Presenting the all new IndiVine 2.0

I believe one of the coolest feature of IndiBlogger is IndiVine. Here we can easily find some real nice blogposts on highly relevant topics.
However, there is no way to know the quality of the post without reading it. Here, I believe posts are stacked as they come and get accepted... So, its very important that such a feature is added to it, which allows the better posts to reach the top of the stack.

This is how I started a dicussion on Indiblogger forums a couple of months backs, suggesting the Indiblogger team to come up with an improved version of IndiVine.

Renie Ravin, the man behind Indiblogger replied promptly

Vipul, I'm really glad you brought this up at this time - we have had IndiRank on our must-revamp list for some time now. I love the direction of your thoughts, and I'd love to see the suggestions from other bloggers as well.

and with that started the suggestions from other Indibloggers and further inputs from my side as Renie and his team started implementing the changes.

Finally, on August 19, 2009; the Indiblogger team has revealed the all new Indivine 2.0 and it looks really interesting.

I must thank Renie for acknowledging my contribution towards this effort on the forum

A special thanks to Vipul Grover and the gang who pushed us to do this. Personally, I think it's something IndiBlogger badly needed - a fact I never would have realized if not for the forum!

and the F.A.Q.'s and Indiblogger's official blog as well.

IndiVine in it's present avatar is a direct result of the collaboration among bloggers on the forum, where Vipul Grover and all the usual suspects decided how it should be in order to help the Indian blogging community.

Its always nice and easy to make some random sugestions and take the credit, while the real hardwork of implementing them is done by someone else. So, I must congratulate Indiblogger team and thank them for doing a great service to the Indian blogging community.

Well, I have already added 43 of my 67 posts on the IndiVine and I don't have to wait for the moderators acceptance as earlier. All my posts went live as soon as I hit the 'Enter'.

Now what are the other cool features of IndiVine 2.0, you must be wondering.
Well, for one, now there are a lot more categories and sub-categories under which you may add your blog-post.
But the coolest feature is the fact that you can vote for the posts you like reading and push them up the queue. Voting score, a post gets is partially dependent on the the submitter's IndiRank; so higher your Rank, higher score, you'll get each time someone votes for your post.
Other than that on the sidebar of IndiVine page, there is a widget showing the top contributors to IndiVine. Presently, I rule the roost thanks to the recent submissions. Lets see for how long I can stay there.
On the sidebar, there are also the trending topics, the legacy of the old IndiVine.
Moreover, you can choose to see the latest post submissions as well as the most popular ones on the IndiVine.
And if you find any post in the wrong category, obscene or plagiarized, you may also report it to the moderators in just a couple of clicks.

For any further queries visit the F.A.Q.'s and for any further questions, reporting of any bugs or suggestions for improvements like adding new categories or sub-categories, visit the forum. And as Renie says

Freak out and fill up the categories with your blog posts - and vote away!

Talking of the vote, do not forget to vote for my posts if you like them.

Further talking of the votes, I must inform you that I also nominated my blog for Indiblogger of the Month award for the month of August, 2009. This month, the category is Original Literature - Short Stories. So, whenever, the voting begins, do consider my blog while exercising your Indiblogger enfranchisement.

Before leaving, I must thank Indian Pundit for giving me the Humane Award yesterday. He describes Humane as being characterized by kindness, mercy, or compassion; marked by an emphasis on humanistic values and concerns.
Also Shankar gave me the Beautiful Blogger Award recently and endowed me the title of Reflector for (my) great reflections and reviews about various topics. Thanks buddy.
You can see both the awards on my sidebar widget Fellow Bloggers' Affection Reflected.

And last but not the least, I must congratulate a dear F.B., Shilpa Garg on reaching her Diamond Jubilee post.

Image Courtesy:
http://www.indiblogger.in/ (original)

The Four Seasons

I reluctantly offered her my umbrella as the rain fell on the scorching earth. She bluntly declined. We had met few months back as the flowers bloomed everywhere. However, things started falling apart as we shed all pretences like the leaves of trees outside. Today, I sit huddled all alone and unexpectedly, it feels great.

On reaching my 55^th post, I decided to publish my first 55 Fiction; as soon as I got free from the phone calls that I have been receiving thanks to my Birthday. Yeah, its right, I turn 24 today, theoretically just a year away from exiting the Brahmacharya Asharam according to the Vedas. Well here's a special scoop for my readers and you must keep it to yourself - this work of fiction is loosely based on my own life *wink* - so if I keep rejoicing loosing a girl, like in this story, then on practical terms, it seems difficult for me to move out of Brahmacharya into Grahasta Ashram, right?

55 Fiction is a short story of just 55 words; a big hit on the Blogging circuit these days. Read this article on Wikipedia to know more about it. I had visited some Blogging community (I fail to recall which one) which was holding a contest of 55-ers and I liked the concept. However, it was Dhiman who recently attempted a 55-er on his blog and hence, I decided to attempt one for myself. I wrote it some days back but was waiting for this 55^th post. Co-incidentally, my Blogger buddy, Shilpa too posted one, about an hour ago.

