Absolute Laziness

I must admit, I've been a very lazy blogger, only ONE post in the last five months. But I promise you, another one is on ts way. I will get off my proverbial backside, whip out my pencil and WRITE!!!

Survival

It was a rainy rainy day
and a frog came out to play
out he hopped in his joy
and the snake that lived below? Well, he was annoyed

Thump! Thump! Thump!
It seemed as though the roof would just slump!
The snake peered out of his hole,
as stealthy as a russian mole.

And all that he could see
was that frog jumping clumsily.
In a fit of anger he rose,
and caught the poor frog by his toes!

The little creature's eyes bulged in alarm,
he tried to escape before he could be harmed.
He kicked and stretched and turned,
But the snake could not be spurned

And then he had an idea worthy of houdini,
he relaxed, quite simply.
The snake's mouth went slack
and with an almighty lurch the frog jumped back

Away he hopped, leaving the snake.
Off he went, to find the drake
and tell him of his thrilling escape
as the snake watched his retreating shape.

He may go hungry today,
But he can at least sleep in the right way.

Gone?

I don’t know if it’s right to feel happy about the death of another human. Maybe it’s because we’ve all heard of the things Osama Bin Laden has done, but I think it’s safe to say that events of Sunday won’t be forgotten in a hurry. The assassination of Osama Bin Laden has affected everyone, not just the Pakistanis or the Americans, but the whole world, it seems to me that right now, everyone is an a frenzy to find out all they can about this man, the attack on his home, and the official statements of all those oh-so-diplomatic politicians that just don’t seem to add up. Conspiracy theorists and reporters are jumping at any chance to cry ‘Government Cover-up!’
Being a budding conspiracy-buff myself, I just couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by even though I thought Obama becoming President was a good thing... it turned out real well ha? But I digress, so here's a compiled version of what I know, conjectured, theorized and concluded after brainstorming with a friend a slightly romanticised (and completely logical) account of the event- (*this is just what I think, it maybe true, but it probably isn't*) on the night of 30th April, Libyan Oppressor, Muammar Gaddafi’s son and grandchildren are killed in an air strike. But on the same day, far away, in some secret spy-division of the US government, a courier to a house once described as ’suspicious’(or something to that effect) by the ISI was tracked. The reason for tracking? The package was probably just a hair-dryer ordered off eBay, but does the CIA need an excuse to investigate the house? It was probably some ex-spy who suffered an accident and then got stuck at a desk job who was given this odious task. He probably worked all day, just like all those ex-spies and ex-cons we've read about or seen on TV, piecing together bits of information, and suddenly sees a large terrorist bunker. So the CIA decide to look further and realise they may well be looking at Osama’s hideout. Could it be? The great hero of all those extremists, hiding out in a simple house, and they are reminded that he is after all human, and obviously needs a place to keep all his wives and kids right? So they go in, guns all ablaze, and realize that they are just staring at a normal family, a little too large and a little too quiet perhaps, but a normal family nonetheless. However, it’s too late to turn back isn't it? The Pakistanis are a bit annoyed because they weren't told earlier; the troops are dejected because they killed for no good reason, and President Obama’s hands are, as they say, tied. I bet the people of USA, would be just psyched to learn that Operation Geronimo was no use. So the two intelligence agencies decide to cover the whole thing up. How creative! And thus was born the pseudo event that is Osama’s death.
If you don’t believe me then, consider this- The Pakistanis and the Americans were saying two differnt things right after the announcement, then, overnight their statements magically became the same did they? If they had really killed Osama, I don't think they were very proud of it, they never actually showed his body to the world! Was it really THAT gruesome that not even an autopsy report could be published? Is it really THAT inconceivable that Osama never really did anything, I mean it’s hardly likely that the widespread terrorist movement was headed by just ONE man? If you still don’t believe me, then ask yourself- Why have NONE of the terrorist groups that he supposedly inspired, retaliated? Is their hero, the champion of their cause, to die unsung? You may say that this is wishful thinking, but let’s just agree to disagree, for this is my belief.

The Unabomber gets me thinking

  Most people get up in the morning, and read a newspaper, I however –thanks to my mother cancelling our subscription to the newspapers, believing it to be the spawn of negativity- wake up in the morning and go to news websites. And on Sunday morning, while navigating through pages of information, I happened to come across a ‘This day in history’ segment, commemorating the arrest of the Unabomber back in 1996. I had heard of Ted Kaczynski before in passing (they talked about him in ‘Good Will Hunting’) but I didn’t know much about him, so off I went, to the place where all those in the quest for knowledge go…Wikipedia! Let me summarise for you what I learnt from his heavily hyperlinked page - This domestic terrorist gained notoriety after 16 bombings spanning over 20 years. The name Unabomber came from the code that the FBI used to refer to his case –UNABOM (UNiversity and Airline BOMber). It is quite obvious from his manifesto that despite being a child prodigy and a maths. Ph.D. at the age of 25, he was a Luddite, believing that ‘The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race.’(Direct quote from the manifesto). So there we go, one genius upset with the way the world has become, decides that bombing is the only way to make the country an anarchy in the complete sense of the word. Reading this, led to me look up anarchy and I found out that it could mean one of two things: a. A state of general lawlessness or b. A Utopian society with no need for a government. Although the second definition seems far-fetched, it was this one, that inspired the Unabomber and it was this one, which got me thinking, if we could live in such a society. How long would we survive before we turned back to fascist principles? Can we ever really change our increasingly fascist policies to accommodate a population of gargantuan proportions?

