The beginning or the end ?

कहानी ख़त्म है या शुरुआत होने को है ?

सुबह नहीं है या फिर रात होने को है ?

As Joi Barua sings the above lines in Udaan, I sit alone in my room, waiting for the demon called solitude to creep in further. In the language of statistics, the normal curve of solitude and darkness has not yet reached its peak.

Across the length of the country, my fellow comrades fight their own battles, some one, some many. I am not a part of the troop, because I couldn't make it or I did not want to or rather I just gave up without fighting. Yes, I can complain that some were wicked or some got plain lucky. 

But then they all fought, did they not ? When was the last time Lady Luck chose you for romance ? Ain't you well aware of the fact that it just cannot happen between the two of you ? 

As the sun sets in, I know I have not made it large, rather I might have dropped the hammer on my own head. The fall could not have been steeper. From living the life, to watching it all fall apart. Is there a transformation waiting to happen ? If yes, let there be a bend and not a break. 

The veterans said the golden crystal is a place where nobody is ever alone. Oh... did I not prove them wrong ?

Will there be light falling in, or will the forest get denser ? Will the prowler fight and emerge out victorious or will he be destined to disappear along the muddy paths and dark cocoons ?

The game has just begun.... the prowler hopes !

The Ratna or not a Ratna

Should Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, unarguably India's most loved sportsperson be awarded the Bharat Ratna ?? Probably a matter which has garnered great interest over the last few months.
Yes, in my modest opinion. Not because I belong to a generation which has grown up watching Sachin Tendulkar bat, and which still wonders what cricket will be like after the Big Man retires.
Initiated in 1954, the Bharat Ratna awards people for the highest degree of national service. Further definitions: 'national service' translates to public service, arts, literature, and the recent and most debated upon 'Sports''.

But honestly, do fields like arts, literature and sports need to be awarded with the highest Honour of the Country ?? I don't think so. No disrespect to the stalwarts of these fields, but is an act of excellence in fields like these worthy enough of the highest honour ?? The country has been battling a lot many problems and there have been people fighting against them. I honestly feel that the Bharat Ratna should be awarded only to men and women who have improved the lives of people in our country; people such as E. Sreedharan, T.N. Seshan, Kiran Bedi. Let the government find out more admnistrative officers, social workers, defence officers (would have loved to add politicians too but alas...) who are not just mere entertainers but "life-savers and improvers".

The situation with the Bharat Ratna has sadly not been so. The honour has been awarded to the likes of Satyajit Ray, Lata Mangeskar, M.S. Subbulakshmi. I honestly feel that the Bharat Ratna thus has lost its true sheen. If that be the case, why not then give it to Sachin Tendulkar also, who has been no less than the people mentioned above in his own field.