Take a Look Around....

"Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer is my current favorite track.
While sounding incredibly melodious and soothing....
it carries a message that has me hooked on to it.
It's a song for young people and is about the power we have as a generation
to influence our own lives and times.
and that we fail to embrace that power....
We know that times will change and we wait for that....
but we fail to see that we are the ones who bring that about.....
by our actions.....or our inactions.

We live in a country that's a social and political phenomenon.
A billion contradictions and we don't seem to mind.
Try to figure that out and you realize you can't.
"We are like this only !"......and we love it.

But look from the perspective of an educated individual,
who sees the potential of our nation,
and is frustrated by the way and the pace with which things are going.
Whose fault is that ?
We say....the 'Leadership'.
So what do I chose to do bout it ?
I voted,that's it.....what more do I do ?...what more can I do ?

I got you a book called "History Makers"....I need you to look into it with me and tell me what you see..... what you really see.
_______________________________

Mahatma Gandhi
The political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement.
The pioneer of Satyagraha : resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience,
Firmly followed Ahimsa or total non-violence—which led India to independence and has inspired
movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
He is officially regarded as the Father of the Nation.

Martin Luther King
Activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement.
Secured progress on civil rights in the United States.
Referenced as a human rights icon today.
Raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the
greatest orators in history.

Che Guevara
Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, military theorist,
international statesman and major figure of the Cuban Revolution.
Since his death, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous counter-cultural symbol and global
insignia within popular culture.

Abraham Lincoln
16th President of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.
Successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War,
Introduced measures that resulted in the abolition of slavery, issuing his the much celebrated Emancipation Proclamation
_____________________________

All of these men had one thing in common, they forever changed the way we saw and did things.
They believed in the change that they wanted....
And changed themselves to bring that about.
So should we all have to change ourselves and take to the same things that they they did ?
Not all of us would have the same level of charisma or powers of oration that made them shine.
But there is one thing we need to realize.....
the change that our leaders brought about .........was through people like us.

I've always been a keen observer of human nature and have wondered....
What drives people as a race,as a society,as a community, as a nation ?
What makes people worship a man ?
How does a lawyer with a promising practice in Pretoria pick up a stick and free a nation ?
Why does Mumbai shut down when one man in a simple saffron robe tells it to?
How did one man with a little mouche succeed in razing Europe and incinerating 4 million scattered people ?

Looked at the same question in a different way....
Why the hell do people listen to and follow what that one woman or man has to say ?
What drives them ?
Force ?....Not really...our freedom struggle had inspired but never forced it's participants.
Love ?...would like to think so but it's just one factor.
Necessity ? ....close,but they are willing to sacrifice their needs.
Ambition ?....not if they are ready to die for their beliefs.
So what is it about people that makes them act as a sole consciousness ?
My guess is...a sense of 'Identity'.

People who are driven by a common purpose,see their ideals, their values...themselves...in their
leaders.
Their heroes bring to the fore, everything that they want to be.
All powerful men and women bring people together by defining and exalting their Identity.
They represent and manifest what people see in themselves.
To know who you are...what you are...and to be proud of it...brings you fulfillment like no other.
Give that to a man and he will worship you for it.

All said and done....Our parents and the generations before them were not so different from us...
they all had dreams of how things around them would be
and did their part in building our world for us....
It's our turn now and we have to make sure that we don't let slip it by us.

We are the real strength of the leaders we believe in...
Every appearance at a rally,every E-Mail and every letter counts.
Every issue that they take up and work for..,
are things that affect us, whether we like to admit it or not.
There's never a wrong time to express our solidarity with the bearers of our cause and make sure that
we get represented the right way.

Speaking of empowering our leaders......
We must realize that the force of power is felt most by those who don't have it.
And by letting chances pass us by..we serve ourselves on a platter to those who may pretend or at least initially take up our cause to accumulate power.
As a line from 'The Matrix' goes..."Choice is an illusion created by those with Power".
Let's not get fooled into taking pseudo options.
They're created divert our attention from the bigger picture.
...a free TV set for a vote ?....are you kidding me ?

Realize that power and position are what make,shape and break the world around us.
For most of us,society dictates directly or tries to pinch our pride...
So that we spend the rest of our days in the accumulation of things that we believe will matter
when we are too old to do it anymore.
The affections and concerns that we have have for our loved ones are all addressed in the material benefits that we leave behind.
Believe me......what you really leave behind and what will really matter after you're gone are the
values that you built and the effort you put in to sustain them.

