Delhi- City of Djinns

For the past few months, I was reading the book "City of Djinns" by William Darlymple. "Few months" not because the book is
boring, rather the book is an extremely interesting read, but because i am lazy.
City of Djinns is a panorama of Delhi's recent history (by recent i mean 600-700 years!). Amazingly well researched and a
brilliant narrative. It takes you through the gullies of old Delhi, havelis of 18th and 19th centuries, gardens of the
Mughals and the insurmountable forts of the hitherto kings. Trust me, if you are born and brought up in this
magnificient city, nostalgia won't allow you to keep the book down.
Dalrymple talks about communities of people who are centuries old and still exist today, the poets, the English who ruled,
the hijras,the healers, the kings and their ministers and you are transported back in time.
Many of the places he mentions, i have visited. But, i was taken aback by the fact that how much of Delhi is still
unexplored by me and happy also because i have so much more to see!
So many rulers came and went and you realise,nobody could be permanent here. The time they shifted their capital to delhi
(including the British), it was the starting of end of their rule.
The red fort, old fort, Nizam-u-ddin's grave, mohammed bin tughlaq's mosque,the narrow roads of Chandni Chowk,bungalows of
the British along the river bank,old remains in Hauz Khas, etc., and you realise how rich was Delhi's culture once.
Even without knowing some of these pieces of history, I was in love with Delhi. Now, i am head over heels in love with the city
of my birth.
No bomb blasts and no mobs can destroy the soul of this magnificient city because it dates back to eternity.

In the name of God....Part 3
As i had said, I am not an atheist, but Gods with names and connotations- weren't created for our convenience; because it is difficult to pray to an unknown face or no name??
A nation called as "tolerant". You must be joking! Indians are one of the most intolerant of the lot. Why? We can't even let a man live his life with his form of God. Always ready to fight in the name of religion, caste and creed. boundaries, boundaries, everywhere. That's what define us. India as a boundary is not enough for us intolerants. We want to be further divided in the name of region, religion, caste, etc. No, i am not saying, having all this system in place is bad. But, what's bad is our ever changing affiliations to this system. One day,when sporting glory is achieved, we are all Indians. The next day a bomb blast occurs, let's blame it on a section of the society.
We as a society have made our country what it is today- a big congregation of insensitive, intolerant, incoherent, incorrigible people.

In the name of God...Part 2
I would say, in India, it's total anarchy as far as religion is concerned. Right to freedom of religion- is a fundamental right of ours. However, it's one right which is encroached upon by all and sundry. Probably, they use their fundamental right to freedom of expression!!
Religion is not spiritual anymore. I don't know if these people realize that God is within us, in our actions/inactions. Devil is also within us. Hence, which gets to dominate is our choice. If people think that God is great, then do they actually think that all these cowardly acts is going to affect his greatness?? Hah!! I pity these people, their thinking and their actions. Come on. Get a life.

In the name of God...stop it,please...part 1
As i write this, my mind is asking me some thousand questions. Let me set aside these questions for few lines.
Killing in the name of religion- how civilized are we? i mean, a Hindu fanatic killing Christians, a Muslim blowing up innocent people; all this bothers me a lot. I just want to shout at the top of my voice" STOP IT PLEASE, IN THE NAME OF GOD".But realise soon enough, they all are doing these ghastly acts in the name of God.
No, i am not an atheist. I would probably include myself in great believers in Supreme Powers. But, for me God does not need to have a face or a name for that matter. I believe God is a power inside me. It's my conscience which guides me to good or evil. I can't imagine any God telling people to kill others. For God's sake we are NOT GOD.
I have always believed that all religions started as a set of beliefs and principles to guide our lives. Let me underline "our". It was never for telling others how to lead theirs. Religion is personal. You can't force people to see Him the way you see. It's wrong.Period.

A GOLD!!!!!
as an Indian i have waited for this moment of glory for almost 27 long years!!!!...amazing resilience in the last round...and bulls-eye!! gold!!!abhinav has made all indians proud...

power of a smile!!!
a few days back, i was rushing (as usual!!!) to the bus stop in the morning. i pass through this narrow road with traffic moving on in both directions and ofcourse, still people being people will also park their vehicles on that road. so was the case with this guy who had parked is pulsar and was standing and chatting. suddenly, a bus (yes!yes!!, now is that surprising??) hit the bike. well, i thought now would ensue a big argument on whose fault it was and on and on. but, to my surprise, all that happened was that the driver of the bus gave a sheepish grin and said that he was extremely sorry. the bike guy was then more than happy, even he was apologetic!!! for parking it there!!..left me in good spirits the whole day. let me rephrase the title "power of smile and sorry".