The Four Seasons had been actually conceptualised by me as a full blown story, some time back. However, writing it in just 55 words made my job a lot easier as well as pretty difficult at the same time. All in all, it was fun and took about half an hour to complete, with minor modifications later on.

Try one for yourself and do not forget to leave a link in my comments' section. However, before that; do tell me, how was my first attempt and also in case you have the time, write your interpretation of this story briefly. This will help me in gauging, if I could convey it properly despite the shortage of words.

And before I sign off, here's the cake and the bouquet that got delivered to my place at midnight, thanks to my dearest friend and rakhi sister, Rachna. (Thanks a lot dear!)

Images Courtesy:
1. http://www.edupics.com; http://www.supercoloring.com; http://www.craftelf.com and http://mtblog.newyorker.com (edited)
2. Self Photographed (edited)

The Epic 'Untagging' Post - I

Irrelevant to this post, this image talks about my rising popularity. Men will be men, you see!

Jul 7, 2009; 04:45 a.m.

Finally, I decided to untag myself of all the tags that have accumulated since last 10 days or so. There are four in all but I'll be posting them all together; once they are done, in a day, in a couple of days, in a week or in a month, I have no idea! So I'll be applying a time stamp to each of them.

[Update (Jul 11, 2009) : I ended up posting only three in this post]

I hope they help you to know me better, i.e. if you decide to waste your time reading them ;)


Jul 7, 2009; 05:00 a.m.

TAG-I

This first one, rather the latest one is from Subhayan "Wrahool" Mukerjee, who tagged me on Jul 5, 2009.

1. How tall are you barefoot?
Just above 5'11''

2. Have you ever smoked before?
Tried half a dozen times just for fun sake.. Coughed at the very first puff every time :)

3. Do you own a gun?
Not a gun, but a pen. As they say, "A pen is mightier than the gun."

4. If you had a mental disorder, what would it be?
Blogging is one, I believe!

5. How many letters are in your crush's name?
No crush these days. Or maybe, if you consider Deepika Padukone, then the answer is 7. But she's not a serious one, like Kareena was till she chose Saifu over my cousin Shahid. Let it be, no crush these days only.

6. What's your favourite silly song?
My self written song - I wrote it when I was a kid, imagining Govinda and Karishma(she was not Kari's'ma back then) dancing on it- It went like

छोडूं ना, छोडूं ना,
मैं तेरा पीछा छोडूं ना।
मैं तेरा राजा, तू मेरी रानी,
आजा बनाएं इक प्रेम कहानी।

It would have been fun, if I could tell you the tune too:)

7. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Juice, i.e. if I wake up in the morning, which is rare.

8. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
Tarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah Time! (Now that was at half past eight after a nap in the evening and TMKOC on Sab TV is on my must watch list.)

9. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?
I wish I knew it for myself :(

10. Do you own a knife?
No, we employ our finger nails for cutting vegetables and stuff at home.

11. Name the last thing you have bought today.
Its been just 5 hours since the day started and I do not visit the market that late or should I say that early?

12. Name five drinks you regularly drink.
Water; Orange Juice, Guava Juice, Pomegranate Juice, Mixed Fruit Juice, Litchi Juice, in short any Real juice. Now, if you are waiting for Milk, Tea or Coffee, then I'll have to say that I don't drink them regularly. However when I drink milk, I prefer Cold Coffee. And yeah I drink soft-drinks only occasionally.

13. What time did you wake up today?
I haven't slept as yet! As for yesterday, it was half past one in the afternoon. Hopefully, I will beat it today;)

14. What song do you want played at your funeral?
I'll prefer none.

15. What song did you last hear?
Just went downstairs to watch T.V. Wasted some time watching a useless movie 'Iqrar by Chance' on Zee Premiere. Heard two forgetable songs in the process.

16. Favourite place to be?
Alone in my room.

17. Least favourite place to be?
Out under the summer sun.

18. Do you own slippers?
I neither walk barefoot at home, nor in shoes, nor in Gandhi chappals. In short, I do own slippers!

19. Where do you think you'll be in 10 yrs?
I have stopped thinking about that.

20. Do you burn or tan?
C'mon I am not a firangi.

21. Yellow and blue?
Sun and Sky

22. What songs do you sing in the shower?
Multitude of Songs!

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
A Ghost from the nearby cemetry. Chandigarh's oldest cemetry is situated less than a minute flying distance, i.e. if the spirits fly at a rate of about 60 kmph.

24. What's in your pockets right now?
Handkerchief on which I just unloaded. Want to see it?

25. Last thing that made you laugh?
I think some scene from Tarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah.

26. Best bed sheets you had as a child?
I didn't care!

27. Worst injury you've ever had?
Stung by swarm of bees back in kindergarten.

28. Do you wish on stars?
No, I wish on superstars!

29. What were you doing 1 AM last night??
Wasting my time as I am doing right now.

30. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment.
1 thought, 2 thought, 3 thought!

Cousin Shahid? You are still stuck at that answer, right? Well let me explain.

