Central forces will guard the stadium. A multi-tier set-up including Special Protection Group and the National Security Guard will secure Indian and Pakistani political leaders scheduled to arrive in Mohali. Airspace over Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula has been declared a no-fly zone and Indian Air Force choppers would be on stand by for surveillance. Fighter jets would also be kept ready and unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, used during the Commonwealth Games in Delhi would carry out air surveys.

Now the winner of this match is going to play Sri Lanka in the final on Saturday. So who am I rooting to take this cup? Any doubt? India of course. But we have a theological issue here, for which I might just wish rain dampens the game Last week, I was told the Catholic bishops of Sri Lanka have been praying and fasting for their team to win. Indeed they have been winning all the recent matches, including yesterday’s semi final against New Zealand. In a similar fashion, their counterparts in India have also been praying and fasting for the Indian team which has won the last two matches, and now to semi final. Question is: If Sri Lanka and India both come for the finals, whose prayer would God hear? Church from Sl or Church from In? What a predicament . But God sure ought to favor India! Like the funny Sangh chauvinist would say, India has the second largest population (by the way we also have other ‘largest’ like illiteracy etc)

Anyways, am keeping my finger crossed at the same time I am positively predicting India’s win and its entry to finals with Sri Lanka. Coke, lays, fries, lays and coke is plenty on my table, waiting for the match to start. Can someone fast for these extra flabs of mine please? Now a message to my Indian brethren: Guys, India will win, have no doubt about that. But if at all India doesn’t, do not go frenzy about anything, looking at it as a war defeat, and the 1947 partition etc. Your behaviour will be closely watched from people all over the world. Huh! To who am I talking to? A country where cricket is religion and Sachin is God…umm…giving a second thought. Wishing India the best luck! Also wishing our Prime Minister a good cricket diplomacy!

Adios ~

Was attending the Church last week when I chanced upon a thought for the day at the bottom of the service sheet. It said: “He became what we are that He might make us what He is”. That line I thought beautifully illuminated the birth of Christ amidst all the celebrations for Christmas.

A King took the form of a man, came into the world in a humble manner, became one of us, donned the role of a servant “to serve and not to be served”, empathised with the poor and suffering, and died on the cross to “give his life as a ransom for many”. And everything that he practised and taught was of love. Isn’t love the very reason God came to man.

Like every year, Christmas again looks or has been given that picture of a commercial event with cakes, shopping and presents. The message of servanthood and God stopping so low in humility to draw us close to Him seems to have been forgotten. Christ birth reminds us again that God is not distant and alien but is close…there is no room for fear. “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people,” is what the angel told the shepherds.

Did I mention what the pastor preached during that service last week? The sermon very uncommonly picked two characters from Luke 2 which preachers rarely talk on during Christmas. One is Simeon who was waiting in anticipation for the birth of Christ. With prayer and praise, he waited for the birth. The second was a widow woman Anna who “never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying” for that great event in history. Times have sure changed. The kind of celebration then during the birth of Christ and now for Christmas seems so contrastive. What kind of celebration does this King born in a humble cot made of straw need? Nothing better than knowing and being one like Him.

Wishing you all a super Christmas and an awesome 2011!

Adios ~

So Happy Birthday to indianiser. Currently it has at least 300 regular readers and by next December, it is gona cross the 1000 mark. So let’s wish it all luck. Have no present for my boy oops but its also my birthday and have no present for myself..wont that make us even?

Let me wish you all a Happy Christmas. Enjoy your holidays and dont forget those gigantic resolutions for 2011

Adios ~

You might also want to watch this video of Sunitha Krishnan who is galvanizing India’s battle against sexual slavery by uniting government, corporations and NGOs to end human trafficking. Listen to her in the TED video below. She has rescued over 3,200 trafficked girls. Isn’t that mind-boggling?

Our Kiran Bedi as well was invited to talk at the TED conference. If you have time, watch this as well. For the first time a PM’s car was held under her rule. She also spoke on how she introduced education and meditation programs for prisoners. Well…the credit doesn’t go entirely to her. Much before she entered the police, various Christian groups were providing the same relentlessly. They are the real pioneers…we just need people to recognise their efforts in this country.

Firstly, some of the top ‘how to’ searches might bowl over anyone. ‘How to get pregnant’ is the most frequently googled question by Indians. Following that would be: how to kiss; how to impress a girl; how to improve spoken English; and how to tie a tie.

