Power - Politics

Tomorrow I am going to exercise my right to vote, and give the power  to represent my constituency and to rule my country to some politician. So tomorrow is the day when a common man like me becomes all powerful..say as if in a fantasy story..

I wanted to share my ideas about  power  and publicity..

Just today evening , me and my family friends had an interesting discussion about the ongoing elections and to which party should our votes go. It was highly interesting to see people’s power so alive and in action!!!  How much ever you dislike our ruling system, you have to admire it, atleast the day before elections!

We think that the candidates who get elected will get all the ruling power ..but the reality is indeed very different. Publicity  and power usually do not go together..You get a choice, either you can be popular or you can be powerful..you don’t get to be an allrounder. I had the chance to meet one such person who chose to be powerful. When  you talk with such people, you get amazed by the amount of control they have over these so called rulers of the country. Whichever party comes to power, its always a puppet government and a puppet PM…There are vested interests which control  all kinds of politicians even without entering political battlefield. I m not saying that our MPs don’t have any saying about the ruling,  they do have freedom, but there is a limit..

In a way, it is right for the powerful people to not to lead a public life, since too much power attracts too many enemies..isn’t it?  I m always fascinated by powerful people..how they gain  power, how they  manipulate it and how they lose it…I d like to give examples of godfather novel or the Tristan betrayal by Robert Ludlum and many many other examples all stating the same..Power is not present in the hands of popular leaders..

So as I vote tomorrow, I know that  I will be the all powerful man..i hope you also will vote and experience the feeling of being supremely powerful! ;)

Obese-session

This blog is about the side effects of over eating.

I have to mention  the words which made me think deeply about this problem. One of my close friends explained it in a very thought provoking way. He said that how ironic it is that people blame you if you smoke or drink that you are destroying your health but they fail to recognize that over eating is  also equally dangerous…..infact if you tell somebody that he is eating too much it is taken as an offense! Actually I have seen people encouraging others and themselves to eat more ,eventhough they know that it is going to affect their health. I m sure each of you have experienced this during various functions and festivals.

It all has a reason I think ,buried deep in the sands of time, most probably during evolution of humankind for the survival of the species we developed this storage capacities inside us ,so that we could survive during winter or any unfavourable climate not allowing us to hunt for food. Over eating was a means of survival then. But as the time progressed, humans evolved to be the most intelligent creatures on the earth. Humans stopped hunting ,started agriculture and animal husbandry. So food was available during difficult times also as we had invented storage methods to preserve food. But as they say, Old habits die hard..although our workload came down, we continued to follow the old habit of overeating. The practice which was a boon to us now turned as a bane. It lead to the problem of obesity, the king of all diseases I would say, as it is the most common problem affecting people now and figures as a risk factor in hundreds of life threatening diseases. So I think it is that old subconscious survival instinct which makes people angry when they are told that they eat too much. Most of them don’t like to listen to anybody else ,say that they have right to eat as much as they want to. Yes is my answer to them, but I’d like to add that you should exactly know how much do you want. Over eating is comparable to greed in a strange way…

Tongue, a important organ for this topic. Sooo many delicacies are invented every year, so many lost recipes re-discovered, just for the sake of this 4 inch long piece of complex tissue! We almost forget that eating is a minor part in the process of acquiring nutrition. But all the importance is given to TASTE. Interestingly we find fatty foods more tasty, again the work of subconscious instinct..

It sounds so strange , that we spend hours cooking for a particular dish which we finish within minutes. Also that whatever we eat, is the same stuff after it passes to our stomach..strange way of nature to ensure equality! I despise people who gobble up whatever is put in front of them. Eating is also an art…If you learn to enjoy the food properly, you notice that your intake becomes less!

So the conclusion is that , enjoy each bit of food that you take in thoroughly..please don’t eat more than what you think you need. Understand that over eating also is equally bad as smoking or drinking. Lets make ourselves free from this obsession.

Silent Survival

FICTION

Today is the day..I was thinking. This was the day for which  had been waiting for..The selection for army .It was my  childhood  dream to join the army  and serve the nation. So I had finished my studies and had applied for this opportunity. We were made to sit on the sports stadium .We were eagerly waiting for the exercises to begin. I have to say  that I am physically very strong. I had been preparing for this moment from years .I had everything an army man should have. I was very sure that I will get selected.

I looked around looking for the aspirants .All were young men like me physically strong. Then I saw this guy. He was a bit short but very well built. He was standing apart from others, alone… He had a cold determination in his eyes. I was sure he would give a tough competition for me. I went and stood beside him and said hi…

He turned and smiled …but didn’t say anything. It was OK with me. We had just met anyway. But I was sure I wanted him as my friend. Then An officer came and said the selection would start now..