Shahid Kapoor's ex-step father; with whom his mother got married when Shahid was a kid and hence Shahid lived with them since childhood till he moved out and later his mother again got divorced; happens to be the son of my mother's sister's husband's mother's sister. So you see, Shahid is my cousin;)


Jul 8, 2009; 08:15 p.m.

TAG-II

Now coming to the second one, The 15 Books Tag. It was indeed the first tag I ever received. It is from Shilpa Garg from Jammu, who tagged me on Jun 26, 2009.

[Update (Jul 11, 2009) Shilpa has graciously included me among her bunch of F.B.'s, an abbreviation for Fellow Bloggers or as she puts it, Friends from the Blogosphere. Thanks a lot, Shilpaji.]

As an extra bit of information, Jammu is like a home away from home for me, being my maternal home-town. One thing I love about being in Jammu is hopping from one home to another; having so many uncles, aunts and cousins staying there in close vicinity. However, the thing I hate about the city is the long power-cuts which used to make my childhood summer vacations a hellish experience at times. Now, its been around three years since I visited but will be making a trip soon, hopefully.

Now coming back to the tag, the rules are;

"Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag up to 15 friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends choose."

Here I go:

1. My Life - Bill Clinton (My favourite Non-Fiction)
2. Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Madela
3. Unfinished Revolution - Ajit Bhattacharjea (Biography of J.P., a great socialist.)
4. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown (My Favourite Fiction)
5. Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
6. Indira Gandhi - Pupul Jayakar
7. The Insider - P.V. Narsimha Rao
8. The Children of Cherry Tree Farm - Enid Blyton (My favourite Childhood Novel)
9. The Children of Willow Farm - Enid Blyton (Second in the series)
10. More Adventures on Willow Farm - Enid Blyton (Third in the Series)
11. Kalam Effect - P.M. Nair (A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's days as the President.)
12. My Bleeding Punjab - Khushwant Singh
13. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
14. Five Point Someone - Chetan Bhagat
15. Deception Point - Dan Brown

I jotted down the books randomly as they occurred to me. I might have failed to include some which I like more than some mentioned here. Moreover, I failed to mention the numerous Hardy Boys and abridged English Classics, I read in my childhood.
Read my post In the World of Words to know more about my love for books and a brief review of all the non-fiction books I possess (six of them have been mentioned in this list).

Jul 11, 2009; 11:30 p.m.

TAG-III

Now this happens to be the latest one, My Wishlist Tag, not one of the original 4 with which I started off this post four days ago. Since then, I've been tagged twice; luckily, one of them being the same as a pending one, hence, an effort-saver. This one is from Shilpa again and she tagged me just about 6 hours ago. The rules are;

So what you need to do is….Show us something you want, but would never spend the money to buy.

An easy one indeed. Of course, I want an intelligent, educated, beautiful and loving wife and I'll never spend money to buy her. I am quite unmaterialistic you see; so don't have cars, bikes, mansions, freaky gadgets or world-tours on my wish-list.

Now coming back to my wish, the next line is specially meant to impress my feminist readers; 'Women are not a commodity that can be bought or sold in the market.'

And now to impress my anti-feminist readers, I'll add; 'In the Indian society, its the men who have been reduced to a commodity, sold to the highest bidder.'

Anyways social jokes apart, if anything I'll spend to 'buy' such a prospective wife, then that will be my love and not money. So mushy mushy, right? As I am getting quite filmy now; I should end this tag here.
But before that, let me clarify, that unmaterialistic stuff was just for fun sake. In case you want to send any gifts, do not hesitate; you are most welcome.

Jul 11 , 2009; 11:45 p.m.

As I try to untag myself further, I have decided to post the three completed ones first. The other two (three pending with two of them being common) will be posted soon. After all why should I miss such an opportunity to increase my post count. Moreover, with two separate posts, there is a possibility of someone reading atleast one ;)

As for tagging further, I tag all those in my blog's followers list who end up reading this post because I believe these tags have been revolving within our bunch of F.B.'s for long now. So, if you haven't been tagged by any other mutual F.B. then consider yourself tagged by me.

For those who are not following me, start following and then get tagged;)
You can take up any one of the tag and do leave the link to your post once you publish it, in my comments' section.

Image Courtesy:
From Personal Collection created on http://www.photofunia.com/ (edited)