As we grow into adults....we realize that political seats of power and their occupants
affect our lives in ways that we are almost always forced to accept.
It's ironic that with all the education and foundations laid for us..
We still give in to gimmicks and masquerades and then blame the system for things that aren't
right.

Take your time...you know good from bad..
and as overused as as this line is...
Please...."Do the right thing".
The way I see it, there probably is no single "right way" of seeing or doing things.
Anything we say or do is directed by our ideological and social values.
But that's the beauty of it...we can live with contradictions and still move forward.

It's a pretty tricky task to talk about power and politics without sounding biased.
What I'm talking about would make perfect sense to the "free" world.
But my blog would probably get blocked in any country where power is "absolute" and media is
controlled.
Ironically......we are taught to believe that only a free world can move forward
But I now know that things will move forward by the forces and laws of nature...
whether free or not.

So what's the point of everything ?.....why do we still have to do our part if we know all that ?
Simple...because we can !
Because it's been done before and we wanna do it again.
Cause we were brought up with that promise...and we made that promise to ourselves.
and when we see something that makes us happy and proud....
It's an awesome feeling to know....We made that happen !

Where you want it to be......

Putting up a video on your blog is a piece'o'cake.
It's called Embedding and doesn't need much work.

Let's say you want a YouTube video to be placed between the following two blocks of blah.

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

---------- Video Here ------------

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

The first thing you need to do is go to your video page on YouTube
and copy the code in the "Embed" box on the right hand side....














Quite simple...just click there..it get's selected..now copy.
Paste this code in "Notepad" or whatever text editor you have on your Mac....just to hold it temporarily.
This is the "Embed" code that fetches your video from YouTube and plays it on your blog.

Now you create your new post....you type all the text(blahs) in the "Compose" tab that looks like this.
Once you done typing your text....you have to click on the "Edit Html" tab beside "Compose".
















You'll get a box that looks pretty much the same but with slightly different looking text in the typing area.
Click on the spot between the text where you want your video to be placed
(in this case..between the two "blah" blocks).
















Paste the copied "Embed" code at the spot....that takes care of the code part.
Now simply hit "PUBLISH POST" and
Viola !....Your blog's hosting your video.

















You can use the same steps to add videos to existing posts..
just add the "Embed" code wherever you want in the post.
Positioning the video frame exactly where you want it is a "trial and error" thing.
Doesn't take much time.











P.S.

*** Been doin some thinking on the cause and effects of power *** will put it up on my next post....

When all else fails.....

---

You're having a crazy day....life not making sense or it's making sense in a way you find hard to accept.
You're upset,you're worked up.you're a train on the verge of derail.....you take a moment...you pull out our iPod or your phone.
You twist your fingers on the wheel or scroll to the right station and 'click'.The healing begins.
A river starts to flow in your head and you're flowing with it.Your body's suspended...your blood pressure returns to normal.You're heart's stopped screaming and your hands stop trembling.You're getin fixed...and will be fixed...by the time this track is over.

Since you were a little kid..you remember your favourite tunes...they still make you happy.
No matter how old you get or how much you rise or fall,you've kept your music.
It carries you,It bring's you to your knees.....It reminds you who you really are and you're feet are back on the ground.

I remember playing playing "Black or White" endlessly on my tape deck till it drove my Mom nuts.
I remember my first Roger Waters concert and wishing they'd invented a time machine.
My Mom and Dad marking the times of their lives with the music that was a rage back then.
My family and friends,we all have something called "our song".

There's something bout music that has worked while all else has failed.
If you're watching the footage of a music festival..you wouldn't be able to deny that this is what brings people together.
It has been the strongest and most universally accepted form of expression ever known.
Music is clay that can be whatever you want it to be.....motivation,pleasure,inspiration....even therapy.

Through the times, music has conquered all mind sets and crossed barriers more than anything else.
Over the centuries...correction,millinnea....music has has been our best friend more that any other science or art.
We have laughed,cried,held hands,danced,thought,stopped thinking,hummmed and swayed....all to the tune of music.
Why ? Why has this worked while all else has failed ?
Why are Jackson,Frank Sinatra and Presley worshiped as Gods ?
What did they have that made us want to listen to them over and over again ?.

So what is it about music that has worked where all else has failed?
...it's the Sincerity.
Sincerity that resonates with your soul.
No one can make true music without being true to themselves.
Ask the greatest musicians what keeps them going and the answers are simple.."We love to do it".
It's this sincerity that works.The sincerity that makes expression simple and powerful.

