Shambo - Shiva Shambo

Despite the hue and cry from numerous animal welfare organizations in the UK, Shambo, the sacred bull infested with Bovine tuberculosis, was finally put down. Sadly a long battle that lasted for 5 months could not save the life of the animal.

If only people gave a thought about the numerous Shambos (with or without Bovine Tuberculosis) being slaughtered everyday for meat in India (or in UK for that matter).

Party by the pool – that went awry

It is not everyday that our bosses feel the need to celebrate. Well but this time there was a reason. A rather official one at that.

Although it was during the mid of the week, we (I) geared up for the party as soon as the day ended – a little before that to be precise, but who cares. After all, it is a party hosted by the company no less. I packed my bags and left for the venue with a few of my friends.

It was a resort by the beach and the evening sea breeze was already enveloping the entire place sinfully. Definitely irresistible for a party atmosphere. Music was set up to be played during the course of the event although sans a DJ. The pool – with sparklingly clean blue water – besides where the temporary liquor counter was set up was temptingly inviting. However, nobody seemed to be in a mood to plunge and take a dip.

Meanwhile, the evening faded away and gave way to the moonlit night. The party started after the bigwigs reached the venue. The medley record started playing and people started swaying their way to the lawn after downing a couple of shots.

I obliged too. Not to the music, but to the range of liquor brands that was on display. One of my friends was gleefully taking a look at the counter and contemplating at the prospects of having a sip of all the brands. Which I think he did eventually.

The party was growing wilder and wilder and numerous announcements were being made and prices distributed for the achievers. By now I was a little buzzed, however, my friend has started swaying from side to side losing the firmness of his feet on the ground and smiling from ear to ear. The effect of alcohol obviously.

It was time for food now and I decided to check out what was lined up for dinner – after calling it quits with the alcohol. My friend had by now gulped close to half a dozen shots and still is in a mood to go further. I filled my plate with a bit of everything and came down to the lawn.

The sight I witnessed right then gave me the disgusting feeling of nausea. My friend – although now gave up attempting gulping those shots – was discharging his vomit directly into the pool of crystalline blue water. I left my plate of food right there – partly to give him a hand to find a better place to spew and partly since I decided to give up eating that night after this sight.

It wasn’t until early in the morning since he was safely reached home that I hit the bed.

The party sure was a happening one for me. At least for the fact that my friend was the spotlight of the day (or night rather) and for the ensuing week at work.

Bipasha’s kiss – who frets and who cares?

What’s with the celebrity craze? Are we really a society that’s dying to hear how Bipasha locked her lips with Soccer player Ronaldo in Lisbon backstage of the much-hyped ‘the new seven wonders’ campaign? Or is it just the sensational-news hungry media that blows things out of proportion?

‘Times Now’ dedicated almost a solid hour ranting over the fact that Bips already have a boyfriend and Ronaldo have a girlfriend. They even dissected Bipasha’s damage control statement nitpicking the grammatical aspects (well the grammar was okay, it is just the meaning) of the same. To top all that, analyses were sought from editors of Page 3 tabloids and fellow celebrities.

Good god. A not-so-worthy news piece that could’ve been just compressed in the entertainment segment of the news bulletin – just the way it was shown in CNN-IBN – has literally become a debate of national interest for others.

What if Richard Gere could not control his libido when he shared stage space with Shilpa Shetty and Ronaldo for reasons similar in case of Bipasha? Who cares other than India’s pseudo-religious fundamentalists waiting for an ‘opportune moment’ (as is uttered by Bipasha Basu in her damage control statement over the kiss) to stage protests in the name of safeguarding the cultural values?

Well, I don’t. Not in the least.

A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled's new novel

Although I did not think Khaled Hosseini’s previous book Kite Runner was a great one, I decided to give his latest offering ‘A thousand splendid suns’ a try. Khaled’s plot selection for Kite Runner was laudable, however the novel trailed away from its intensity during the end just before it reached the climax. That apart, Khaled’s splendid job of the portrayal of friendship in the barren and war-ridden Afganisthan definitely made the book worth a read.

Coming to think of ‘A thousand splendid suns’, Khaled has adopted the Afghan backdrop yet again. With numerous issues plaguing Afghan such as Taliban extremism and atrocities against women, there is no dearth of stories and plots based on Afghan.

Tragedies always made good books and I am hoping that ‘A thousand splendid suns’ will make a good read. After all it’s only human to feel our heart going out of compassion towards fellow human beings.

Horoscope validation – Do these forecasts make any sense?

“Talking to people with experience may seem the logical thing to do but expect someone to brag and embellish, leading you astray. Rather than basing a decision on hearsay, stick to the truth and the facts.” – announced my horoscope this morning.

Although I am not the type who – first thing in the morning – look up at my everyday horoscope to plan my day accordingly, I accidentally stumbled upon my today’s horoscope. Courtesy, the intranet site at my workplace. Now that I have been predicted with my day’s outcome, I decided to check on it to know if that had a fraction of truth in it.

Frankly, I have nothing against horoscopes or predictions of this kind. In fact, I believe that the prediction of one’s personality based on their sun signs (Linda Goodman’s is the best example) is rather true than the ones being predicted on an everyday basis. I mean can/will somebody sit and predict what the day would be like for all the twelve signs? If yes, can they be trusted upon? I had these and numerous questions of this kind while I pondered the topic.

Meanwhile, my today’s forecast seemed to be very generic on a broader aspect. That seemed to be an advice rather than a forecast of any kind. Have I had the necessity to speak to an experienced ‘individual’ yet today? And the second line is more of a counsel than the first one. Stick to the truth and facts and do not take a decision based on hearsay – an advise worth considering when encountered with mission-critical decision making.

It’s 4.00 in the evening and I’m fretting over the silly fact that my today’s horoscope forecast has not been of any effect to me. Well the advices? Not a need today to be put use to.

Something in me tells me -- there are worthier topics to write and post. There aren’t any shortfall for topics - Nemesis’ docking at the Chennai harbor, probe into Shekawat’s alleged favoritism to withdraw an FIR on his name, publicity stunt and the lucrative money deals in selecting the new 7 wonders, and the monsoon rains that lash Maharashtra and Gujarat.

However, I convince myself saying that it is okay to be negligent today. I begin to think - Am I taking the second part of my horoscope forecast way too seriously?