Of peacocks and crocodile tears

I don't think nowadays. That I don't really get the time to think is another matter but despite this, I used to carve out a few minutes which turned into hours of reflections.  Love is not a 'bhaste' of time, thought is. And a much greater 'bhaste' than thought is reacting to this thought or speaking out about it or the 'bhastiest' of them all: writing about it. (Ek toh more than half junta doesn't understand what's written in these articles and focus on just a couple of words. Arre yaar, kuch kehna hi he toh pictures se bolo na ya video daal do. And that too kindly do it in Hindi, in points with not more than 5 words.)

Don't think, don't react. Instead do what smart guys like Adani are doing...make hay while the sun shines. Let the country go to hell debating stupid issues like peacock tears and PC's non-PC posture while you quietly keep increasing your bank worth. Don't make any noise, work silently, keep people who make laws happy. Tomorrow oil and coal might be overtaken by solar and other alternative energies but for now, the government is happy collecting taxes despite decreasing world prices, also giving more clearance leeway and you are happy to squeeze out as much as you can, while you can.

The whole nation was busy creating jokes and abusing Vijay Mallya last year. Bloody hell, we went through demonetization for people like him. Did the jokes, articles, social media posts affect him? "I will come and see each match of India", he tweets...he loves his country. Talking of demonetization, again while we divided ourselves into two camps shouting ourselves hoarse on who's right and who's wrong, making funny and sad jokes, and busy downloading and using Paytm, Ambani kept quiet and in May, six months after it all began, Reliance Capital sold its almost 1 per cent stake in the company (bought in 2010 for 10 crore) for Rs 275 crore to China's Alibaba Group. 


Don't be fools, don't be swayed by the waves of patriotism and get entangled in debates with other fools. War is good. Discontent is good. Be selfish...you have just one life. Your heart will last longer, your finances will be larger, basically life won't be a 'bhaste of time'. Oh, and yes, if people raise questions...you know those fools who have no other work, don't worry. There is another lot of fools ready to fight for you and say, 'Where were you when the Congress looted the nation for 60 years?' or better still: 'leftie sala' or launch massive viral whatsapp jokes...If all else fails, there is always our friendly media who will start another issue with a non-issue to entertain and divert the nation.

Love's in the Air

Whether you have a Valentine or not, whether you give a rose to anyone or not, February is truly a month when Love’s in the air! There is romance, there is expression of love.

When we have dated each other about a million and three times, got married, had three kids together, why do we need a Valentine’s Day to celebrate love? I mean, isn’t it Valentine’s Day everyday? The heck, No! It is definitely not Velentine’s Day everyday. In the midst of homework and formal dinners, school nightouts and exams, parties with friends and cinema outings, the You and Me tends to get lost more often than not. We do take rides alone, under the moonlight with Kishore Kumar and Elvis, we do hold hands, and then we talk of… our kids, travel plans, fine-tuning our budget!

We say ‘Love you’ but forget to say ‘I love you’.  And today is exactly that… A day to say ‘I love you’. No matter that I may scream at you for leaving the shower on in the bathroom tomorrow but right now, at this moment, I take time out to say, ‘I love you’.  This is the one day to go Bollywood mushy, to do the overdose of cliched quotes, for heart shaped balloons and chocolate boxes, for all those things that you do not do normally.A heart shaped balloon might seem very embarrassing to both give and receive but do it once...you will at least laugh out loud with your other half even if nothing else!

Whether it’s your first love and you secretly leave a card with a thumping heart – Does she feel the same? I am sure he’s the one I will spend my whole life with and please, please, please God, let him love me back! Whether you are a mother looking at your growing child with wonder – When did you grow up? Or whether you are a child gazing at your mom with fresh eyes as she rushes around fixing your lunchbox – I love you, Mom! Whether you are a gardener who loves his plants or a 9-6 er who hates to leaves her dog behind at home while she goes to work. Whether you are a cook who loves to make and share food. Whether you are an ayah who makes sure baby’s happy or whether you are baby who loves the way your ayah holds you safe. No matter who you are, days fly by and we show our love in our own beautiful ways. But I still feel Valentine’s day is important because in this hustle and bustle of life and love, showing and telling someone that you love someone consciously and with an effort is always worth it.

So, let’s bake a cake for our mali, surprise our dog with an unexpected long walk or ride, make special cards for our kids full of mushy hearts and kisses. As for that boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife of yours, shock them by holding their hands, look at them straight in the eye and say ‘I love you’. It’s not easy but it will be worth it. Cupid’s smiling 

And for romance all the other times, there's always SRK.

!