India shining??

On the eve of India's 65th independence, Indians across the country and abroad were absorbed into a festive mood to celebrate the essence of independence and commemorate the sacrifice of our freedom fighters for our motherland. It is a day that comes along with a lot of pride and joy for every Indian.

Today, when I breathe in this free nation- the sovereign, secular, democratic republic of India, on one hand my head is held high with pride, for this country that served 200 years of slavery, today is one of the world's largest and fastest growing economy; Chandrayan, White Revolution, Kalpana Chawla, two times cricket world champion are just a few examples of India's success in various fields.

While on the other hand, I stoop down with shame when I realize that deep down, behind that astonishing success story, lies India's ugly truth-"CORRUPTION". Our Government is scarred with innumerable scams-2G scam, CWG, Swiss bank accounts, Bofors, Adarsh apartments and in addition to it, the mockery of the Jan Lokpal Bill has further deteriorated the prestige of our Govt. Our politicians, be it the ruling party or the opposition, are just playing the game of power and the blame game among themselves.

On this note, I would like to ask myself- are only the politicians of this country corrupt? Is the common man of India who claims to be a responsible citizen of the nation utterly honest and not corrupt? On 15th August, 2011 a very disturbing incident took place that has indeed forced me to ask myself this question- Will India ever shine??

I was travelling by bus on my usual route which charges me  Rs.15/-. I was taken aback when the conductor issued me a Rs.25/- ticket. I, very politely told him that there has been a mistake and that he should give me a Rs.15/- ticket. I tried convincing him but instead he gave me a piece of his mind. Not wanting to create a scene in public, I quietly handed over to him the money. Frankly speaking, I was very disturbed. It's not the question of monetory loss or gain. It's the question of truth and the violation of my fundamental rights. Probably, if I had taken the issue to the transport corporation, that particular bus conductor could have lost his job.

I'm sure that many others like me, have gone through similar situations. The auto-rickshaw meters are almost always tampered and the travellers end up paying more than the actual cost. Whenever such a thing happens, if we contact the traffic police then and there, maybe the auto-rickshaw driver will get thrashed and we pay just how much is required. But, we refrain from doing so.

Over the years, the middle class population of this country has developed an "arre chalta hai" kind of attitude. This is nothing but our support for corruption. The whole system of this country is so much politically manipulated and power driven, that we have been, infact forced to develop such a carefree attitude, which in turn supports corruption. So this becomes a vicious cycle, the outcome of which we all know quite well.

In order to break this, any one phase of the cycle has to change. Expecting the people at power to change is as unreasonable as expecting the Sun to rise from west. But, the later is quite possible, i.e. the common lot of this nation will have to come out of their carefree attitude and become more responsive towards the Govt, its policies and their implementation and raise voice against any form of corruption. 

This is not an easy task. But, we all know that Rome was not built in one day. We have already taken our first step towards it: Anna Hazare's protest and the nationwide support for his protest is a clear indication that the common man shall no longer tolerate corruption in silence.

On this note, I remember the popular dialogue from the hit movie "Rang De Basanti": Koi v desh perfect nahi hota hai, usse perfect banana padta hai...

Years ago, our patriotic heros made an attempt to build a perfect nation. But, in the course of time their attempts have failed innumerable times. Now, its our time to rebuild this nation and make it perfect. I can't help but imagine a day when the entire country will get together and fight against corruption. The recent happenings give me a feeling that with every passing moment, this day is drawing closer and closer. Then, a feeble voice from deep within my heart tells: "India will shine!!"

Campus to Corporate...

Four years down the line, I came to Bangalore as a teenager from a small-town- confused, anxious about the future, grief-stricken to be parted from home but at the same time thrilled to be a part of the hustle and bustle of the big city. I immediately got accustomed to the college life. I was care-free and "pseudo" independant (pseudo because I was still financially dependant on my parents ;);)). I was in my la-la land; obviously as we all know- ignorance is bliss and so I was blissfull. I was innocent, candid and believed that the world is no less than a fairyland. My friends became my family!!

1st year of college: fun-filled, exciting, in a nutshell- WOW!!

Then came 2nd and 3rd year. I got exposed to the harsh realities of life; got to know a lot about human nature and instincts. The world was no longer a fairyland and friends were not even close to family. Sometimes I laughed at my stupidity and sometimes I cried. Still I tried my best not to lose my focus from my studies and career. I absorbed everything as if it was all just a part of my learning process.

4th year was like a roller-coster ride. It took a giant dip in the beginnig; things were not happening the way I had measured and planned and it was a big gloomy phase of my life. But then, there is always light at the end of the cave. I successfully completed my final year project and hence my final year and got placed in a reputed core company which is a dream that every electrical and electronics engineer nurtures. I was on "cloud 9"!!!

I realised that I had climbed the first step of success. Here, I would like to mention that I don't mean to sound thrasonical. I'm just penning down the feelings of a fresh gradute who just got her dream job.

