Am I Still Homeless ???

Growing up, home was always across the Gulf. Well i’m the Middle East kid. And this is what home felt like: the muezzin’s call for prayer before dawn, the heavenly scent of roadside sheeshas, the scene of the Saudis clad in their traditional thobe(kinda scary at times) and the taste of freshly grilled shwarma meat melting with the sauce.

All of my childhood years were spent here and as a matter of fact nothing much changed for me ...... the same place, the same house, the same school, the same shopping destination.Huh....Nothing really changed???....Sob…sob…sob…I want to go home :(... I have always cogitated about the travelling kids. Those who shifted schools with every place their parents were transferred to, and whose friends took on fresh flavors along with the new food. I still wonder if they feel life is more exciting for them. Do they ever long for the stability of a single place, or do the relocations make it all worth for them?Now thats a pretty tough question to stack up against those who are virtually helpless.

I wouldn’t know. Because as I grew up in the Gulf - learning to read from the right to the left, getting used to my name being pronounced as “yuni” and beginning to love long evening walks at the Corniche beside the sea. I had my place to belong. It was familiar enough for me to feel,it was home.

I guess that’s why being transported for good to a place across the sea was a big deal. There was no home anymore, nothing that felt known. Everything was different, a big adventure, a source of great thrill. I landed in India,the place i used to visit ocassionally once a year.

The funny thing about coming back to India is this – being Indian, you’re supposed to fit in…...but weirdly, everything feels alien. For one, this land is quite overloaded quite unlike the desert. The greenery takes your breath away, there’s a constant earthy aroma in the air, and and it’s forever crowded! Picture this: You take the bumpy bus ride being jostled by a dozen others for the same standing(!) spot under the railing. You’d think that squeezing in more people into a single bus would reduce the traffic on the road. But no. You’re still held up in the same spot because some merrymakers have decided to take their dancing to the streets.

India amuses you at first.

Then other issues become reality: the electricity problems are chronic, the mosquitoes bite, no air-conditioners, the weather is irrational. You think you’ve seen it all in the desert, but here is where you swelter in the heat. And then monsoon arrives in style: It pours down to confine you indoors…only to finally stop and make it icky to walk outdoors.

You learn to adjust.

And over time, through the monsoons and mosquitoes, and the crowds and the confusion, India slowly grows on you.You learn to look for opportunity beyond what is familiar, get used to the sound of different tongues and adjust to new friends from varied backgrounds. You can’t sleep without the noise anymore, you need the morning cry of the sabziwallah to wake you up, and buses not packed with 75 people look empty to you now. Before you know it, it’s here you belong.

And slowly, you've accepted.

Well, what more can I say? Just when i thought, i had finally found my ' true ' home, here i m back to the desert land in pursuit of a career.

So thats it folks......Pls do post in your invaluable comments......... I value the bouquets and brickbats alike, so send in the feedback and let’s have a dialogue........Well until ma next scribble Inshallah this is UKV signing off :)

63 Years Of Freedom "ND" Are We Really Free?

This 15 August, 2010, we are going to celebrate our 63rd Independence Day. Its been 63 years since we gained freedom from the claws of British Raj. There are going to be celebrations in Schools and Offices. Almost all the TV channels will do an Independence Day special. But one question that arise in my mind is that "Are we really free?".

Or are we still stuck in the chains of may social evils, prejudices, social divides etc. ?

We live in a country where we can get rid of a Rs. 500(my laptop doesn't have the new rupee symbol) traffic challan by bribing the traffic officer with Rs. 50. Where we can't get any of our work done without "chai-paani". Yes, corruption is one of the biggest problems faced by our country. And be it anything big or small we'll always find corrupt politicians and officers easily involved with it. Be it the 'Commonwealth Games' or the much popular 'Indian Premier League'.

Our political parties don't know any way other than 'bandhs' of protesting against anything. And these supposed peaceful 'bandhs' usually end with people gathering up and burning 'roadways buses' and breaking windshields of cars and trucks.

And when we thought 'Terrorism' is going to be a big problem to fight against, 'Naxalism' rose and spread through entire nation like forest-fire. Neither the government nor the armed forces were prepared for this and as a result we lost many jawaans at the hands of naxalites.

Poverty and Illiteracy have still not been dealt with. With the rich becoming richer and poor getting poorer, this rich-poor divide is becoming larger and larger with each passing day. And even today, though we claim that one day our nation is going to be a superpower, around 33% of the total population is still illiterate.

Talking of population, population explosion is also one of the major problems. As of April 2010, the total population in India was 1.18 billion.Already containing 17.31% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing China.

We can still see young children cleaning plate and serving meals in small 'dhabas' and restaurants when they should be studying in school. When they should have a book in their hands, not broomsticks.

Many politicians and political parties still use caste and religion as a means of attracting their 'vote-bank'. And if it does't work they use language, state, north-south etc. to divide people making mockery of the so called secular nation.

Then there's the Jammu and Kashmir Issue. After the unrest in 2008, the movement for separation has gained a boost.

Obviously there are many other problems faced by our country.We can only be free and completely Independent in the true sense of the word only after we get rid of these problems. We dream that we will be a strong country by 2020. The vision 2020. But going at this pace India is going to be a developed nation only after 2056(maybe later than that).

Now it is up to us (as we know almost all the leaders are good for nothing) that we work towards finding solutions to these problems and break free from this mesh of big and small problems. If we all work at individual level, the vision 2020 is quite achievable. We just have to work for it.

At last, Wishing a very Happy and Prosperous Independence Day to all the Indians out there. :)