When the Sun rose from the West

And Birthday Wishes to my friend

These snaps were taken by Shashaank (aka Shashi of The Three Risk-tak(e)rs fame) at Ankit's (aka Aniket of The 3 R's fame again) place after we returned from a 'gruelling' session of Cricket.
He mailed me these snaps yesterday and insisted that I Blog about them, as had been decided when he took them. However, as already a week had passed (we played last Sunday), I blankly refused saying that, "My blog does not wait for the bygone days."
When we later had a conversation at night, he insisted that I should write it. So finally I am relenting for a single reason that it is his birthday today. So this post is like a gift to him. So now when I gulp a Rs. 310 buffet (inclusive of all taxes) at his birthday lunch, I won't have the guilt of eating all that without giving him a gift (now that is the second but more potent reason).
From gift, I remember his birthday a few years ago when I and Ankit shelled out money at an Archies Gallery, buying some useless superheroes comics and a Spiderman watch for this Superheroes (especially Spiderman) buff. But that unthankful soul, neither read those comics nor wore that watch.
Anyways, that day when we reached his place, he was not there, thanks to some miscommunication. So we waited in his room, sulking and angry at him for this. As a revenge, we searched for his snap with a friend (the girl who was his 'so called' friend-but we teased him to be her boyfriend-so we loved teasing-and he loved denying-and it went on and on like that).
Going to the Paint, I made a big heart on that snap with word, Lovebirds (or something like that) written inside. To top it, that was made the wallpaper on his desktop and we waited impatiently for any of his family members to enter the room. Finally Aunty came, saw the wallpaper, gave a smile and went back.
Redemption, we said!
I met Shashaank at our common Chemistry and Physics tution back in Eleventh standard (on the other hand, I have known and been friends with Ankit on-and-off, since our pre-schooling). We were from the same school but had been non-existent for each other all these years. We clicked soon and the friendship flourished over the years. Maybe, being Cancerians helped. While, he was born, this day, back in 1985; I took another 12 days to 'check-out' from my mother's womb.

***

Before, I turn this post into his testimonial, I must return to the topic, i.e. the cricket match. I am a big cricket fan like any other 'sensible' Indian but suck at the game. When I was about 15, I preferred playing with the 9-12 years old than the 13-18 years old who played on the other side of the ground. How, I loved thwacking the kids, I mean their balls, I mean their deliveries.
Earlier when all of us used to play together, I was generously given a 'runner' by the bhaiyas (the older guys) to save my bulging body from unnecessary sweating. Once, when my mother saw this, she was pretty angry as she was against this fats-conservation-mission of mine.
Later on, I used to play cricket with Shashaank, Ankit and company near Ankit's place. They were pretty regular at it at times but I gave my holy darshan only once in a six months or so. Here too, I sucked big time.
So, last Sunday, we all were together for another cricketing session and as far as I remember, I was holding the bat after a couple of years or so. Now what was so important about the two games we played that Shashaank wants me to blog about it?
Well, it seemed as if the Ganges had started flowing backwards towards Gaumukh, the Sun decided to rise from the West and Salman Khan finally decided to marry. To the surprise of all, I was at my best that day. Dived to field, smashed fours, remained not out in both games and bowled a wicket maiden in the final over of the day to top it all. More than anyone else, it was me who was surprised the most.
(An update: To read more about my exploits that day, visit the comments section.)
How redeeming it felt. And as if this was not enough, I woke up the next day without any aches, which always trouble me after such games. It was not short of any miracle.
So is it Katrina or someone else?

Friends, visit my new blog, Blog-a-Ton and join me in this new endeavour.

In the Image:
As already told, that's me. I bet that you are surprised to see me with those hair :)

Image Courtesy:
Shashaank's cellphone (edited)

BlogAdda's Spicy Saturday Picks

And some awards from fellow Bloggers

Awards are raining big time. Within a month, it is the third recognition for my blog by a blogging community. My post A Curious Case of Corruption got selected for Saturday Spicy Picks on BlogAdda.

According to BlogAdda, this is

a post which talks about Corruption using a fictional story as a backdrop. A very thought provoking post that makes us wonder if we have accepted corruption as a part and parcel of our daily lives. A question we all need to answer.

BlogAdda "has started 'Tangy Tuesdays' and 'Spicy Saturdays' where BlogAdda picks up good posts from Indian blogosphere and serves it to the readers on tuesdays and saturdays. This way, good posts are acknowledged and readers get to read quality content.This is also an opportunity for everyone to interact even more in fruitful discussions."

So those who haven't read this post, do read it and those who have already done so, visit it again to read an update at the end where the real Sugandha comments about it.

***

Now coming to the awards showered by fellow Bloggers in past two days.

Bharathi Subbarayan, on his blog A Naked Opinion, recommends my blog to his readers in the latest post Recommended. This is what he has to say about me and my blog

He steals topic from my mind and often presents it in a more creative and better manner than I could think. He is again unbiased, witty (sometimes) and touches high quality topics. The high point about his blog is his narration style which would keep you away from boredom. He bestowed a wonderful title ‘empathic libertarian’ on me stating that I think like him. Considering the high quality of his blog, I treat this as a very good complement.

Nicky, another fellow Blogger, bestows upon me the

India needs politicians like him award

through her latest post on her blog, Bitch On.

It doesn't end here, as Subhayan "Wrahool" Mukerjee presents me with

"The Clear Headed Blogger" Award "for his fantastic posts and his radically different way of looking at things ... great going man ... !!!"

as part of the Wramblerz Awards on the occasion of his blog, Wrahoolz Wramblingz reaching 50 posts.

Thanks a lot, my friends for these awards. Keep this faith in me and my writings. Blogging becomes worthwhile because of friends like you. Keep returning to my blog for more spices.

