in Tere Naam. I have admired the realistic acting of Salman Khan and his role of Radhe. Radhe is a college going rowdy and hooligan who lives with his elder brother and sister-in-law. Although he completed his graduation five years back, yet he is attached to the college and helps office bearers wins elections. Although he engages in brawls and hits up people at times, yet he is not a bad person by heart and that he evident when he fights with a local goon who was trying to molest a mentally unstable girl. He falls in love with a girl and also saves the girl elder sister from a trap in a brothel. He also went to the extent of hitting a government official on duty, who happened to be the girls brother-in-law, not because he wanted the girl but because the husband was a greedy dowry seeker and such a punishment to him was the need of the hour. Because of his generosity, he had become enemies to several goons. Those goons beat him and hit him to a train boggie head-bar several times causing internal brain hemorrhage and ending him to be mentally unstable person. He ends up at a Ashram where he is being tied up with chains and kept like an animal. He recovers and flees from there, but to his astonishment his sees his girlfriend's dead body on the day of her marriage as a disagreement to get married to anybody else than him. He could have led his free life happily, but as a price to his girlfriends death he chose to spend the rest of his life at the Ashram.

This role has several aspects which can be related to most Indian gully boys. We are often misunderstood as hooligans because we are seen strolling around local shops in the evenings. We know how to respect a women and getting into a brawl to save her dignity is not a big issue for us. We are lovers at heart, but are afraid with the fear of getting dejected or with the monetary fear as mostly we are jobless as our parents are incapable to pool in the money required to bribe a fat greedy middleman at the government office.

Most Indian boys have always worshiped Salman bhai because of his personality and generosity for poor. I have also had the experience of saving part of daily pocket money to watch his movie at the local theater. This movie is a blockbuster and most Indian boys could relate themselves to the role of Radhe, if not fully but partially. There was a hidden lover in the face of hooligan and that is how Indian gully boys are, often misunderstood and dejected by the society, yet living like a hero.

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How my parents passed the test

I was then 17 and my 12th board exams were going on. I was sick with jaundice (which got detected after the exams) and heavy fever. I couldn't study. The day before the last exam, which was mathematics I was down with fever. The thermometer read 104 degree Celsius. I had two pills to take care of the fever and which was sufficient to make me feel drowsy. The last thing which I could see before falling asleep was tears on my mother's eyes. I could make out it was because she was worried about my health and my exams.

"You are too sick. You don't need to give your exam tomorrow and you will be taken to a hospital tomorrow," said my mother with the grief that I would be losing a year of my academics.

"Don't worry Maa, please wake me up tomorrow morning. If needed I will crawl to the exam hall. I might fail but I will still appear," I said my words just before I fell asleep.

I woke up and had two more tablets of fever. I reached the hall and soon after the question paper was distributed I started feeling drowsyp. I couldn't fight the sleep and instead fell asleep . I woke up after one and half hour. The exam was already half gone. I turned around to see my best friend in tension. She even cried later. I went to the toilet and washed my face. I sprinkled water upon my eyes so that I could be awake for another ninety minutes.

I saw the paper. It wasn't easy and luckily I knew most of the paper. I had a perfect partnership with the pen and I jolted down 60 marks in the time left. I didn't know the rest or else my pen would have sure been with me till the end. I was sure to pass.

My best friend walked to me and she cried. She didn't want me to lose a year. I assured her that it wouldn't have been so.

As I walked out I saw my father. He was there with sweets and juice. I grabbed some and passed on to my friends. It was the last day of our exams and all my friends had different party plans. I went home, had my lunch and was rushed to the hospital. I was admitted immediately. When most friends of mine were having cuisines, I was there at the hospital with salines. I was detected jaundice, fever and weak liver. I was later taken to Hyderabad for further treatments. The day of results came. I scored 42 out of the 60 that I had attempted and passed with first divisions and later got in to engineering.

My neighbours and relatives complained about my poor performance and also placed their suggestions. Later when I sat with my parents they coined me to be a hero. They were happy that I made it somehow.

I was glad at my parents than at my results. I was glad to have parents who were least bothered about my exams and results. I am proud of my parents. They passed the test. Most Indian parents wouldn't.

To my future child

To my future child,

First of all, if you are able to read this then probably you have grown up and you already have a glimpse of life. Probably you are in a bed of roses or probably life isn't so easy for you now. May be you are fighting with the issues of early teens. Believe me, after half a decade those won't even matter. Three dreams that I want to pass on to you as your dad are -

• Firstly, I want you to love your country. You are born with a debt towards your motherland. You can only overcome the debt when you serve your motherland. Its good if you can be in the army and stand front foot while serving your nation; but if you can't don't be disappointed. Serving the countrymen is as important as serving the frontiers. Make sure you do something that benefits the people of the nation. Be proud because you are an Indian.

