The Last Flight

He revved up his bike as he neared yet another bend. He had done it each time but somehow at the last moment, allowed himself to flow with the road. By now, he had ascended much higher than he had actually planned to. But on the contrary, his actual plans were to ascend much higher than these physical bounds and measures. He could see another bend approaching some meters away. He throttled his bike further and this time his grip on the accelerator didn’t loosen. There was no fencing on the outer side of the bend. The bike smoothly shifted from the solid concrete road to the weightless air below it. He was flying. He had heard it many times that at such moments, the whole life flashes through in front of you. He saw nothing. He shut his eyes. The only thing he could feel was weightlessness - weightlessness of his mind and of his body. Soon the gravity took over. And he let go of the bike. As he descended, his sensory perceptions kept shutting off one by one. Whole through, he could hear the air gushing past him. Soon, that sense also got shut off. However, a faint smile still remained on his face, an expression embossed there upon the realization that he had eventually ascended much higher through this descent. While the searchers recovered his dismantled body from the foot of the gorge, his soul had been recovered by him much earlier during that last flight.

P.S. Though not an ideal plot for a post commemorating a milestone on this blog, it happens to be the hundredth published post on Reflections of an Empathic Libertarian. 

Image Courtesy:

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

The Indian Dream

This is the Platinum Jubilee (75^th) Post on this Blog. It is a tribute to our Father of the Nation, M.K. Gandhi whose 140th Birth Anniversary was celebrated yesterday.

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 3; the third edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

You can be what you want on that land of paradise
So they said and left to chase the American Dream
Some fell on the way while others managed to rise
But they missed to realise a possible Indian Dream
Here can be no dream but nightmares they nagged
Hurriedly packing their bags for the foreign shore
What has India given to me they demandingly asked
Not bothering to mention what had they given to her

A possible Indian Dream?

Yes, to dream in India is possible and to realise it, staying here is also possible.

However, I am not an idealist. Hence, I am not against anyone leaving the country for the greener pastures. Moreover, in this global village where each economy is dependent upon each other, free flow of human resources is as important as goods and services. India is the largest receiver of remittances from its overseas citizens, something that fuels our forex reserves and makes us competitive on global front.

In short an Indian Dream can also be realised while staying away. However, for that to happen, you will have to see your dream and the Indian dream complementing each other. You may stay away physically but emotionally you will have to stay close enough.

What is the Indian dream?

It is the dream that all the people, irrespective of their socio-economic standing, will get the opportunities to realise their potential within the country.

In this sense my Indian dream and your Indian dream are the same, i.e. to succeed in life and definitely we will prefer to realise it staying closer to our roots. Ofcourse there are some exceptions who are just adamant to move away to foreign lands irrespective of the fact that back home, the opportunities exist or not. For them, the grass is always greener on the other side.

Not including such exceptions in this discussion; we must realise first of all that the onus lies upon us to make our country resilient enough. Before demanding anything, we have to be ever ready to supply her with the nourishment she requires.

For example, on short term basis, the money we receive from non-residents may boost our economy but for the long term development of the nation, we also need their true commitment. It’s something like taking care of the ailing parents who need personal attention rather than monetary help.

As for those who opt to stay back because of their dignity or the lack of opportunity, must learn to accept the fact that we have many problems on our way which must be dealt by us, ourselves.

Dream
Indian, Fancy
Rising, Shining, Roaring
Would leave everyone behind
Delusion
Vision
Many problems impeding speed
Trying, Solving, Succeeding
Pragmatic, Indian
Dream

Yes, we cannot live in any delusion and have to find our way through. We cannot put all the responsibility on the government but have to shoulder it too. Poverty, overpopulation, unemployment, illiteracy, corruption, environmental degradation, communalism, casteism, terrorism, regionalism and disparities are just some of the causes that are impeding our growth and not allowing us to have a promising Indian dream. And these problems cannot be solved by escaping from them but by facing them with courage and determination.

To make it possible, it is not necessary to be in any specific power position. We as the citizens have to perform our vocations, whatever they maybe, diligently. We have to act responsibly and empathically in our social interactions. We have to develop sensitivity towards the economic disparities that exist and help the government in plugging them. We have to perform our role as a good citizen before demanding good governance.

Our forefathers also had an Indian dream!

They saw an India where the people will be free from all the clutches and will rule themselves.