Note:
Also read my posts about my previous achievements in last one month IndiBogger of the Month and Blog of the Day Award.

Image Courtesy:
http://www.blogadda.com/ (original)

A Curious Case of Corruption

This post got selected for BlogAdda's Spicy Saturday Picks. Click here to see the BlogAdda page and here to read my post about it.

Yet another 'fictitious non-fiction'

Summers had just arrived. So Ketan and Sugandha packed their bags for a trip back home. Both, in their early twenties had been dating for about two years. However, staying in separate cities, they could meet only upon returning to their hometown.

Meeting Sugandha after half a year which seemed like centuries to him, Ketan could only wish to see her as often as possible. They had not broken the news as yet at their homes, so had to meet covertly at places where it was difficult for any near and dear ones to bump into them.
Today, Ketan was driving towards a secluded area to the north of the city. Holding Sugandha's hand in his left one, he was determined not to leave it and manage the steering wheel and the gear with his right hand only. Such a 'safe driving', as they had paradoxically codenamed it, was difficult but love has the power to make you do anything, how difficult or rather how stupid it might be.
Finally, he brought the car to a jerking halt in the parking area of an abandoned garden, thanks to a late transmission to the lower gear. But these jerks were nothing as compared to their thumping hearts.
In these early days of summer, emotions thawed quickly and bursted with full vigour like the just released waters through the floodgates of a large dam. Before they could realise it, their hand-to-hand contact had moved to the lips and they were lost in a heaven of their own. Even with their eyes shut during that intimate moment of love, passion, trust and belonging, they could just see each other.
They were so lost that they failed to hear a gentle knock on the window. But soon it turned into a thumping noise and they left each others embrace startled at this sudden intrusion. As Ketan looked out, he saw the heavy frame of a police constable, rubbing his pot belly with the right hand and maneuvering his stick with the other, directing Ketan to come out of the car.
As Ketan opened the latch of his door, he pressed Sugandha's trembling hand with his other hand reassuring her that everything will be fine. However, even as he stepped out, he could well imagine that how this excursion could land him in a very embarrassing position vis-a-vis his parents.
Ketan had always been honest with his mother but somehow had failed to disclose about his affair with Sugandha. Of all the ways, this was not the way he wanted to introduce Sugandha to his parents.
"Ae ladke, show me your license or an I.D." demanded the constable sternly.
Before Ketan could pull out his wallet, the constable added, "What are you two doing in this public place? You know it is illegal!"
"Yes, sir!" was all that Ketan could mutter in reply.
As Ketan searched his wallet for the license, the constable took his wireless set out of its holster clinging to the broad black belt that was keeping his khaki trousers from falling.
"Don't do it sir." Ketan pleaded while holding the constable's wireless set gently.
"Leave, the wireless," shot back the constable, "You are the one who shouldn't have done this in the first place."
"It was a mistake sir that wont be repeated." replied Ketan, keeping his tone polite to cool down the temper of the constable.
Meanwhile, sitting in the car, Sugandha was terrified. She could not imagine how she would face her parents if this incident blew out of proportions. She was just kissing the guy with whom she could happily spend the rest of her life. However, her parents won't see it in the same light. After all they had been betrayed. Despite all the faith they showed in her and the independence she enjoyed unlike most of her friends and cousins, she had failed to tell them about Ketan. She promised herself that if this ordeal ends here and now, she won't repeat it.
Meanwhile, somehow working his way through negotiations, Ketan finally asked the constable, "Can't we end it with some compromise?"
As he said this, his hand went inside his wallet and pulled out all the six, hundred rupees notes that were lying inside. The constable looked at the notes as Ketan handed them over to him. By now, his anger had subsided but he was still fuming a bit.
Ketan prayed for this episode to end with this final negotiation. The constable contemplated for a moment; then separating half the notes from the thin bundle, handed them back to Ketan and said sheepishly, "Arre Betaji! That money was just too much."
Ketan was puzzled but he graciously accepted the money back with a thanks.
"Listen Betaji, you both belong to good families and should not be doing all this. I am letting you both go for the sake of this girl's honour," the constable said in a more reserved tone. "However, you should be the one caring about her honour."
"Yes, sir." was all that Ketan could mutter again as the constable left asking him to vacate the place quickly.
As they drove back into the crowded part of the city, Sugandha declared, "We won't be repeating it," still feeling guilty for what had just happened. Ketan nodded a bit reluctantly. As they approached the shopping mall where Sugandha had parked her car, Ketan said thoughtfully, "I have a better idea yaar. We won't be going to that place again." Sugandha looked at him with raised brows. Just as Ketan was ready to give up, she gave a mischievous smile and pecked on his left cheek. "Okeh!" she said.

