Moment.

As i write these words, something is passing away....slowly , steadily ....but surely. And, its not passing away just alone....its taking away a plethora of events with it.

It is this "Moment"...Silently subliming into the warp of time,never to return back.

At this very moment a million children are born, a million lives lost, a butterfly opens up its wings for the very first time, a baby learns to smile, someone stirs his piping hot coffee in the mug...and some whirlpool stirs up an entire city....All in a moment.

This is it. This is the moment. And you are a part of it !

Silently, i observe the entire galaxy of events getting sucked in time....with the moment passing by, the blood in my veins gushes towards my heart....who waits like a runner eager to take the baton in a relay...to pump it all throughout my body ....to keep me alive for the next "Moment"...

The hair on my cheek grow, a millionth of a milimeter, making me a man from a boy, and a old man from a man....

My brain sends a zillion signals that cross every synapse, to reach to the farthest hair follicle on my body, integrating each of my organs that perform in complete sync like an orchestra...An orchestra that never ends its concert, until the concert of my life ends.

Its 8:34, and 24 seconds......26th Dec 2009

An hour, a minute , a second that will never come back....never ever....

Magical ! isnt it?.......Every moment comes with its own piece of magic and mystery...

Every moment is so important, so rare.....

Lets not just exist...lets "Live it"...

No one knows when will be the last moment...

Peace.

~Alok

One day meal.

By the time you read this I am sure you will be aware or at least informed about the dire shortage of water in India. We are steadily walking towards a complete " fight till the last drop of water!" situation. The rains have been scanty and irregular. As a result we can surely expect to have nearly empty dams all around this vast nation by the month of May( If it doesnt rain at all by then!).

You may be living in Vasai or Versova, Churney road or Churchgate, Nariman Point or Nalasopara, the one thing that you will share with every other Indian is that you too will face the dire shortage of water and in turn also of vegetables....frequently experiencing water cuts and price hikes .

As the vegetable production is meagre in India (Thanks to low rains...and no rains in some parts!), it is bound to affect us all. Many will certainly die of hunger ( who cares...they keep dying everyday...right... WRONG! )

The better ones will survive with a pinch on their pocket...the middle ones will compromise as usual..."lets have a banana...apples are costly!"....".beta banana aur apple me same vitamin hote hai !"

But guys, Cant we do anything about it? Or do we satisfy our ego by cursing the Government for everything ,,....

The blame game will surely satisfy our already inflated ego and vent our frustation out....but it wont really satisfy our "hunger"...

But if all of us..the so called educated..super brainy,techno savvy people try to figure a way out of this problem , Yes we can...

I think I have a small answer..thats churned out of my peanut sized brain..small one..

Here it goes...

1) Almost everyone has a flower pot in his/her house..some may have a plethora of plant species...jasmine..exotic orchids...you name them !

Cant we empty just one flower pot( or buy a new one if you really care for that exotic orchid of yours)

2)Now let us fill that pot with some soil...any simple,plain soil...no qualms( mere desh ki dharti !)

3)While filling that pot let us put a handful of seeds of some vegetable variety..any variety that grows in a flower pot..,Spinach, corriander,raddish,lettuce..etc...(You can buy the seeds from the market.)

4)Thats it! Done with the job...this may take a maximum time of 15 minutes....(i bet on that time ...i've tried it)

5)Every morning when you water your flower pots .,....Water that "special" pot too....

The plant will be matured enough to be plucked out and eaten in 4-6 weeks....corriander takes less time, about 2 weeks.

If half of the people in Mumbai ( that amounts to about 8 million!) follow this..we can feed our family for 1 day( at least)...

That means that the food for 8 million people will be saved for a day( Quite efficient to drop the growing cost of vegetables by a miniscule!)
This can be done for a few more weeks ....and it will be surely interesting to eat a home grown raddish..or garnish your favorite soup with the corriander grown in your backyard or flower pot!
But what is important is to take that step....a small step, but effective one.... Guys....This nation has fed you for years , cant your repay it by giving it just 15 minutes of work..and a flower pot! :)
Hope this helps...its already helping me...
Lets help ourselves...lets help our nation !
Peace and love.

~
Alok.

Shame.

It feels strange to start the second article on my blog with such a title....well ,should we call it an article...im not a journo to write one.....ummm....lets coin a new term for it...say....."Heartologue"...bcos, thats what it is...I pour what's in my heart out on this blog..and its a dialogue...b'cos even you guys can comment, state, respond....
So thats a new word now...." Heartologue"....
So, umm..ya the title of this "Heartologue" is strange..." Shame".....
But there's no other word that qualifies to address the issue better...
Here is the matter. Listen .
Yesterday morning as a part of may daily "commonman" schedule i went out for a walk in a nearby park..
Everything was so normal....Pot bellied gentlemen walking briskly (Their pace changed with the person ahead of them..If its another guy, overtake...if its a Gal, chase her slowly....!)
Some "would-be" models performing their aerobic exercises...
Another category of older men racing ahead in their sports gear, with their branded shoes and bandanas...
Each one trying to show..."Hey, Im younger than you are....!!!"
After, my daily stride, i decided to take a look at an artificial pond created in the park...( the pond's so muddy..its more like a puddle!)
A few other people were standing besides me....showing their kids the colorful fish moving around in the pond..red, silver..you name it.
Whats wrong in all this? .....Nothing....Then whats so special about the "Title"...
Here it is.
In the midst of that messy pond was floating a representative of our identity.....a paper made tricolor !......The national flag....
The pity is that everyone was busy in watching the wide spectrum of colors that the fish had....none of them could see the tricolor in a pityful state..
A huge amount of people visit the park because they are so called " Health conscious".....Is anyone still present who is Conscious of his/her morality......???
Arent we genuinly SHAMELESS?
After waiting there for a while..and watching the entire scene...something pinched my heart....and i got into the pond...wet till the knee....
Got the tricolour out and dried it...then kept it at a dignified place.
Shouldnt this have been done earlier..?
Its your tricolour...your flag....If you dont respect it...believe me, no one will.
-
Alok.

Day 1

So, i 've finally arrived. Lot of thinking went into whether i should blog..or just dump the idea of blogging..
Blogging is essentially the activity of the Famous or infamous celebs....Right?...Wrong ! A Common man has an equal right to reach out to the world ....to say his word...even if its just a simple" hello".
So, first things first......who the hell am i....talking to you guys sitting across the globe reading my blog....Am i really that important?....I dont know....But my modest question is...do i have to be that important to talk to the world?
At least one may get an idea of " What is mediocrity" by reading me ..
But apart from being "common"..i do a lot of things. I sing..well almsot everyone does...but i also compose..And yes, i "write"...
Presently i am penning down a book..its almost 25% done....or lets say 25.33% to be presice ...haha..
But presently the most important thing i am doing is sipping my hot coffee...well, its really that important for me.....actually every moment that brings a smile is precious...
I think im done for today with that last sentence...See ya later...( if at all any ones reading ..lol!)
Bye.
Alok