   Now I’m not fascist myself, I’m a strong believer in democracy, but it seems to me that almost every important nation these days calls itself a democracy or promotes libertarianism, but in practice, it is invariably fascist. Fascism and anarchy seem to be completely contradictory, but isn’t it true that in a Utopian society, that people follow one single ideology and nobody questions it simply because it works? Maybe it’s just my understanding of fascism, but don’t they sound the same now? Does that mean that we should stop making such brouhaha about democracy and become fascist? But that’s exactly what the conspiracy against FDR was about. Back then, the only way out of the great depression seemed to be fascism, but I forget, it could never work just as it didn’t work back then. Why? Simply because we’ve gotten used to equality, liberty and free-thinking, we would never submit to an oppressor, especially not the military. Although in the case of this conspiracy, it was the military who wouldn't comply with the conspiracy.

   Considering the way average people think, and the way our society seems to be developing, I’m starting to think that no matter how many new ways we find to accommodate differences, there will always, always be one group of people who don’t seem to want it....we may never be happy with our government. But that’s no reason to stop trying is it? It’s like the song ‘Mona Lisa’ by the All-American Rejects-‘What can we do better/When will we know how?/ A man says from a side walk to a crowd’.  I guess right now I’m that man. My opinion may be worth nothing, but I’ll still stand on my soapbox and proclaim my thoughts to you all.

Of cricket and exams

   From the title, I guess you can tell that a lot has happened since I last wrote to you. First of all, the board exams ended, a welcome event, but a thought- provoking one nonetheless. It seemed like a reiteration of the feeling of finality; it showed me how nothing except change is constant in this life. And so, I changed, once again, from a student driven by her pursuit for a decent GPA to one of those aimless people who don’t seem to have any purpose in life except strutting down the street. I had so many things planned for the holidays, knowing all I needed was time and I would able accomplish all those things that I had to put on hold for the exams, but I think I may over-estimated my reading abilities by putting ‘Wuthering Heights’ AND ‘Twelfth Night’ at the top of my exhaustive and extremely long reading list. “Why?” You ask, probably because I’m becoming a literature nerd.
   Anyway the flipside of this schedule is that I only manage to read a couple of pages every day, giving me a lot of time to listen to all my favourite artists on a loop-obviously GOOD music takes a backseat when studying. Another thing that I have been doing is watching cricket matches, which I haven’t really done since I turned 10. I used to be a huge fan of cricket, how could I not after being raised by a loving grandfather who believed cricket to be the only useful thing on TV; but I guess somewhere along the long winding road to teenage, I left that piece of baggage behind. Watching these matches has helped me rediscover my love for the sport and those men in blue. The freshly leveled green pitch, the anticipation right before the toss, frustration at the inclusion of power play (seriously, how much easier can they make it?), the crack of the bat as it hits the ball, that whooping feeling at the pit of your stomach when you realize that Dhoni hit it out of the park…to infinity and beyond, all these feelings that make a cricket fan what they are, I wonder how I could have forgotten it all!

Days Gone By

Well hello there! Yes, I know I said I wouldn’t be posting till APRIL, but I’ve just had a bit of free time , and I just couldn’t resist.
A lot of things have changed in the past month, we finished one battery of exams, then the second one began and the last official day of school went by. It’s not like I really love school, but this whole year has just been too amazing for me not to feel anything. I’ve made a lot of new friends, become close to someone I thought I hated (in truth I was just being stupid), and reconciled with a forgotten mate. This year for me, besides being about studying and securing a future, has been filled with a long parade of perfect people, who made me feel welcome amongst them, like I was even wanted. I remember my last day like it was yesterday, filled with fun, much more than usual, owing to the fact that we were all so determined to have a memorable time. I remember that at the end of the day, I was feeling quite proud of myself, because I hadn’t shed a single tear, while my classmates wept freely around me, but as luck would have, when I left my classroom and entered the hallway, I started to tear up! (O_o) I suppose it was just the finality of it all, hitting me when I saw everyone hugging. I realized that I would never see so many of my friends ever again, suddenly I felt like a kid on a tree, all the way up, but afraid to climb down, a feeling I'm almost a stranger to. Just thinking of that day, a myriad of emotions come rushing to me, compelling me to pour my heart out, and here is the result of that-

Days gone by

Memories come to me,
Thoughts racing around my mind,
Each more vivid than the last,
Each, an important marker of the past.

So many sunny days,
Spent without care,
Sly little pranks, played on friends,
Finally being allowed to write with pens,

But the memories that are most clear,
Are the ones of the people I hold dear,
So many amazing people passing easily,
Through this inconsequential story.

But the question remains-
Did I treat them right?
Or was I far too casual,
About relationships so valuable?

And the answers I can’t find,
Perhaps I am afraid of the truth,
Afraid of feeling regret,
Friend, don’t go, not yet!

I find myself hoping,
Hoping it’s not too late,
To make amends,
Can we still be friends?

-Annapoorna.N

The true madness begins

Its so hard to believe that its been just a week and a half since I last posted something. The past couple of days have been sooo filled, that I had to remind myself now and again to catch my breathe. This is the first bit of free time I've had, and that's only because I'm taking a break from studying math. I've heard people say that 10th is a hard time where you have to focus a lot, but no one ever told me that the last three months would seem like a meteor crashing and coming to glorious fiery end. Let me explain this analogy to you- the first couple of months were fine, not too different from other years, but the whole atmosphere just changes in the last few months when the sheer weight of it all comes crashing down on you.It's a crazy, crazy time, but I'm sure all of us will get through it just fine.

As the end begins,
and we leave the thicks to enter the thins,
every laugh is treasured,
every moment with a friend is cherished,
every smile is truly worth a million,
every unexpected moment is a bargain,
as the world come crashing down,
let's face it all without a frown.

This will be my last blog post till April, I really need to focus on studying. All the best everyone!