This is an adapted version of an incident that actually happened with one of my friend recently. I have changed the names for the sake of privacy. This is indeed a curious case of corruption. It is such an incident which lies at a thin line between right and wrong. Who is right and who is wrong is difficult to judge.
At the face value, I might say both Ketan and the constable were wrong. Ketan for bringing his bedroom out in the public place (though it was not the case here, but the kiss could be a part of the foreplay in such a secluded, nonetheless public place) and offering the money to the constable to prevent him from doing his duty and the latter for accepting this money and not following the proper course of action.
But was Ketan really wrong? Wasn't the poor guy just at the wrong place at the wrong time? He was an adult, just kissing his girl friend. What is the fuss about it? Are we still living in paleolithic ages? Did he have any other option than to offer the money to prevent the situation going out of his hands?
On the other hand was the constable really wrong? He was doing his duty, stopping the love birds from littering a public place, though a secluded one. He was offered 600 bucks but kept only 300. Wasn't that an 'honest' gesture from this pitiably payed public employee? Moreover, wasn't a little bit of fine important to act as a deterrent for future excursions of Ketan and Sugandha? When, he could not reprimand them through official channel to safeguard the 'honour' of Sugandha as he asserted (though could be an excuse to justify his act), he had to take this line.
I have written on virtues and vices in my other posts, but this particular incident is incomprehensible to me. While, I feel the blame lies somewhere, I find it difficult to put it on anyone. Your reflections on this curious case of corruption will help indeed.

Update (July 3, 2009)
This is what the 'real' Sugandha messaged me after reading this post:
hi vipul.....
read ur blog wich u wrote on d incidnc hapnd wid 'ketan' n me.....well first of all thankz a lot....itz beautifully writn....i was telng it to 'ketan' as well, dat u cud easily say wat he was feelng at dat tym cz he narrated u abt it....bt u wrote abt my viewz and thoughtz so perfctly....itz amazng...
i was felng nostalgic...dat too on d day he was leavng....thx dear....
god bless......tk cr

Even the 'real' Ketan called me up after reading the post and claimed that I've got a new fan.

My reply to both of them was simple, "Guys keep giving me such 'inspirational' stuff to write about whenever you meet in future!"

Note:
If you liked this, you might also like my BlogAdda's Tangy Tuesday Pick, Arjun and my previous fictitious non-fiction, The Three Risk-tak(e)ers.

Image Courtesy:

http://mikeely.files.wordpress.com (edited)

The Sophomore Days

The first year at the college went by
Uneventful
With nothing to feel high
So when came the sophomore year
I was sure I must give a try
Got together a bunch of mates
To do something to develop our personalities
So we launched a club with a bang
And everyone wanted to join in
Made some wrong decisions early on
Those left out just cried foul
They got together to show us down
The game was surely on.
Meanwhile, on personal front
I finally made some strides
Started talking to the girl I had loved
All my life
Here too I made a mistake
Jumped the gun too soon
“Can’t we be just friends” she said
And I felt like a cartoon
Back at the club, we somehow
Gathered the strength to move on
Determined to not give it up
We started planning for a grand showdown
Again, when it came to love
I was not ready to give up as then
Kept trying to convince her somehow
In the hope she’ll finally relent
Our club event came
It was a hit
We surely felt victorious
The seeds of labour we sowed
Reaped a crop glorious
On love front victory was hard to come
But I kept trying to woo her
It went on and on with no end
Even after sophomore year was over
When I look back today
All seems so stupid and meaningless to me
That ecstasy in succeeding in endeavours
And gloom when things weren’t
What I wanted them to be
Life has moved on
Those days are left far behind
But one thing is pretty clear
What I started in my sophomore days
Is there to stay
As the struggle of life
To bear.

In the Image:
The first executive team of Panache, the club we started.

Me - top right corner.
She - keep guessing!

Image Courtesy:
My personal collection (edited)

This Day, That Year-III

Two years ago, on the 30^th of May, I arrived in Delhi to start a new innings of my life after completing my graduation. I was there to start my preparations for civil services. This is the concluding post in the series of three where I am reliving those initial days by reproducing the diary entries I made on those days.

Before you read this post, it will be nice if you read the previous two(Part-I and Part-II) for the sake of continuity and to make sense out of this one.
Here, I reproduce my fourth diary entry. Read on!

Jun 3, 2007; 1:15 pm

Hello there,
I skipped a day, I know! The frequency, I believe, will go down as I am not in a habit of making diary entries. Nevertheless, I am back today. Yesterday, we started with Public Administration course. Language being used by Sir was technical, not a problem to me, but I could see many blank faces. I hope my face doesn't turn blank this early. There's an aswer answer we have to write as an assignment. Will do that shortly after the lunch.
In G.S., we started with Science; Physics to be precise. It was a kind of revision class for me of what all I studied during my preparation for AIEEE, 5-6 years back. I am looking forward to Biology and Mental Ability part in Science.
While returning, we also got issued for us, the Metro Train passes. By the end of the day, it already had a deficit of Rs. 27.
I walked a lot yesterday. First from Karol Bagh station to the hostel which is very tiring under the noon sun. Then, in the evening back to the station as we (I along with Arun, Narendra(Nainital), Abhinav(Raipur) and Robby) planned to visit the India Gate.
Walk from Central Secretariat Station to our destination and back was very long and tiring. But talking and knowing more about each other, we managed to tread along. We sat for some time at India Gate.
These days, I have been eating just too much, more than twice my normal diet, I believe. And of course, drinking a lot too, I mean water!
Anyways, going for lunch right now. I skipped the breakfast as got up pretty late, it being Sunday morning.