---

---

We have expressed the lives and times through our music.
From war to peace...from destruction to harmony ...from diversity to unity.
The essence of the Universe has been summed up in "OM".
Slokas are chanted to a tune.Prayers are sung in harmony.
Music flows from alpha to omega...and yet we never jade ourselves of it.
No age of art or science has prevailed over the age of music.

There have been moments in music that are icons of history.
From Elvis making pretty women scream to Louis Armstrong motivating the troops in Vietnam.
From Stephen Tyler making the fans go wild to Lata Mangeshakar making our Prime Minister cry.
From Pink Floyd's psychedelic artwork to Aerosmith's raw energy.
From Wartime protests like Woodstock to Peacetime rallies like LiveEarth.
They have done for mankind what no system or philosophy could ever accomplish.

I've been a music junkie all my life.
My tastes in music have evloved over the years and I still want more.
Anyone one who says he doesn't listen to music is not listening to life.
Take a moment...step aside from the "you" that is defined by others and by the system.
Go soul searching and you'll find yourself in a tune that will put everything else in place.

Find what works for you,borrow a CD from a friend..attend a concert..attend a music festival or watch it on TV and you'll know what I'm talking about.Take a step away from your 9 to 5,stop asking yourself questions, put those earplugs on and your life will make more sense.

Is music an art or is it a science ?
Science or Art....Art or Science...is one better than the other?
When war breaks out...will technology change the minds of the belligerents?
When a plague breaks out...will a visit to the Art gallery cure me ?
To know when art and science are different and when they come together,to see one in the other....to know how one can help the other and when one can preserve the other.....is the sign of and educated and evolved mind.
Ask again...Science or Art....Art or Science...is one better than the other ?
Are my hands better or my feet ?...Would I choose one over the other ?
It's a question that find a answer in contradiction.just like many facts of life that really matter.
Art and Science are balancing elements and to think that one is better over the other means that you need to think a lot harder.
Music transcends art and science to culminate both into...well music.

If you think that's all there is...I'm tellin you it is'nt.
Not until to see for youself....Ahem ! Listen for your self.
Make music your mantra in life.
Try that and you'll never regret a moment.

Tap your feet to Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea".
Jump to Elvis's "Blue Suede Shoes".
Laugh and Cry to Louis Armstrong's "Wonderful World"
Leave the planet on the Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon".
Celebrate life in Mika's "Grace Kelly"
Find poetry in "Kabhie Kabhie".
Worship one God through AR Rahaman's "Khwaja mere Khwaja".
Learn the horror of war in Metallica's "One"
Learn the value of peace in Micheal Jackson's "Heal the World".

Music has it all....music is all.It's food,it's water,it's the air we breathe.
If anyone of you has found a way to live without music..Don't tell me how.

It's still Home....

Been a year since I last backpacked.
The last time was in Himachal with a few friends.
Had visted the Dalai Lama's Monastery and went mountain climbing near the BhagasuNag Village.
It was nothing like the India I've known.
This was'nt the first time I had been there.
My family had come here when I was three years old.
I was a restless little figit and my mom tells me that I ran upto the Dalai Lama's throne and squatted on it like it was a sofa at home.
We had to leave in a hurry but not before a few tourists got my picture.
So that's that.

I've travelled to quite a few places in the North and South of India.
Seen interesting things and met even more interesting people.
I've always been pretty interested in people's mindsets
and always jumped at a chance to strike up a conversation with locals and tourists alike.

My latest trip was a little different in that I had experienced things that altered my outlook on life a little bit.
I got on a bus for Pune on Sunday evening and reached the little city of Mapusa in 30 mins.
In comes this tall,slim but strong looking dude and takes the seat next to me.
Didn't say a word..just but his backpack in the loft and tucked himself in.
The bus wouldn't be leaving for another 15 mins.
I saw a store selling pistas and badams and thought I'd pick up some for home.
Got out,stretched...flexed,put on my haggler's face and headed for the store.
Ater 5 mins of hostage negotiations,the shopkeeper released two 1kg packs of Pista and Badam into my custody.
The terms of the surrender, I will not discuss.....they make me look really cheap !

Got back into the bus,put the stuff in bag.
"I see you signed you name as Menezes in the Roster" says my neighbour.
"Yah,Hi ! I'm Arthur...you are ?"
"Wasid,Hi !"
"You from Goa ?"
"No,I'm from Kabul...I'm an Afgan".
I think to myself,"this will be interesting..."
"I'm from Hyderabad,came to Goa for a vacation."
"By yourself ?"
"Yup ! My friends are in college attending classes.I have an exam the day after and here I am."
"Where were you staying ?"
"Rego's in Panjim."

