The Act of being Good

The set was all set. Yeah... it was just like a talk show, but was quite different; there was no host, no cameraman, no producer but just talkers, with different opinions and different footholds. Some were adamant, some were suspicious, one was curious, another defendant, and another a forward player.

One of my friends had come for a mid-week holidays to Chittor for three days. We had not been able to meet on first day of his arrival. The second evening was when we decided to go out to dine to one of the rarest kind of places found in my hometown, a restaurant. I am not kidding on this one, there is no place actually we can call as a Restaurant, and I’m not either exaggerating things. Well, there were four of us around the rectangular table: he, his friend (RJ), my wife and I.

With the various chats on our lives and all, we started to discuss on the topic, I think my wife and I will never stop discussing on. But yeah the chat-launcher was quite different. It started with the food, which had already landed on the table, soup and paneer tikka (by order it was, but by preparation it was paneer pakora). Well expected out of the soup and the starter, the chat was obvious to burp out.

The food (or rather starters) was awful, forcing my friend to condemn the whole Chittor (this is what happens practically too: if you make a small mistake, the whole of you is reviled as a wrong-doer). We started it with the food he gets in Gujarat (or rather Ahmadabad), insisting Gujjus are real fond of living life(this is also what happens practically too: if other person has a good taste in a certain thing, he/she is commended for everything you sought for). It was just for food that Gujjus had been fond of. Even I don’t deny this, but asserting Gujjus live their lives worthily was something as though reprimanding my place, my people, my community and above all me.

I hesitated on this but my friend with a strong thought reconfirmed his input, said, “You gotta agree on this that Gujjus live their life better, they don’t just save but spend also. They spend so much yet they believe in saving, they have more spending power.” I object your Honour (your Honour ...what bullshit), I objected stating spending power comes with the money. He insisted saying who said there is no money in this state. I rephrased my words saying, business opportunities are better in Gujarat, they have more resources of water, power, transportation and support from Govt, etc. A few exchange of words and I went into my own thoughts.

The real problem with my home town is not this that there is no money for people to spend, or people at my hometown are less willing to spend. But the problem is something no one actually ever thought on.

My state is well-renowned as ‘The state of hospitality’, and the hospitality starts from our people then to the people outside. We are so much attached to each other that we never realize when it starts to interfere in their world, and as a result we compel ourselves from doing things we like to do. In this place, every second (or maybe the ratio is yet less than I am stating) person know another, and every second person (no maybe here, surely the ratio is much lower than what I am stating) is also hunted from something which is socially-inacceptable. To avoid being seen by the known, they choose enjoying those (alluring) things with lower risks and hence prefer to go out for a weekend and fulfil his/her desires. This is the reason why no one has yet been able to set up a good Restaurant/Theatre/recreation place in my hometown, because people mostly go out of the town and have all these recreations there itself, when meeting his desires.

But this is not the reason I am writing a blog on the issue that I think I want people to know I have reached to the root cause of less business opportunities, more brain drain (and lesser friends of mine) in the place I am staying now. I am writing it because I am searching for an answer to overcome this issue. The issue is simple, solvable... yet I am helpless to find remedy to this problem. And, I am employing the best way to get an answer, putting it on my blog.

My friends, readers of this post, please provide your support to make my life(and many others’) a little easier. I am sure of it to move out of this place but till then I want not just to spend the life as others are spending, I want to make this place better. Whatever your thought is, your suggestion is... it would be very precious to me.

the New Year eve

I know this post is a little late in getting posted. I hope Indian Postal Services don't use the tag line

we get you the post faster than I-m-mortal

I know it is a nice way to show people your blogger profile(and your profile pic), especially when your "About me" column doesn't appear on the top of the blog's home page(okay! you don't need to click on this link, it will not get you to any better place... and yeah it is true for the previous link too).

But I am not supposed to be blamed for getting that thing fixed. I have used a new template, in which first four headers should actually club themselves together in a tab(like 4 post-it, one over the other). It happens sometimes on its own and sometimes many times it just displays them in a column pattern of excel- one below the other(please let me know what it displays to you a tabbed or a simple side bar), maybe it is also as moody as i am. After all it's my blog.

I am feeling I have not written a single thing regarding the title of the post. so first of all,

happy new year 2009

Different people have different attitudes towards the new year eve. I never happened to find out what difference does it make to one person on the evening before the new year that people everywhere are so much excited about it. is it that the moon comes that night with the disco light? or is it that the stars of that night stick to one place only all throughout the night? or that there is some imaginary real imaginary-real person(like Santa Claus) comes? none i suppose but then why so much heck about it?

Few days before the eve when you talk to someone on phone, after a few exchanges of words they will ask you "so, what's the plan for the new year eve?" and if by chance you say you have no plans, they will start suggesting, "why don't you come here?" or "you weren't like that before" or "plan something man, this is the time you can do these things"!!! WTF? if i needed to make a plan I would have done it much before your suggestion was required. and even if i have made all plans i don't see the need to let you know the plan until i intend to join you or i intend you to join me.

Moreover, it is the time, when you miss your friends the most as for any plans you make you require a good company/group(solitudes skip the last line or the whole paragraphs, as you wish). I think that is why people started this celebration, that those who have no friends to party or to plan anything should feel disgusted all for the night watching the same moon and the moving stars(Relative movement).

The eve was long and i didn't spend it doing any of the above said things and had my own plans, which i don't intend to write here. One thing is sure that whether you plan or you don't the night just passes the way you want it to, making a happy end to the year, like in the bollywood movies.