• Secondly, it doesn't matter if you are a boy or a girl. I don't know if you are going to be a boy or a girl and it doesn't matter to me even. I want to you to learn to respect a person because of his personality and not because of gender or demography. I don't want to you respect a person because of his gender, religion, caste, community, income group or age. I want you to realize that personality, attitude and thoughts are the real assets of a person. Tangible aspects like demography don't measure a person; but intangible aspects like personality does.

• Thirdly, I want you to know that you must realize the value of money and then you shall realize the importance of hard work. I want you to do smart work so that you be intellectually sound and strong enough to be competent for any challenge. I won't suggest you where to spend but would ask you to think on what you spend.

You shall be a human being, but its up to you to judge 'Being Human'.

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A friendship story

He loved his girl. He proposed and she agreed to marry. The marriage was planned within a fortnight. The boy knew he would be busy with preparations and he handed his dad a list of around fifty friends whom he wanted to be invited for his wedding. His dad said it would be done.

On the day of his wedding he was astonished to see that only eight of his friends were at the wedding. He turned towards his father and asked, "Didn't you send the invitation to all of them?"

"I did, but in a different manner," replied the dad.

"What did you do?" asked his son.

"I said you were kidnapped and somebody needs to be there to help you escape," he replied.

The boy got moisture in his eyes and hugged his friends. He walked to his father to thank him and his father gave him a word of advice as wedding gift, "Live with company, not with crowd. You  need friends beside you, not a crowd mongering around."

A father's advice..

Oh beautiful girl, where are you dwelling around?

there are thorns pass the pine,

be careful, you are too young to realize,

if you slip into them; I shall be stabbed alive..

You are my princess, with a dress and a tiara,

and a beautiful smile that happily stays on you,

you ain't any melancholy; but a carol for me,

for your sake, any sacrifice is worth giving..

A father's advice, that I wish to propagate,

choose by the heart, not by the beauty,

for when winter comes nomads leave and natives live,

you shall meet a prince who shall walk past thorns to thee..

The homemaker hubby

Stereotypes that have been there for ages saying an woman's true place to be in the kitchen and proudly we have been able to drive that out of the society to a great extent. It may be prevalent in the society somewhere in the nooks and corners, but it can be claimed that the era of the stereotype is in the history now.

The next generation stood up to step ahead towards equality where responsibilities and chores of the house were shared equally by the partners and which resulted in a progressive household and also led to higher household income. This trend is still followed in many households. Sharing things brings in respect for each other among the partners and also brings extra moments of love.

There is this new concept of the husband being the homemaker. Yes, I am saying something from the recent bollywood release 'Ki & Ka' starring Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Its actually a great concept for men who have longed to be in the kitchen. Usually men drop out the idea of being in the kitchen with the fear what their neighbours and kin's might think. Social norms have taken out the urge from many men to spend in kitchen. Many men like to do household chores and they long to be near the stove. It is pertinent when after a week of hard work men run to the kitchen on sundays to cook something good for their other half. They find solitude in cooking rather than analyzing excel sheets with data poured in it. Its not only chilling beside the lake with a pint in hand that brings excitement in to a man, but also cooking and doing other household chores. In fact, this new concept has proven that work and gender aren't related at all and everyone in the society has the right to live their life.

What I learned from my mother..

I have grown up in a family where both my parents are working and I have always seen my mother as a dedicated later towards her work. She has never complained and also never skipped work, except on those occasions when it was mandatory to do so. Even after all the responsibilities at work I have never seen her skipped any part of her work at home. She has always ensured that our meals are ready on time and everything that is necessary to keep the house as home. She has perfectly maintained that home and work life balancing.

Often in family gatherings I have seen most women getting engaged in gossiping and bitching. Somehow my mother has always ensured that she stays away from all that. Instead she gets in to those talks which say about future prospects for me or anything other that is constructive. I have never seen her bitch. Even when I ever complained about anyone, she asked to stay calm. As a child when I ever said anything wrong about anyone she used to say me it was a sinful act and automatically I stayed away. Now when I have grown up, she knows that saying it as a sinful act won't keep me away from doing so. So he just says that she doesn't like it when I do so.

I have also learned from her to stop relying on anybody. Even after being a working lady she has never relied upon a helper or a servant. She never minds doing the household chores. When inquired, she says she actually does it as it keeps her healthy. This has influenced me to a great extent and even after having persons around to help I still do my own tasks. The only things that I can't do myself is pressing my clothes and stitching a button back on a shirt. I am sure I shall soon excel in these sectors also.

At my place its purely vegetarian and my mom has been cooking vegetarian food for the past 26 years without the use of any onion and garlic. Often our near and dear ones remain astonished seeing that. I have heard people saying that onion and garlic adds taste to food and meat and fish adds taste to a meal. My mother has proudly proved it wrong and she has always ensured taste in a mean without use of any chicken, fish, ginger or garlic. I am far away from being an expertise in this field.