They gave us the freedom and gave us the vision but somehow we wavered off the path. However, the situation is not all that glum. Last decade or two have seen India taking the right trajectory once again and the conditions seem ripe to realise our Indian Dream. However, it should be ensured that the fruits of development are distributed among all the citizens and are not limited to any particular section.

What about our future generations' Indian Dream?

If everyone takes upon himself/herself to be a part of this Indian dream, and make our personal dreams a part of it too, then we can give a sweet Indian dream to our future generations.

Let us just not wait
For the Change to happen but
Be the Change ourselves.

Moreover, this Indian Dream should not be seen in relative terms but in absolute terms. We have to compete with ourselves and not with anyone else. This is true for us individually and India as a whole. There is a thin line between optimism and wishful thinking. We must not transgress it.

Now, it is upto you to decide, this Indian dream of mine is a delusion or a vision.

Off-the-topic Relevant Reflections :

• The first poem is a simple two-versed composition with the most common rhyming pattern of a-b-a-b.
• The last two lines of this poem are inspired by the U.S. President J.F. Kennedy's famous quote, "Don't ask what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
• The second poem is a Mirror Cinquain, an extended form of the cinquain, a form of poetry that I have introduced earlier on this blog. Moreover, this cinquain is much closer to the original form than my previous attempt. Here line 1 has 1 noun, line 2 has 2 adjectives explaining the noun, line 3 has 3 action verbs (-ing ending verbs), line 4 has a 4 words phrase and line 5 has 1 word explaining the noun in line 1. The Mirror cinquain is formed by a cinquain and a reverse cinquian. Original cinquains have a 2, 4, 6, 8, 2 syllables pattern which got gradually transformed into a 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 words pattern.
• The third poem is my crude first attempt at a Haiku. It is a very popular form of short poetry, an unrhyming verse genre, conveying an image or feeling in two parts spread over 3 lines with 5, 7, 5 syllables pattern. Traditional Japanese Haiku is written with a seasonal reference unlike this one.
• This Haiku is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's famous quote, "Be the change you want to see in the world." It is a tribute to the great man whose 140^th Birth Anniversary was celebrated yesterday.
• Talking of Indian Dream and poems, you might like to read my childhood poem on this subject. It is in Hindi and have been posted earlier. Click here to read it.
  

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Image Courtesy:
http://img.fropper.com (edited)

The Cream and Scum of Blogging

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 1, the first edition of the online marathon of Bloggers, where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following my other blog, Blog-a-Ton.

This also happens to be my Golden Jubilee post for the year 2009. So, I surely have double reasons to celebrate.

We’ve not been there, but we debate;
Our half-baked knowledge we create;
And then dish it out with best verbiage;
Expecting others to hail us as a sage!

It might seem that I am in a self-indicting mood, roping in all the bloggers in the process. However, that is not the case. I thought of starting this post with a candid admission and a blunt accusation at the same time.

Blogging has given a new found freedom to many across the globe as we find it easier to put across our views to others. However, in the process, I find many who just dish out their half-baked viewpoints to their readers. I might have indulged in the same earlier, though now I try to resist any such temptations. However, there is no guarantee that I won't repeat it in the future.

Recently, a very popular Indian blogger reviewed a novel by a non-resident Iranian female author. However, while doing so, she could not refrain from giving her personal opinions about the Iranian society which were largely formed from the readings of this very novel. She even perched out on giving her one-sided opinions about the present Iranian socio-political turmoil.

I can not blame her. This post was just an exception. Moreover, when for each post, she is getting more than 100 responses and that too mostly positive, she is bound to take strong stands, though at times without authentic information. Moreover, I have no problem with bloggers airing their views because that's what blogging is all about.

The point I am making here is that, how honest you are while penning your blog and what is your real motive behind it. If the blog is just an online personal diary, then you are free to dish out any whims and fancies of yours. However, if a blogger is aiming to cater to a readership on some relevant issues, then being honest is very important. Here the blog takes the form of a third dimension to news media, the other established ones being print and broadcast.

Just like a newspaper reader and a news program viewer will like to get unbiased opinions from these mediums, a blog reader like me will want substantiated opinions, even if they are biased. However, its not all that scummy as I might have inadvertently, made it seem to be. Even within this scum, I can extract the cream. Lets see how.