See you later,
Vipul Grover

My apprehensions about my frequency of writing, as revealed in the very beginning, proved right. This happened to be my last diary entry and with time I totally lost track of my 'Dear Diary'. Reasons behind it are not far to fetch.
One, I got busy with my coaching classes. The initial 4 ¹/₂ hour schedule got extended to 7 hours and eventually to 9 ¹/₂ hours as the date set for the course's conclusion approached and the syllabus meant for completion kept piling up.
Two, I made some good friends. Top on the list was Arun bhaiya. Then there were Narendra Singh Bisht and Abhinav Agrawal both from Law background and room partners. We four formed a close group. Rajesh(the talkative Hyderabadi mentioned earlier) and Devendra (a Marathi fellow from Nagpur whom we named dhila due to his perpetual laziness) were also good friends and so was Vijay who happened to be a Delhiite but had put up in the hostel to concentrate on studies. It's a different matter that most of the times he was back home as the poor guy could not cope up with it. However, when he was there, he was a great help as he usually gave us a free ride back and forth, the institute and the hostel on his Honda City.


Otherwise, our mode of transportation was Metro in the evening/afternoon(depends upon when we got free) and in the morning it was initially by bus, though soon we switched to auto rickshaw(which costed additional Rs.5 per head). The reason I mention the amount is because we were very particular about the money initially and tried to save as much as possible. But with time, we had to give in and give priority to our comfort and health. With time even those tiring walks from the Metro Station to the hostel, mentioned in the diary entry, gave way to a cycle rickshaw.
Talking of health, I have also mentioned about my increased diet in Delhi. With time, I actually started hating the food being served. The aloo paranthas, I praised earlier gave me a nauseatic feeling at times and the tea felt more and more watery and syrupy. Same was the case with other Nirman 'delicacies'. However, I still kept eating a lot. I still find it difficult to comprehend this paradoxy. On returning to Chandigarh, my mother was amazed at my increased capacity to devour the food. However, she revealed this only when I was back to my normal diet eventually.

In the second image:
From Top to Bottom- I, Narendra, Arun Bhaiya, Devendra, Abhinav and Rajesh sitting on the stairs of Nirman House during our last few days in Delhi.

Image Courtesy
1. http://www.lutyenstrust.org.uk (edited)
2. From Personal Collection (edited)

This Day, That Year-I

Two years ago, on the 30^th of May, I arrived in Delhi to start a new innings of my life after completing my graduation. I was there to start my preparations for civil services. In my next three posts, I'll relive those initial days by reproducing the diary entries I made on those days.

Here, I reproduce my first diary entry.

May 31, 2007; 12:45 pm

Hello there,
Here I am, finally sitting in my 'own', 'independent' room on a study table(I mean a study chair adjoining the study table), as far as I remember, writing a diary entry for the first time in my life.
This thought of jotting down my feelings just happened to me as I realised that finally I am all alone in this big big city, heart of our nation, New Delhi.
Mummy and Papa left back for Chandigarh a couple of hours ago. We arrived here, at Nirman House, the hostel where I am residing, yesterday evening.
It felt all normal to me but as time proceeded and night fell, I started feeling a bit dull. I didn't let these feelings of my heart to be conveyed to my parents through my facial expressions.
Anyways, now they are gone and we parted with a nice hug. 'I love them'.
The room is nice and spacious. I have a double bed, nice long study table, spacious almirah, dressing table(I know that sounds girlish), a T.V.(where is STAR WORLD???) and an independent toilet cum bath room with a western 'pot' and wash basin.
All in all, good living conditions but there's no A.C. and I don't need one as I am here to struggle. All great men have struggled in their lives and if I want to become one I have to sacrifice at least something. And sacrifice at what 'cost'?
My dad is already paying 8000 bucks per month to provide me with these living conditions and food.
Food, that's something I have to try as yet. Lunch time is approaching and I'll have my first encounter with my diet for the next five months or so.

See you later,
Vipul Grover

Well, the day didn't end just there as I was back to my 'Dear Diary', once again finding myself all alone in my room and in the city of course, after the dinner. So, here I reproduce my second diary entry. Just read on!

