China-An emerging superpower or a nation of poof balls

I believe the world just can't hold down the oriental stallion.Every other day one comes across reports of wildlife poaching in the Indian subcontinent. Tigers were already being targeted all over the country. Rhinos are the latest additions to the ever increasing list of endangered  species being pushed to extinction.In almost all the cases the supply of the contraband is destined for the Chinese medicine market. In this traditional Chinese medicine system animal parts are largely used for making aphrodisiacs. China must acknowledge its title of being the most populous country  to the Indian tigers! Still the dragon doesn't seem to be satiated and wildlife's being lost to keep its loins from drying up. India's always tried to resolve issues and conflicts through peaceful means.In this case if our Chinese neighbors feel the need, I'am sure our youth will be more than eager to help.Bible says "love thy neighbor as thyself" and here we won't mind saying-"love thy neighbor's wife as thyself"!! So all our "chini" brethren need to do is open there eyes a bit more to other options and do something to spare the endangered species.      

Nation's in the pink of health??

Recently had the opportunity to visit one of the best known hospitals in the city : Max Healthcare.The medical facilities and services provided are indeed state of art and best.However considering the 70% of Indians who live below poverty line, certain non medical "facilities" seemed unnecessary and vain. A glimpse into this hospital cum hotel:

Few of the numerous pictures lining the walls of a gallery may put many modern art gallerias' to shame..

                                        

Patients need medical expertise not marble flooring where humble tiles would have been equally hygienic.

                                        

The city is bogged down with power cuts,the central air conditioning here seems frivolous. 

These are a very few snaps I could manage before the security staff started frowning. I regret not having captured the junk food chain Subway outlet provided on the ground floor along with Cafe Coffee Day.It's interesting how market can be developed out of sickness as well. I wish these icons of a booming healthcare industry become  more considerate towards the underprivileged and the uninsured(both insurance and healthcare seem to be symbiotic). At least they could have a cut on this splurge and instead open up a OPPD(outdoor poor patient department) ward. After all the recent healthcare bill passed by the government proclaims an equal right to health for all which I believe the "creamy" layer won't mind to trade off with their right to universal luxury. 

Rise of Red....a Reason for us to be Red Faced..

What picture do you conjure in mind when you hear the word 'maoist' or 'naxal'?Is it some creature in fatigues and a red bandana who jumps from behind the bush brandishing a Kalashnikov? He can't appreciate the sleek features of your iPhone or tell apart that authentic Gucci  from a fake yet he's also a citizen of India or maybe a Bharatwasi as you can call him.This gun toting native seems to be living in intense obscurity shunning away these fruits of a shining India.To say that the state never bothered would be unjust, the state did try to "develop" him and his community.They brought industries to color the skies and rivers black.Dams were built to supply power to the hungry and deprived.Employment was also given to them as laborers because they weren't skilled enough to survive in the corporate jungle.Lush greenery was transformed into systematic grey of mines and steel.The asthma and bronchitis were the added bonuses that most of the workers shared.Hence the effort has been very commendable indeed,only it made these people more anguished.The lines of their thought and ours seem to be meeting at infinity and the gap is increased when we take into account the benignity shown by our corrupt officials and politicians in matters of rehabilitation and environment protection.If only we had reached out and lend them a ear.This bharatwasi is not here to propound some theory of Mao or Lenin or Marx in the state politics.In fact he's not educated enough to circumspect their implications.I believe he doesn't even care also for who stood for what. All he needs is his forest to sustain his community.He needs relinquishment from the atrocities by state protectors turned perpetrators.He doesn't even need food or wealth as he says nature takes well care of those requirements.However some education in nature conservation and basic healthcare won't go unheeded.Unfortunately this humble being ends up at the hands of some bigoted egoists who readily place guns in hands begging for food.People struggling to make ends meet end up in a protracted armed struggle against the state.It is these people the tribals that suffer the most in the war between the state and those against it.

Tiger tiger burning bright

It's exasperating to see the headlines of internationally acclaimed media houses like BBC announcing "developments" in the Tiger Woods "scandal" everyday.I fail to understand how much involved the earthlings of our gen i are ready to get in totally irrelevant news regarding someone's private life.The icing on the cake comes when you see guilt ridden face of Mr.Woods as if he was caught stealing balls from a golf course.The media seems to have found a new fetish in sniffing around celebrity bedrooms.The latest victims were the French prez Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife.Woods prowess in his game was  the root of all his fame and now people seem to have lost track of that and are busy counting his mistresses.It's ironical how a Roman Polanski was left all alone to pursue his artistic exploits and win accolades in spite of  being proven guilty in a child abuse case.Media seems to be losing touch with its congenital responsibility of being a social thought reformer and is instead turning into a gossip monger.

The rose...

Once there was a blossom
in a greenhouse much alive
where life seemed to thrive
but was naively playing possum

started as a bud in pure white
in that sunlit creche it used to hover
peering shyly from its green cover
quivering with curiosity and delight

staring at the clouds fading yonder
soon the time came to be mellow
and the bud bloomed bright yellow
why the bees sing it used to wonder

morning came with greeting dew
butterflies dancing averted to think
made it smile in a healthy pink
rustling away the time flew

the breeze spread a scent of change
with it's furnace of passion fed
the rose turned into a fiery red
unaware it was that life's strange

youth had come with a virtue ominous
and all one saw was that thorn
this made it stand much forlorn
amid primroses and lilies so pompous

sent hurtling into an abyss of gloom
so plagued by this public slack
it settled in a ravenous black
starkly stood serenading for doom

the gardener pitying this plight
cut and shifted it to a cistern
to place it in his moonlit tavern
here it found peace in the night.

The Godman

Prancing around those eyes shining bright
is it wisdom or the luster of malice
if you are a sheep lost in this vast sprawl
he'll show a way for your spirit to crawl
in case you're reluctant 'cos of a black fleece
he'll get you sheared clean safely in peace
for those of you innocent in white
he'll find a cause for you to fight
Lambs who are as always docile
take the noble path so beguile
blow em selves to get even
with others of the same coven
If you think straight well that's a vice
anyway he can solicit at a price
he may also like to keep it gay
ultimately to err is human they say
I wonder how the shepherd absolves
these rottweiler turned into wolves
wiser it is to seek the morning star
that's the same for whoever you are

Happy Holi!!!

Come Ram come Rahim

bring along Joe and Goldstien

too cold a winter it's been

amass naked O! progeny of the Sire

come on blokes let's light up a fire

The spring is in full sheen

Nature revelling in all the hues

It's high time we shed our blues

mingle and compel Satan to admire

come on blokes let's light up a fire

Wink at the bearded and tonsured

their books lost the teachings with time

together we celebrate with a song divine

tear 'em up and toss into the pyre

come on blokes let's light up a fire

Hop over here we're broiling something green

relax a bit and take a smooth toke

you see life's just a veil of smoke

in the moment forget your being and desire

come on blokes let's light up a fire

No need to rush at a summit

seeing those fumes so innocuous

to the callous harm done in sumptuous

it's union with our souls that we aspire

come on blokes let's light up a fire