Wasid had just finished his BBM in Goa and had been accepted for an MA at the University of Pune.
He had been in India for the past four years and had travelled quite a bit.
It surprised me that he was an engineering student in Kabul and had to drop it because of the instability.
"Governments and systems never last in Afghanistan.",he says.
I told him bout my course at Loyola and bout the places I visited.
He gave me a lot of useful info bout Goa that I will definitely use the next time I go there.

We discussed a lot of things.I didn't ask him bout the fighting although I wanted to.I felt it would be awkward.
"You know what's going on in Afganisthan don't you ?", he asks.
"I guess the whole world does.Tell me....how is it for you in Kabul?"
He says that his neighbourhood is one of the safer places but outside,people die every day.
Bombs,bullets and Jeeps are the order of the day.
I asked him if he was in support or against the fighting.
"I understand the fighting...but then here I am."

Wasid had a brother who worked with the WHO and his father was a well to do Horticulturist.
He told me that the fruits I just bought came from Kabul via Karachi.
"America can't win that easily and the fighters have a lot of local support."
"I'm sure",I said.
I said that the U.S can't enforce their system on a country that does'nt know it.
But then without them...a lot more kids would be dead.

Anyways,I asked him how he felt after four years in India.
"It's been amazing,The people have been very friendly and I plan to stay a lot longer."
"So you planning to work here or return to Kabul after this ?"
"I have some ideas that might click back home"
"Tell me"
"All the stuff in Afghanisthan comes from India via Pakistan....soaps,shampoos,matchboxes...you name it.
The middlemen take their cut and that makes the stuff pretty expensive.I'm gonna get a dealership and be a direct sole distributor in Kabul."
"That sounds like it might work."
"Just need to get some capital and need to pay off the officials."

We stop at a resthouse..grab a coffee and continue.
We spoke a bit about history,I can't remember why.
Discussed the Mughal invasion.
"We ruled your country for 350 years",he says jokingly.
"And then the British came and ended your line", I replied.
"In fact Bahadur Shah Zafar didn't even get a tomb.Too Bad !"

We dicussed the war and the Aryan settlements and how the Nazis used the "Aryan Superiority" ideal to screw the World.
"Funny thing actually.Afganisthan is the true home of the Aryans.The Nazi's got it all wrong."
"Really !"
"Our land was known as Aryana."
"That's something new to me"
"Believe it."

We spoke for another two hours and dozed off.
Reached Pune at bout 6.30 in the morning.
He asked if I wanted to go to the University with him and grab a bite later on.
I had to take a connecting bus back home.
Had an exam the next morning and could'nt stay.
Gave me his email ID,told me to contact him the next time I was in Pune.
Will do !

This journey and conversation is something that will stay with me for a while.
Because I learnt something that has altered my perspective on things.
The things he told bout his homeland and when I think of this intelligent and well mannered guy,I find it hard to believe he comes from such a place.
The fact that he chooses to go back and start over fills me with admiration for his spirit.
I also realized that you can't change poeple unless thay want to change.

You Who ?

Exam results were out last week...
Thought I'd screwed up for sure this time.
As I waited for the damn results page to load,I had fingers on both hands crossed.
Got through....Phew...Not bad !
Had really negelected my studies,working on a few development projects.
My eyes were reeling like a jackpot machine when I saw the figures on the cheque leaves.

I had really put myself into work and had negelected my books.
This was a close shave and I swore I would'nt take such a risk again.
Not while still in college.

Anyway..I'm in my final semester now and have reached a point where I need to call some real shots.
I worked with a multinational before and know all bout the 8hr shifts,the 5 days a week,the coporate parties,work culture and assembly line of executives and TLs...that's why I got out in the first place.
The way I see it,all that is good if you are someone who plays safe and likes things to have a secure and certain pattern.
That's something I am not and can never be.

Always been a guy with varied interests and a creative streak.
Been a bit of a computer geek,an actor,a singer,a dancer,an explorer and an entrepreneur(thats a recent development).
I'm what they call a "late bloomer" and Man !.... I surprise myself at times.

When I got into Loyola,all I had in mind was to get done with my course with no ideas for the future.
All I knew is that I had a knack for algorithms and that all things with a screen and keyboard seemed to like me for some reason.
But little did I know that there were other things that mattered a lot more than just my IT skills.

I've done many different things over these two years and these are things that I never knew were in me.
From being my class representative to bigger and heavier things like organizing rallies and building expensive projects from scratch.
From building and maintaining my department's website to helping some friends in shooting their short films.
Participating in research paper contests and winning awards at prestigious institutions.
Helping my mom in organizing and hosting charity meets and running off on holidays by myself when I needed to take a break.