I tried to be confident ,trying to stretch my muscles so that I could perform well. While I was getting ready I saw him coming towards me. Again he smiled and raised a thumb..I also told him all the best.

Then the drill began..We had to do lot of physically straining exercises. Lot of people fell to the ground because of the scorching heat but  I didn’t flinch..I knew this would be there and had prepared well. I noticed my new friend also had prepared well. He also passed all of the physical hurdles.

Then came the tough part..We were made to stand in a straight line. We were standing in attention heads held high. The commander  came, looking closely at us, asking questions. He had a stammering voice , I observed. He was the one who would select the best of us. I looked at my new friend ,who was standing in front of me, saw him sweating, with a concerned look in his eyes. I wondered what he was thinking.

The commander came towards him. He asked him .’wwwww..what’s ur nnnnnnname? ,wwwwwwhy ddddo yyyyyyou want to join ttttttthe arr arr arrrrmy?’

For my utter disbelief ,he didn’t answer the question…! I was so surprised. I knew he very much wanted to answer the question but he was not doing it. I wondered what was wrong with him. I thought he was dumb or so..

The commander got irritated asked the same question again..still no answer…Commander was furious..He said “ddddo yyyou think mmme as annn idiot?  Annnswer mmme or st st st strip and run arrr around  th tht th the stadium ten timesssss and  th th ththen do 1000 push ups.”

Again he didn’t answer but started to strip!..He ran 10 rounds around the stadium in chaddi…! Then he started to do push ups..He was tired, I could clearly see but he didn’t bother..He did 400 push ups, then collapsed..exhausted.

The commander was amused and impressed at the same time, he told his officer to give first aid and make sure that this person was selected.

Next my turn came, I answered his questions properly without even flinching a bit…I was afraid if I’d flinch, he’d take it as personal insult for his stammering. He was impressed with my answers. He told his officer to include me in the selection…

I was so happy that I had achieved my goal…I was selected to the army!!

I met him once again in the train, he was sitting in the birth next to me, we were posted to the border area..I asked him immediately. “Man are you mad ? why didn’t you answer him that day? You dumb or something?

He smiled and said.. ”nnnno mmmmy nnnname is rrrrrrrraju..dddddo you think ththththat he wwwwould hhhhav ssssselected mmmme ifff I ha hahad answered?”

Once again I was shocked! i couldn’t suppress a smile at the whole event. Its surprising how things turn out at the end..isnt it??

 

The end which wasn't

I m sweating a lot.. I realise..I look up and see the bright burning sun..I m heading towards a very high peak..which one??? its all a little hazy...too much of sun can do that to you.I look around. There are many big rocks seen at a distance,tall grass surrounds me .Its brown in colour ..so it must be summer time then, I tell to myself.

HEY HEY HEY !!!! am I alone????

How did I end up in this place?? Where on the earth am I? I remember myself and my friends starting to climb yesterday morning.Since the climb was very tough  we decided to climb the mountain slowly, We took rest near the starting of the steep climb yesterday night.I dont know what happened next.....

Come on think you Idiot !!!,I try to remember furiously ...but I m still blank..

May be they left me here and moved forward...but WHY?? what had happened..?

My survival instinct gets activated.I see my bag lying besides me.I take the bag and rummage through it. I find a water bottle and drink from it.Uff...! so tiring it is... I think

Oh SHIT!!! that was the only bottle of water I had! What should I do next?? I suddenly get worried.I should move on and try to find my partners I decide..Thats the only way I can survive.

I gather all my items and start climbing up.Disturbing thoughts occupy my head but I forcefully move the m away and try to think about the task in hand.The cliff looks so high and I m right at the middle of the journey,I cant go back also..So Slowly I continue my climb

I feel sweat trickling through my face.I try to put my tongue out and try to catch that drop because I m so thirsty now.I need some water but around me is a very dry land with grass.Hmm I can try eating grass I think.I try to remove the grass nearby.It seems so difficult because I m so tired.Ouch! the grass has cut through my fingers...! I now learn that mountain grasses can be so sharp.Bright red blood oozes out of the wound.I try to lick the wound hoping to get some moisture to tongue..but its not of any use..My mouth is so dry,tongue feels sticky and then there is the metallic taste of blood.I try second time to remove the grass by bending it and the top most part comes in my hands.I look for any signs of moisture in that but it also looks depressingly dry.Anyway lets try ..I put in into my mouth and try to eat.

Aaaaaah! I cry...the grass has cut through my tongue! It pains like hell..And I can feel thick sticky blood pouring into my mouth.I feel dizzy,I start to cry like a baby..I m alone here help me!! I try to scream but I cant..You cant scream when your mouth is full of blood beleive me!

