From shadows to the stars

As I was reading the newspaper in the morning today, my grandma told me that she had found a mistake in the paper. Apparently she was reading something of a biography of recently re-elected President of the United Sates, Barack Obama. In the bio, it was written that Obama's parents had married sometime in Feb and that Obama was born in August. She said to me, "How could he have been born after barely 5 months? It must be a mistake!" I casually replied that Obama's parents must have had pre-marital sex and that like so many other young American couples must have married only after realising that the girl was pregnant. At first, I didnt take much notice of this conversation. But it struck me a couple of minutes later. My grandma found it impossible to even consider the option that someone could have had sex before marriage. In her mind, there was no way that this could be possible. The only explanation for this could be that the newspaper screwed up the...

I don't know if this happens to all people. It certainly happens to me, but that might have something to do with the fact that I am socially awkward. Okay, let me explain first. Sometimes, people who I know, but am really not "friends" with send me text messages, or an instant message on Google Chat, etc. The conversation generally goes like this. Him/ Her: Hiiiii!! How are you? Me: Hey! I'm fine, what about you? Him/ Her: I'm good too.. (after a few seconds) Him/ Her: What else? Me: Nothing much Him/ Her: hmm... And that's the end of it. I don't know why these people try to engage in a conversation with me when they clearly dont have anything to talk about. I mean, I appreciate the effort and all. But I'd much rather avoid these awkward, pointless and embarrassing conversations. Sometimes I try to pull the conversation and make it a bit longer. I ask them about their college or school. The answer will be something like "g...

I recently saw an article in an Indian national English daily that "Obama winning his second Presidential term shows that United States of America is becoming an example of how diverse cultures can survive in harmony". And this article was written by an Indian. I thought to myself "He's gotta be kidding me!" For the Westerners, America might be "diverse". But an Indian knows what diversity is. Here in our country, we have a new culture and language about every 100 meters. And this guy says "USA is an example of cultures living in harmony"? We, Indians, are all taught as kids that "Unity is in Diversity". We are united. Yeah sure, we have had a few haggles here and there. But can you imagine any other country with so many different cultures, languages, people and religions living in such peace? Hell, the American's are all paranoid and shoot a couple of people from other countries every week. And this country is supposed...

I try to keep this blog as un-political as I can, but it irks me how people are always defending and talking about religion as a "good thing". I am fed up of this and will use the words of Bill Maher, stand up comedian and political commentator to project my views and ideas in a clear and articulated fashion. Here goes. "People ask me, "Oh Bill, you're such a meanie. Why do you have to go after religion? It gives people comfort, it doesn't anything" Huh." (makes a shocked expression) "Okay, well, other than wars, the crusades, the inquisition, 9/11, arranged marriages to minors, blowing up girls schools, the suppression of women and homosexuals, fatwas and ethnic cleansing, honour rape (and killings), human sacrifice, burning "witches", suicide bombings, condoning slavery and the systematic f*****g of children, there is nothing religion harms" What's your answer to that? I have no problem with people practising fa...

In any language, you can find some anomalies in the grammar, spellings or the meanings of words. English, though the "global" language, is no exception, as I have found today. Consider the word "awesome". awe·some   [ aw -s uh m ] adjective 1. inspiring   awe :  an   awesome   sight. 2. showing   or   characterized   by   awe . 3. Slang   .  very   impressive It means something amazing or unbelievable, right? Now let us see the word "awful". aw·ful  [ aw -f uh l ] adjective 1. extremely   bad;   unpleasant;   ugly 2. inspiring   fear ;  dreadful;   terrible It is the exact opposite of "awesome". "awe" + "some" = "awesome". "awe" + "full" = "awful" But we all know that "some" < "full" Doesn't this mean that awful should be something better than awesome? Am I just plain crazy, or is this a flaw...

There are a lot of examples one can choose to prove that people of the present day are unable to use common sense. Today, I will discuss one of the most obvious and dumbfounding ones. While travelling on roads, I see a lot of parents walking on the main road with their very young kids. Lets say about the ages of 4-5. That's all very fine, I have no problem with that (well there are a few concerns about cancer, but hey, in the modern world, no one is free from the risk of cancer). But I remember that when me and my dad used to go for walks, when I was a kid of 4 or 5, he used to walk on the outside. By outside, I mean towards the side of the traffic, with me away from the traffic. The below picture gives a better idea of what I am saying. This way, I am on the inside. Even if I take a few steps to my side, I will be safe. But these days, it's not so. Parents walk on the inside and kids walk on the outside. How can you not realise how stupid and dangerous this is? Wha...