I've done whatever I could to learn as much as I can and I can safely say I'm a brighter,smarter guy than I was two years ago....not to mention..mentally...I'm as tough as nails.
I have big dreams of building and owning my own company one day.Backpacking Western Europe,Scandanavia and Egypt,building a bike or car from scratch,earning a doctorate,runnning a charitable foundation that does'nt just give money but gets down and works at root level,holding a political office(far fetched but Yah! I wanna do that).....these are a few of the other things on the list that I pray I can realize.

At this junction where I have just a couple of months left over,I know that looking back at all the things I've done,
I realize how much I need to figure myself out and how hard I need to work to get where I want to be.
I know I have the drive but the direction is the real challenge.I'm glad that I've accomplished many of the things that were important to me back in the day...I've seen all the movies I've always wanted to....although some of them were a pain to find but were worth it.I've read all the books that I've always wanted to.I've backpacked the length of our country(the breadth is waiting for this summer)....trekked,skied,climbed and jumped.Met and learned things from amazing people.



At this point I realize how much I need to get back into myself,put myself in the chair
and ask...where do you wanna be ?

Mixing Panic with Pleasure......

Calangut is an incredible beach.
Awesome beach,soft white sand
and stretches as far as the eye can see.
I met some decent folks who went to Goa every year.
They were kind enough to let me tag along.

The good thing bout Goa is that
a lot of places to visit are really close by.
So you can get around without gettin exhausted.
So I did just that...

Spent the morning at Calangut.
Dined and relaxed.

Visited the Church of St.Xavier next.
Visited a few more beaches.
And spent the evening on the Cruise.

Had fun....time to go..got an exam the day after.
Got back to Panjim and found a bus for Hyd that was leavin in bout 10 mins.
Rushed to an ATM and drew some cash.
Sprinted for the bus stand.

Had a feelin something was wrong...did I miss something ?
Pause...rewind....pause...did I take my card out of the ATM Machine ?
No I did'nt ! Screw the bus...
Run back and get it before someone finds it
and decides to extend his/her vacation in Goa.

Ran back..no card..just a grinning security guard.
Asked him bout the card...He said that the machine destroys
it if it is'nt pulled out in time.
Arthur Menezes..you missed a bus for home on a Saturday....It's 10:30pm.
All the banks are closed...and you got an exam on Monday.
Welcome to 'Screwed'ville.

Back to the hotel..
Mr.Rego at the reception is happy to see me.
I cant say the same for myself.
Had a heavy Goan meal for dinner.
and almost cried myself to sleep.

Woke late the next morning and blocked my card.
Drew some more cash and booked a seat for 7.00pm
.....the earliest one I could get.
Spent most of the day in Panjim,
and got on the bus in the evening.

Had an Afgan national seated next to me.
Had a really good converstion with the guy.
He was a student doin an MA in Eco from Pune.
It was great to hear his views and about his background.
Progressive and yet grounded and realistic.....
Spoke bout India,Indians,Afganisthan,Afgans,Business,Politics,Terrorrism and Goa.

Reaced Hyd at 7.00 in the mornin.
Reached home and crashed.
Spent the early Monday morning preppin for the exam.
Went really well..thank God.

Time to Kill (lots of it......)

Spent most of the morning around the gateway and another hour on the ferry.
Did'nt have my CybeShot with me,so used the cam on my phone.
Had lunch at at a Barista(if club sandwiches and a Pina Colada qualify....)
Had loads of time, so decided to walk back to CST.
Stopped by the Jewish Synagogue and took a few pics.
Circled the Stock exchange and took a few more.

Spent bout an hour at the Jehangir Gallery.
Stared at some pretty interesting stuff.
Counted the bubbles and squares on other "not so intersting" stuff.
I find a piece a lot more interesting if I know a bit about the artist.

Did a bit more roaming around and still had time left over.
Bought a Miles Davis CD at Rhythm House.
Saw Angels and Demons...
Need to kill time somehow.

Walked over to Kayani's and had a snack.
Chatted with an interesting Parsi guy.
Got some useful info bout Panjim...thanks Rusky.

7:00pm finally...
Got on a bus filled with Goans
and one very annoying lady who had taken my seat and
I think was surgically attached to her cellphone.
Jabbered on till 11...I had to tell her to let me sleep.

Other than that...the drive was awesome....the view was incredible
the air was fresh and almost fragrant.
Reached Panjim at bout 6.30...
Looked beautiful from a distance and I got happier as we arrived.
Me go for now...will tell you about a minor disaster in the next post.