I try to swallow the blood but It kinda sticks to my throat..I curse myself for coming to this hell.

Then I start to move forward but everything around me starts to roll..I unsteadily move some steps and collapse to ground.Even my breath feels so dry.

Then I realise that i m not going to make it..Yes this is how its gonna end.Oh my God! I m going to die inch by inch ..

Then there is a rush of energy inside me..I get up and move upwards and I move for 10 more minutes,then I collapse again.I realise I m at the edge of a steep cliff.My knees are bleeding I realise and I feel like crying again.Does my life had to end like this? I think.

Again the world starts rolling ..I try to walk but suddenly I cant find anything to step on..

I realise I m falling down...down... down...

THUD!!!!

I suddenly get up from my bed! I m sweating throughout....I get up and move towards fridge.

I get the water bottle  and drink..water is so cool..so soothing ..so refreshing...

.........................................Water is the elixir of life...................................................

My God ,it was one helluva nightmare!!!!

one more trek..one more piece of heaven.....

Why is it so that I get restless when I stay away from forests just for few weeks? I've started to wonder now...What is so special about trekking which makes me feel so happy when i m doing it and terribly depressed when I m not in action? I have no clue...

It wasn't the same from childhood..i started trekking only after I was in high school..I didn't find it very interesting for the first time to be truthful,I thought it was too tough for me.but still, there was this strange attraction whenever I saw these mountains and ghats.I still donot know what kind of attraction it is, but there is something in these mountains which calls me whenever I get a chance to look at them..I would like to quote the famous mountaineer george mallory here.He lived during early part of 20th century,He tried to climb Mount Everest more than 20 times unsuccessfully.somebody asked him why he tried so many times to climb that mountain.His answer was simple,'beacuse it's there' . I m sure if there are any trekkers reading this they will understand it perfectly.By the way mallory died midway on his  expedition to climb Everest in 1924.

Well this blog was supposed to be about trekking to Amedikkel, a mountain in the western ghats,but today I am remenescing about my own reasons for going to these places let me talk about them first,the adventure at Amedikkel will come later.

I am a medical student and I am a reasonable guy.I know that going to forests is dangerous.

I know many deadly diseases spread by bugs which are only seen in the jungle.I know that there are poisonous snakes crawling around and I know the effects of their venomous bite.I know that I am succeptible to many more life threatening situations there.So it looks very unreasonable of me to go there right?

Here are few reasons which I think make me go to these places:

The Western ghats are amazing places believe me! once you climb on top of these mountains you get to see how beautiful the planet earth is...I have seen some views wich I m sure I wont see again.Its like you stand at gateway of heaven.The blue sky,green forests,sea of clouds and the red sun..Its like a painting by the god himself.I have felt the presence of a universal force or a supreme power at those places,especially during sunrise and sunset. I cant explain it using words,you better see it to believe it! I would say that sun is the greatest god I have ever seen..;)

When you see it there you feel like laughing and you feel like crying and you talk all nonsense stuff! It happened the same way with all the different people who came with me to these places.These are the views which are not to be missed in life..

Its said that during times of distress and exertion we find our best friends.It has been very true in my case.I have made very valuable friends during these journeys.The sweltering heat,burning sun makes way for lasting friendships! while climbing together you tend to see strength and weaknesses of your partners.so you know them very well at the end!

And one more important thing is to know about the value of your own life.You tend to get angry that you failed in an exam or that your parents dont listen to you or that you feel you are very useless person and your life is a waste.I also get this feeling many times.But one thing I realised during all these trekkings is human life is sacred.You better not call it a waste!

You realise your heart is pumping blood like a big generator machine!your body is sweating like anything!your muscles are working overtime!All to preserve the special gift called life...The bland Idli which makes you nauseate becomes the most delicious food when you eat it during trekking when you are really hungry.you notice that you got scratchwounds in your arm

but it doesnt matter because your mind is the ultimate controller.If you want to climb a mountain really believe me you can climb it ! Half the climbing is over when you decide firmly!

thats what I have found out I dont know whether others will agree or not.

And then there is photography which is one of my favourite hobby which makes me go and see new places..

There may be a genetic predisposition in my case which makes me succeptible to the charm of western ghats ;).My grandfather spent most of his life time travelling through ghats.He was managing cardamom estates there.While I was a small kid I used to listen to him telling stories about his adventures in the forests and all..It had a profound effect on my thinking I suppose..

There are still more reasons which I want to tell but I m afraid time's running out..some other time I will tell more about this..So thats it for today dear reader :)