I had to join the Bangalore office of Volvo on July 13, 2011. That gave me a month's time to prepare myself for the corporate world. I spent this time giving my wordrobe a more corporate look and finding myself a decent accomodation close to my workplace. I was very very excited; completed all the pre-joining formalities with lot of enthusiasm.

Then the "big day" of my life finally dawned. As I stepped into the boardroom ( we were instructed to go to the boardroom for the formal introduction with the HR team), I realised that I was the only girl in the group of 19 GETs ( graduate engineer trainee)!!.... My first reaction was "WHAT??...SERIOUSLY??"

Well, yet another challenge for me. As I mingled with everyone I was slowly coming out of the gender hesitation- made friends with everyone, got introduced to managers, group leaders and seniors. People say the corporate world is a doggy-dog world. Luckily I have not felt that pinch yet, maybe because I am still very new to this world. All the 19 of us got our own desks, access cards and ID cards and it has been an amazing experience till now.

Today, I am a responsible and independant adult. I learnt my own lessons about life and fought my way through it. The life from campus to corporate was not an easy one; but I lived it and today I am standing on my own feet. It surely has been a hell lot of experiences but it was worth it. I am sure there is still lot to learn and even harder times to face; but this time I am not an innocent teenager who will get carried away and fooled by people. This time I am prepared to face the twists and turns of life in a more mature way....

To give an ending note to this article, friends, life is tough but it all depends on us how we take it and what we learn from it. So live life to the fullest and face it with a smile:):)... 

Strings attached...

Today's Bangalore Times had an interesting article..."friends or frenemies?"....In the age of social networking sites we boast of having hundreds and thousands of friends in our friend lists but let us do a reality check on ourselves: how many "real" friends do we actually have??
I personally had a very strong sense of satisfaction whenever i looked into my list of 'true friends'... Honestly, it was quite long. I loved and trusted all of them. Or I should say "blindly" trusted all of them. It is only at the moment of truth when one realizes the superficiality of a relationship. When the moment of truth of my life had finally arrived, it was like a thump on my heart!!...Apart from the fact that it was the most difficult phase of my life till date, it also opened my eyes to the fact that I was actually surrounded by more of "frenemies" than friends...
I'm not sad; rather I'm happy that I could see the real faces hidden behind the mask of friendship. I'm happy that I could also identify my real friends!!...A true friend is one who accepts us  the way we are, who is never judgmental on us but understands the reason behind every action or decision we take. A true friend is one who will stand by us during our most difficult times and guide us in the right direction.
I consider myself quite lucky because even at the most difficult time of my life, when I was alienated by almost all my friends, I still had three people who stood by me like pillars; one of them being my own sister who is also my best friend!! Seriously, some strings can never be broken; and such were the strings that were attached between their hearts and mine.
Sometimes it may take time for that person to understand you. But have patience and don't lose faith on them. Because a true friend will eventually come back to you no matter what. Always remember that friendship can never be conditional or selfish. As the old saying goes...A friend in  need is a friend in deed!!

Special...

As a young girl, i always had a very clear outline about the kind of person with whom i would eventually fall in love. My sister used to laugh at me when i would narrate to her the long list of qualities that i wanted my partner to possess. But as time passed, reality crept into me and the "outline" started to fade away and got modified innumerable times. In layman's language we call it "experience"...I had lost almost all hopes of finding that one person who would make a chill run down my spine every time he had his eyes glued onto mine; whose world would revolve around me all throughout his life.
But i turned out to be the the lucky one!! It was like any other summer afternoon; sitting in college we were discussing a street play that we were supposed to perform, when for the first time i felt his eyes fixed on me. Little i had realized that this one look would change my life forever. He left me confused!!...I could not read his thoughts. Was he really passionate about me or was it just a figment of my imagination?...Days passed. I was still confused and now a tinge of fear got added to it. Was my long forgotten dream finally coming true?
He was pip and perfect. Every word he uttered was like a strong magnet that drew me closer and closer to him. Yes, i fell in love with him and some voice deep within my heart kept telling relentlessly that he too had the same intense feelings for me. I wanted him; wanted to spend every single moment of my life with him. But it was not easy. I had to let go off many other relationships in order to bond with this single relation. Was it worth it? How could this one person become so special to me in so less time? How could his love for me give me so much strength that i was ready to undertake any risk in order to be with him?? Honestly, I did not have any answer to these and innumerable other questions that were revolving in my head.
All I knew was that He was special; so special that everything else seemed petty in front of him. It took me months to arrive at this conclusion. And when I did, I feared was he still there for me? Would he gaze at me with those same passionate eyes as he did the very first day?...I heaved a sigh of relief when I realized that he was still the same; his love for me had not changed a bit.
There are times in everyone's life when hard decisions are to be made. But ones they are made, one should not lament over them. I had made my decision and today we are together. I could not have been happier than this!!.. I have finally realized what it feels like to be special for someone. And without a doubt, he will always be- My special one!!