May 31, 2007; 10:45 pm

Hello there,
Well I am back writing for the second time today. In these ten hours, I have experienced the 'food' twice and made a couple of friends.
Food is 'O.K.', dal served in both courses. It was just too watery. In lunch there was additional paneer and in dinner, mixed veg. They were nice. Chapatis and rice were also good.
As far as friends are concerned, there is Arun Munde, a Marathi staying in the adjoining room. Age 24, he is a Masters in Biotechnology with same optional as mine,i.e., Public Administration. So we'll be in the same class. Even he has perched out of his home for the first time, so shares my apprehensions and dilemmas.
Then there is this talkative and 'over-friendly' Rajesh from Hyderabad, Pawan(I believe I heard his name right) from Bihar, Narendra from Nainital and others. I also met a Punjabi Surd briefly. His name is Robby, though he did not impress me much in our tete-a-tete.
Sweating is profound in this Delhi heat under a solitary fan. Temperature at this hour is 35.3°C as indicated by the nice gift given to me by my friends before leaving for Delhi.
I have started reading Shashi Tharoor's 'India:From midnight to millennium'. He has quite a balanced opinions and hence the articles have impressed me.
Tomorrow is my first day at Rau's. Class begins at 7:30 a.m. So will have to rise early. Better I go to sleep right now.

See you later,
Vipul Grover

Despite the fact that I were soon-to-be-22 when I went to New Delhi, my apprehensions about leaving my home were same as any 10 year old moving to a boarding school. Those first couple of days, I felt quite miserable. Anyways, so ended that day for me.

Image Courtesy
http://creativewritersden.blogspot.com (original)

The Three Risk-tak(e)ers

Friends
An ode to our friendship

A fictitious non-fiction

This post has been submitted for 'Friends Forever' under Blogadda's Win This Wednesday contest.

This is the story of three friends- Aniket, Vimal and Shashi- who were not content with 'what is' but wanted to test their potential to reach what they believed as 'what ought to be'. With their passion to keep their future at stake, they came to be known far and wide as 'The Three Risk-tak(e)ers'.

The story starts with Aniket. He too planned to become a conventional engineer as had his other two buddies post their matriculation. But fate had something else in store for him. After putting in two years of 'hard work' or at least as others believed he did, his results were not worth landing him anywhere. So he had to be content with a B.A. rather than a B.E. It was here that his interest in theatre and drama started and by the end of three years, our small town boy had packed his bags to try his luck in the tinsel town.

The start was good. He landed at the doors of the man under whom superstars like Retake Roshan and many other star-kids had groomed. He ended the acting course with the sorts of 'first class first pass' distinction. However from here the real struggle started. Hunting for movies he ended up acting in two serials.

In the first one which got telecast on Mony T.V., he had three scenes and well in each scene the poor guy, playing a villainous role had to bear a couple of slaps and a punch from the main protagonists.

In the other one on Moon T.V., he played the role of one of the friends of one of the many lead protagonists of the serial. However, before our poor Aniket could show some of his talent the serial was taken off air as the producers realised the only people watching it were the near and dear ones of the dozen actors and actresses who got to debut in their low-budget venture.

Alongside, Aniket also acted in a movie based on the lives of gay prostitutes in which he played one of the leads but the movie couldn't lead him anywhere as even after a year or so, it was craving to see the lights of a projector room of any multiplex. So Aniket had no reason to be 'gay' after all as the only thing he got post-movie were the snickering and gay jokes of his two buddies.

From here we move to the lives of our other two characters. Well both of them successfully completed their engineering unlike their actor buddy. However, Vimal had the childhood dream of becoming an administrator. To pursue this dream, he decided not to take up any job and get into the preparation mode for undoubtedly, the toughest examinations of India.

He was all pumped up as he left his city and reached the national capital to take some preliminary coaching. New city, new life, new friends were there for just about half a year as then he returned back home to continue further.

Soon he found himself trapped within the four walls with his 'books and books'. Most of the friends had left the city to take up their jobs or pursue post-graduation. Though for some time Vimal got distracted thanks to an ill-timed relationship, he was back to his senses in time to fall back in love with his books. With a couple of years gone by since he completed his B.E., Vimal was still preparing and appearing for the exams though better prepared than before.

Unlike Vimal, Shashi got placed in a highly reputed consultancy McKaunsi and got pay package worth envy. Within a year he also got a chance to visit the country of honeymoons in the laps of the beautiful Alps, on a business assignment. But somehow Shashi was not content despite his stability.

Meanwhile on the global front, stability became a paleolithic word as the markets started tumbling and businesses began closing. Companies were finding pretexts to chop off manpower while the poor executives were having sleepless nights fearing for their future.

Amidst all this, out of no where, Shashi decided to leave his secured job and go in for his own start-up. Starting a new business while others are closing down by dozens, seems a bit vague. However, Shashi wanted to join the league of the other two 'extraordinary not-so-gentle men' and no one could stop him. A couple of months passed since he gave resignation but still his web-based company was nowhere to be seen in the network jungle.

These three friends have their own distict dreams. They can't take things as they come. There are many others like them who dream big. Many perch out to realise them. However others prefer to follow the conventional trends because for them security is above their self-actualisation.

These three and numerous other risk-tak(e)ers may succeed or they may fail but one thing is for sure, decades hence sitting on their arm chair they won't be sulking upon thinking- I wish I had given it a try.

Disclaimer:
This story is not based on anyone (except Ankit, Vipul and Shashaank). Any resemblance to anyone living or dead or kept on ventilator as not yet brain dead is purely coincidental.

Image Courtesy
http://meaninglessguy.files.wordpress.com (edited)