Now towards the fastest rising keywords. IRCTC, our online Indian Railways booking website, is the topper in the chart. Then there is Micromax mobile, Samsung and Nokia. Well, understandable…we know how obsessed we are with mobile phones.

Interestingly, Google Zeitgeist also revealed that FIFA outranked cricket in 2010 as the fastest growing search term on Google. Now that is something positive and a way out from the idée fixe of cricket.

Video-sharing website, YouTube is third on the list while micro-blogging site Twitter is the eighth fastest growing brand in India.

Now towards the Bollywood celebrity terms. Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan topped the search engine’s annual list of the most popular celebrities on the Internet in 2010. Following the two is Aishwarya Rai, Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.

What about the travel destinations? The highest searched according to Google Zeitgeist is Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore, Mauritius and Switzerland.

On health-related topics it was Nail art, Hair spa, Manicure at home, Cardio exercises and Weight loss tips.

Google Zeitgeist also shows that social networking sites such as Facebook, Orkut and YouTube remained in the Top 10 list of the most popular searches.

Strangely, our modern India is least concerned of religion or anything on spirituality it seems. Now that is a deviation from the ancient spiritual India. It would be interesting to see what would be the top search results from India in 2020. Anyone reading?

Adios ~

Adios ~

The much-hyped India visit was a very successful trip indeed. The real agenda is nothing but business although our media tried to make the trip look like the recognition of India’s rising power which is rather making us blind at our realities and strong at our realpolitik downplaying the significance of courteous diplomacy. In fact the business deals would render over 50,000 jobs in US. Boeing, alone will be selling $28 billion worth of aircraft to Air India, SpiceJet and Jet Airways, which will create 280,000 jobs in the US.

The charisma Obama holds sure is amazing. It has given some sort of boost to our sluggish politicos. But what was more intriguing to me was how Obama tactically stole the hearts of Indians including those hardcore right-wing extremists by “immoderately” quoting Gandhi, Tagore and Ambedkar. Well, morning he was paying visit to Gandhi ashram and museums talking highly on the influence of Gandhi in his life and presidency, and by afternoon he was signing deals on the sixth largest sale of war weapons in the history of the United States. Wonder what our non-violent, peace-loving Gandhi would have said. Did he go a little overboard? Am not against extravagantly citing Gandhi and his influence, but just dislike the interweaving of both in a clandestine manner. All the names that Obama went quoting were those who gave us the great Indian Constitution which apparently is now being tampered with.

What I sincerely wished was our media used the Obama trip to diffuse a message of hope and change in a society steeped in caste hierarchy. Caste plays out in India just as race plays out in the US. According to a recent research, untouchability is practiced in 80% of India’s villages. The inherent caste-related inequality still dominates the social, economic and health sector. The oppressed and subdued especially the dalits are deprived of opportunities. The devastation of the life and land of the tribals continues unabated.  Look at our politics, the dynasty rule in Congress and other state parties. Forget politics, look at Bollywood. Why is there no major lead female Dalit star in our film and TV industry? Is it because they are dark? But look at Hollywood, my favourite Denzil Washington can be a super star and pair with all those fair ladies. Obama’s trip could have at least slightly brought hope to those fighting systematic discrimination of lower castes. Obama’s election is an unprecedented victory of 400 years of Black slavery and institutional racism. It was a victory for Blacks who form 13 percent of the US population and who are mostly poor.

“In the life of Gandhiji and in his simple and profound lesson to be the change we seek in the world. And just as he summoned Indians to seek their destiny, he influenced champions of equality in my own country, including a young Martin Luther King. After making his pilgrimage to India a half century ago, Dr King called Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance ‘the only logical and moral approach’ in the struggle for justice and progress,” the 49-year-old US President said.

He said he felt honoured and humbled to visit the residence where Gandhi and King stayed and the memorial of the father of nation at Rajghat.”We were humbled to pay our respects at Rajghat. And I am mindful that I might not be standing before you today, as President of the United States, had it not been for Gandhi and the message he shared with America and the world,” he said.

Very impressive President, may be we should cling on to “hope” and wish Tagore’s words “where the mind is without fear and the head is held high” came true…maybe not today, but some day soon.

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Silence, they say, is the most powerful scream. As the oft-quoted proverb goes, silence is a true friend that never betrays..the best answer to anger..a fence around wisdom..a secret to sanity and a medicine for healing. Who would not want to shout to the top when faced with perplexities? But opting to be silent at such times is mature.  At least lessons in life have taught me that.