Bhutan

I have always admired travelling to places that are blessed with nature's presence and filled all around with picturesque beauty. I have admired the beauty of the hills and the serenity. My dream lies in travelling lands that are saturated with picturesque beauty with the company of only a couple of near and dear ones. Peace and serenity is something that I feel is worth paying for always.

Bhutan, a land of monasteries and impregnated with nature is one of my dream destinations. One of the sought after places in the country is the Tiger Nest Monastery. The monastery hangs off at a cliff, above blue pines and rhododendrons. People take can take a pony to some part of the place, but on towards the monastery their is steep walk and narrow roads. The narrow roads take up to a waterfalls nearby through the snow lion cave. This is the place where Guru Rinpoche bought Buddhism to Bhutan on the back of a tigress. Paro valley, which is also an example of God's masterpiece creation is visible from this place.

Tiger Nest Monastery

Paro Valley

The Punakha Dzong, which is the second largest Dzong in the entire country is considered a very sacred place and also considered as a place of utmost happiness. The place is located at a juncture of two rivers, Pho Chu and Mo Chu. Interestingly, both the rivers belong to separate genders. The place is covered with jacaranda trees which bloom on during the entire summer and the place is connected to the mainland through a wooden bridge.

Punakha Dzong

The peak of Zuri Dzong Trek is another worth mentioning site that mesmerized tourists around the globe for hours and hours. The place has also a cave where Budhha came in 8th Century to meditate.

The Phobjikha and Gangtey valley are also places that shall make alive the human inside everyone else. The black necked crane, which is considered as an endangered species is found in this place. A wide range of plant and animal habitat fills around this place and tourists capture unforgettable moments for lifetime during their visit to this place.

Gangtey Valley

A small town with clean environment to catch up for amazing view of a growing culture along with nature is visible well in Phuentsholing. 

Phuentsholing

Bumthang valley is considered the spiritual heartland of the country and there are several ancient and precious religious sites at this place. Temples and apple trees are widely found in this entire region.

Bumthang Valley

Thimphu, the country's capital is a conglomerate of history and modernization. Buildings in Bhutanese architecture are seen there are those are built only up to a certain height.

Thimphu

Thimphu

Wangduephodrang district is the one of the lands where cattle rearing is clearly visible in pastureland's. Also various bamboo handcrafts are made at this place.

Wangduephodrang district

This land is a piece of God's excellent creation and where nature dwells happily. A visit to this land would introduce the people to an extraordinarily remarkable habitat and would also mesmerize the tourists. One can take an album of beautiful pictures away from this place on the visit to this beautiful habitat. 

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What's you last meal..??

In the S01E10 of Prison Break the cop walks over to Lincoln with his meal and hands him over a paper to note down his wish for the last meal before he his electrified. It suddenly got stuck in my head that if God would have asked me about my last meal before my death, then what it would be.

I would prefer a complete vegan meal, because that's the way my parents are having their food for more than two and half decades and their's not even a hairline trace of any non-vegetarian ever at my place. My mom is a fantastic cook and I shall prefer everything that's only cooked by her. I will start with the main course directly and then jump over to the desserts. I will stay away from Indian breads and directly jump to pulao. With pulao I would prefer some arhar dal tadka, which is my classic when my mom cooks over and then just before serving she pours some ghee over it. I would like the meal to be accompanied with all the dishes of paneer that my mom can cook. I have seen her cook so many different dishes and as a child I would be disappointed if any of my meal didn't have any paneer in it. My mom made it sure to have paneer, at least for me in every dish that she cooked. I would like to have paneer butter masala, kadai paneer, paneer burji, shahi paneer, paneer khorma, palak paneer and I shall also be delighted if small pieces of paneer is mixed with the pulao. After that I would like some mixed vegetable sabji. I will also not exclude that jackfruit curry, which my mother cooks. I will also love that sewali (night flowering jasmine) fry, which my mother used to specially cook for my grandfather when he was alive. I will also not leave the traditional boil potato fry. Assamese dishes like mashed potato and roasted brinjals should also be included. Perhaps I will be full after this.

This is not all, I will still long for the dessert. Anyways I shall be ready for bowel disorders, if there were to be any. I won't have to long for a doctor after death. I will prefer kheer and rasgulla's. I will prefer at least 4 to 5 rasgulla's. I will also like rasmalai, as that is the sweet that I remember crying for when my dad used to take to the sweet shops and I never remember him denying for it. 

After all this I will be full and be ready for it. Rather than longing for the great sleep of life, I will be more delighted if I could take a nap for a while and have the entire meal over again.

The pic above is no way what my mother cooks. She can cook far better than that. Obviously I would like to thank the guy who uploaded this after having a good meal, For his sake, I could use it in my blog.