Got the message?

Glancing through an old magazine I came across an advertisement of an Indian telecom giant, inviting everyone to “Karlo Duniya Mutthi Mein” (Hold the world in your hands). Later I came to know that this slogan had brought a revolution in India connecting people through mobile phones as the service was so cheap that everyone was seen holding a cellular phone in his/her hand.

I feel that punchline is more relevant today because everyone is connected through various Apps on social media whether it is Facebook, WhatsApp, BBM, Skype or Twitter.

Thanks to easy reach to smartphones today, everyone is getting connected to more and more people with every passing day. Social media has become so popular across the world that it looks as if no one could live without it.

People have got so involved with the social media that they use the Apps even to communicate with God, at least that is what an ad shows.

The advertisement shows a man who regularly goes to the temple and prays for a smartphone. Finally, when he buys a phone, he gets so engrossed with the Apps that he sends a thank you note to God using WhatsApp.

Got the message or shall I WhatsApp you?

(Published in The Gulf Today on April 26, 2014)

Perfect politician

Since I was born and brought up in the UAE, I had never experienced the gigantic election process that takes place in India every five years. I had only heard about it from my parents and relatives. But for me it remained a boring talk, until I travelled to India recently, when the country was gripped by the election fever.

Surprisingly, I too got interested in politics. Perhaps, watching news on television or listening to everyone discussing about it changed my opinion. Wherever I went, to the market or a tourist place, or while travelling by bus or train, election was the most important matter for the people. I got a lot of time to have a look at the slogans, rallies and the hoardings on roads.

One thing that I specially noticed was speeches delivered by the politicians. Whether the rally was organised by the party in power or by the party in opposition, speeches remained the same, just the words were different.

“We will offer free education to all. We will provide security to women. We will help the poor and needy,” were what they always said.

I was also told that when elections come most of the candidates start supporting the poor. It was nothing but just a way to get maximum number of votes. After winning the elections, they simply forget their promises.

After acquiring so much knowledge on Indian politics, even I got inspired and thought of becoming a politician. I even prepared a speech in which I made a lot of promises.

“I am not going to be corrupt like many others. I would provide security to women. I would provide free education to poor. I would make a lot of developments. And the United Nations will give us the Veto power. Poor won’t remain poor. The economy will be very strong. And the time of my rule will be remembered as the Golden Era.”

“Oh, am I also sounding like the other politicians?”

(Published in The Gulf Today on April 19, 2014)

Reader’s paradise

The walled city area of India’s capital city, Delhi, has a lot of historical landmarks — from the famous Red Fort to the majestic Jama Masjid. Every visitor makes a point to discover more about them. But during my recent trip to Delhi, I discovered a hidden treasure, which was nothing less than a reader’s paradise.

I wish to call it a Reader’s Paradise because this is a place where a reader would get the books of his choice at a very cheap price.

Known as the Sunday Market of Old Books, it is a makeshift bazaar along the pavements of the famous Darya Ganj in Old Delhi. Hundreds of booksellers set up their shops in a row – spreading from the historic Delhi Gate to Jama Masjid, selling many interesting books. From magazines suggesting interior decorations and architecture to books or academic purposes and from comics for children to popular and unique fiction and non-fiction works of famous and not-so-famous authors, one can get anything at a throwaway price.

The market, which runs from dawn to dusk every Sunday, remains crowded the whole day. I was happy to find a number of books of my choice, but I saw many people who had returned to the market in search of their favourite titles.

The first bookstall itself was so rich that I thought of buying every book displayed at the stall. But then I thought it would be better to have a look at other stalls too. By the time we reached the last bookstall and decided to pick up a cab to return home, I had 4-5 packets in my hands full as if going to tear.

It was a ‘Reader’s Paradise’ indeed.

(Published in The Gulf Today on April 12, 2014)

Antidote to anger

I was just looking out of the window when my eyes fell on two men fighting over wrong parking. Suddenly, a school bus stopped by. A few cute children stepped out of the bus with smiles all over their faces.

The men couldn’t ignore and stopped for a while only to notice their beautiful smiles. They were so pleased that they soon forgot all about their fight and started smiling.

I then flashed back to the time when I had a similar experience. Every Friday a few women used to come to our building asking for money on one pretext or the other. We all were very irritated with them.

I always thought that they were so hale and hearty; they should work somewhere to earn their bread and butter.

One Friday I thought of giving them a piece of my mind.

That day I opened the door angrily only to find a surprise for me that changed my attitude. There was a sweet girl with a lovely smile on her face.

I was very pleased. Instead of giving her a piece of my mind, she gave peace to my angry mind.

(Published in The Gulf Today on March 8, 2014)

Challenging attitude

I was awestruck to see a contestant on “Kaun Banega Crorepati,” the Indian version of hit TV game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” winning one round after the other. Being a handicap was not an obstacle for him.

At the end of the game show, he revealed that he had been living with physical deformities ever since his childhood. But he never allowed those physical challenges to pose an obstacle in acquiring success. Today, he is working as a professor at a renowned medical college in India.

“I always had a very challenging attitude, which helped me achieve success in life,” he said.

His inspiring words reminded me of another great Indian, Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance Industries. His journey from a small village boy to a business tycoon was well-presented in his biographical film, Guru.

As I was planning to write about them, my uncle reminded me of NR Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys, well regarded as the Father of Indian IT. With a challenging attitude he established India among the world’s top IT business centres.

While I was writing this piece, I got the news that India’s iconic actor Aamir Khan’s popular TV show “Satyamev Jayate 2” will begin on Sunday (March 2), and the first episode will be dedicated to another iconic Indian figure, Dashrath Manjhi, who single-handedly carved out a road by cutting through a hill in Bihar.

Better known as the Mountain Man, he carved a 360-foot-long and 30-foot-wide path by cutting down a hill upto 25 feet deep. He achieved this insurmountable feat by working day and night for 22 years just because he didn’t want anyone to suffer the fate of his wife, who died due to non-availability of a proper road to a hospital from his village.

I realised that one must challenge the challenges that come his way to keep going till he reaches his goal.

(Published in The Gulf Today on March 1, 2014)

Write path

Many people are fond of giving opinions on everything. On any social networking sites, be it WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter, people keep posting their opinions on something or the other. Even if we have a get-together and we are discussing about something, it is quite easy to find such people who jump in between and give their comments.

They would talk about each and every topic and give their remarks. But if you tell them to write on the same topic and post them on a blog or to send them for publication they would stop.

One of my cousins is a cricket enthusiast. He speaks as if he knows everything about the game. If India lose, he would say that he knows the reason behind it. And if India win, he would explain the finer details of the innings.

Once I asked him, “Why don’t you write on sports for your school magazine?”

“Oh! No, I can’t do it,” he said

Another cousin loves movies. He can talk about them for hours with so much interest that he would never get tired. He speaks with so much conviction that it gives the feeling as if he knows the reasons why a film flopped or why it was a hit with the film-lovers, or how many record the film has set.

When I suggested him to start a blog and share his opinion with others, he fell silent.

Recently, when I informed one of my friends in India about completing a century of articles, she started suggesting me a number of topics to write about.

When I told her it is difficult to remember all that she has suggested during the telephonic conversation and asked her to write a few lines and mail me, she kept mum.

I fail to understand why they shy away. Is it because of the responsibilities that come with writing?

(Published in The Gulf Today on February 22, 2014)