Not few, but most times we face contradictions, friction and absurdities. We loose our hold. For me, the answer to all these puzzles, at least for sometime..lies in Silence. And obviously silence comes at a cost of “hearing”.

Sometimes you are so helpless…helpless when facts turn fiction, truth to lie and love to hatred. The truth is…man cannot be constant without God. And you fit the bandwagon of theirs only when you are alike in nature..so full of exaggerations and viciousness. They like it more. They like it when you masquerade yourself. They like it when you agree to agree, and flatter when to chide.

People are sure full of surprises. At times I find myself lost, speechless to counter and coward to disagree. Silence with patient hearing helps…it helps to clear the stains on the window that shows what is down the horizon…what is true and eternal. I love this quote of Mother Teresa: “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls”. Without question, we need such times of silence to weed out evil..calm our hearts..and seek greater comfort.

True, the world is wicked to the good, and good to the wicked.  Myself was recently dumbfounded when I got to hear things about me that seemed so alien to me, things that I would not even have dreamt even if I were an 80s villain. Not that I don’t acknowledge my mistakes, but when you know for sure its spurious…you tend to feel somber and low-spirited.

They are all there…and mostly they tell you things that they never do. We all go through that phase…in office..church…homes..totally misinterpreted and nailed..Obviously, we want to shout out loud, and let others know we are not vile and immoral…but does it really work? May be it is better to supppppp…and move on with another ‘lesson’ in life..

I think am being too philosophical, hate that. After all whom do I have other than my good sweet ‘indianiser’ to listen without arguing? (Did have my loving dog Jimmy..who loved me despite me deliberately pushing it down from a floor. It is such a lovable creature. It’s heart of love and faithfulness to its master is matchless”) Anyways, incidents in life teach me to be a good listener…correct where it feels and ignore where it needs. Knowledge speaks..wisdom hears. Remember that! There are no angels around. It is a cruel world where it is an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. Might result in the entire world going blind, but may be it is better to live that way? Nobody seem to care about morality and conscience. Sometimes being naive makes you only a victim of posinous lies that deflect and undermine your goodness.

Whatever the lesson is…dont forget to embrace the power of silence. It is a great teacher and comforter. As a result, some might even call you very reserved, living a mysterious…shell life and stuffs, but dont care. Never expect  ‘understanding’ from people around..it might not be everlasting. Expect it from God..at least from people who love God. That is more serious.  Ok..done with philosophies…am so poor at this. I had major internet issues both at office and home that disconnected me totally from my blog. To write….you need great amount of patience…things have been quite topsy-turvy that I lost interest. Getting back despite loads of work, so strap on.

Yesterday was the court verdict in this longest-running legal battle in India to ascertain who owns the land and what must be done hereafter. The Indian army, the Air Force and hundreds of thousands of state militia and police forces were mobilised across the country and extraordinary precautions including a modicum of censorship of SMS and mass mailings were taken. Religious leaders continuously appealed people to maintain calm. Many were of an opinion that India has matured since 1992 and no riots would take place on the verdict. Now a day after the verdict, I should say they were right. How on earth would riots spark when the judgement is in favor of the majority and not the minority Muslims. Can we believe India has matured when the practice of exclusivity is still to be shunned and inclusiveness practised?

The High Court judges must have been extremely perplexed on what decision must be taken in this highly sensitive and controversial issue. The verdict by the three judges contains a staggering 8,189 pages. How difficult it must have been. Whatever decision they make is the final. After all our people have so much faith in the Constitution. So what did they decide? The area is to be divided into three equal parts. One part will go to Muslims, remaining two will go to Hindus. The judges also affirmed that the temple was demolished to build Mosque and Lord Ram was born at the spot. Well, isn’t court supposed to go with the provisions of law and not theology? That is one reason why these judges must mandatorily not hold affiliation to any particular religious sect or political outfit.

Now who are the most enthused by the verdict? A known fact: the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. They have hauled the verdict and called it an outright ideological victory and a defeat for pseudo secularist. Imagine what they would have said if the verdict was contrary to their expectation. They might then say the court is biased and judges are controlled by the ruling govt. Anyways am glad that the verdict is out and there has been no violence over it. So far no untoward incident has been reported. Let’s now hope that the fanatical RSS would not whip up communal feelings in its campaign for construction of a Ram temple. Whether the court is right or wrong, we should welcome the judgement and strive to give no room for frenzy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appealed all sections of people to maintain peace and tranquility and to show respect for all religions and religious beliefs in the highest traditions of Indian culture.

Adios ~