Blogs are a great medium for generating debates. Even, if some blogger comes out with half baked opinions, there are the readers who are sitting there to correct him/her. For this to happen, one must have readers at the first place. For this to happen, his/her blog should be interesting enough. For this to happen, the blogger should be honest enough. However, honesty doesn't guarantee freedom from biases. On the contrary, it brings out your biases in a candid manner. So, the readers are always there to correct you and to fill the gaps.

Here lies the beauty of blogosphere. Blogging is not just a one way process of airing your views but also about accepting and inculcating others' views through their comments and their blog-posts. In this sense, on a personal level, blogging has been quite rewarding to me by helping me to meet other passionate Indian bloggers from whom I have learnt a lot. However, there are a lot more, I'll like to meet in the future. Blog-a-Ton was initiated with this very mission in mind.


Now that I have moved from the general to personal level, I'll like to elaborate on other creamy facts about blogging pertaining to me. After having graduated, I have been mostly at home preparing for my civil services examinations. There's a lot, I have learnt in these couple of years through texts, television and internet as well. This time which I've spent with myself has also helped me in substantiating my viewpoints and perceptions. This blog was started as a medium to voice my ideas and ideology as the name itself reflects.

The journey till now seems satisfying as my viewpoints have been appreciated by many of the readers. Wherever, there has been a difference of opinion, they have aired them candidly. Either, I have corrected myself or corrected them or we have agreed to disagree. But in this whole process, I find myself as a net-gainer.

Recently, I have also diversified, writing short stories, poems and memoirs in addition to social and political issues. Sometimes, these posts are not totally related to the subject of this blog but then who loves monotony. Even while writing about relevant issues, I have tried to diversify my writing style, like the hypothetical dialogue between two friends in case of the post on gay rights, a fictitious story to share a curious case of corruption or a poem to reflect upon the materialistic values of the society.

All this has helped me a lot as I find, both my quality and quantity of writing has improved manifolds. Bulk of my posts have been published in last couple of months and this blog has helped me to do what I have always loved to.

However, the picture is not all that creamy. Blogging has been eating into my study time as I find this new hobby quite addictive. I am trying my best to strike a balance and can just hope, I'll succeed in this endeavour too.

Now, that I started this post with some indicting lines, it will only be fair if I end with some vindicating ones. That's what Empathic Libertarianism is all about.

We know the half truth, we search for more;
In an honest endeavour, try to fill every pore;
Only then do we go on and publish our tale;
Expecting others to correct us when we fail!

P.S. Of the numerous posts, I've read of the popular blogger I mentioned in this post, there have been only two instances that I have not agreed to her viewpoint. I commented about this on her blog and she was gracious enough to respond and appreciate my viewpoints. The reason, I gave her example was to put across the point that when revered bloggers like her can make a mistake (as per my perception) once in a while, one should not be surprised to read many others who use blogging as a medium to air their obscure views in the worst possible language.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton are Arjuna, Saimanohar, Dhiman, Avdi, Daisy Blue, Sid 'Ravan' Kabe, Shankar, Shilpa Garg, Bharathi, Ranee, Ranee again, Pawan and Ajinkya.
Click on their respective names to read their posts on The Cream and Scum of Blogging.
To be part of the next edition of this online marathon, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Image Courtesy
http://edutech.csun.edu (edited)

Far Away from This Thickening Smoke

This is the 50^th post on this Blog. I decided to dedicate this Golden Jubilee post to a special cause about which I have been writing and also acting upon, though in small measures as yet.

Far away from this thickening smoke,

There was a place that used to be.

Canopy of trees, a gleaming river,

As far as you could see.

The soil was rich, the weather pleasant,

So in came teeming crowds.

With time everything was gone,

Leaving behind smoking shrouds.

Now here is a jungle of concrete,

Where the so called humans reside.

For the love they got, they give back smoke,

While they work, sleep or drive.

I've heard, it's same everywhere,

The temperatures are rising high.

For more smoke that they will add,

Their children will have to cry.

Far away from this thickening smoke,

There was a place that used to be.

Going back there is not possible,

So please stop here, at least.

Click here to learn how you can reduce your carbon footprint and help in thwarting Global Warming in your day to day life. Though the tips overall pertain to lifestyle and habits of average Americans but contain some important tips for middle and upper class Indian families too.

Image Courtesy:

http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com (edited)