Post 07/11 Mumbai Blasts..

On 12-Jul-2006, on the way to office, as we were stuck in innumerable traffic jams, I was wondering when we'll get to office and the evening before it had been "when will I get back home"...and so on..and this instantly steered my mind to the Mumbai incidents of 11-Jul...as anything these days does....so here goes wht I managed to key in amidst my wrk so far..

I got thinking how little we do vis-à-vis the big things we think about. We do speak aloud why we are so quiet, why we are so tolerant and why India can't launch a strong offensive against these terrorists. But when it comes to doing something, we stay back…we just don't pressurize the Govt. enough in such situations…and this includes not just the media, but also the victims and their friends, the general public and even the students who are supposed to be the fiery and proactive face of the country!

At times like this, media no doubt is giving coverage and organizing SMS polls etc but is it enough...Where is the collective "voice of the nation", why haven't the stirs and demonstrations started as yet demanding the Govt. to get offensive at least NOW...asserting that its been too long we have borne and tolerated the havoc wreaked over us time and again...

The media was teeming with views, counterviews and forums galore in cases like Jessica Lal's murder and the AIIMS strike against reservations etc., which were no doubt important and justice needed to be done...But isn't this longstanding, imminent and dangerous threat to our entire nation and its millions as important, if not more?! We shook a whole city when someone desecrated a statue of a mother figure in politics but we utter no word and shake no limb when someone does the same to our motherland? What resilience indeed!

Isn't it time for the people of India to raise their voices together, once more, for someone to spearhead the struggle once more and lead the masses to shake the govt. out of its peaceful slumber…? There are several courageous and affected souls out there who do want to act you know including you and me too but we need leaders who'll show the way.

But WHO are those leaders...I shudder to think they are those Govt. reps who stroll down the aisles giving "we condemn the act" statements, hovering in meetings perhaps discussing how many more commandoes they would need for themselves and irking the public further by their long motorcades. So then why aren't we, the people who have elected these so-called leaders, urging them to look up for while from their scams and money & power-hungry races to do what they were meant to do in the first place?!

And then I realized suddenly how vague (for lack of a better word) we are…we run around and raise our voices for almost everything under the sun, from rise in tomato and diesel prices to a power plant construction, to changing laws to reducing pollution etc., but there’s just not enough focus on the matter that ought to matter most to all of us...aren't we tired of this inaction or are just being plainly and lazily foolish?

We have been espousing ideals of non-violence and tolerance since time immemorial but absolute non-violence in the face of such fanatic terrorism seems nothing short of foolhardiness. Forget proactive, we are not even a reactive nation as of now- 12 years since the Mumbai blasts but not an ounce of action against anyone. The July blasts were just waiting to happen, weren’t they?

No other country in the world has exhibited such a level of patience but what worth is it than a couple of peace awards and some international acclaim for our “exemplary” behavior! But there’s got to be a limit to this, coz how long are we expected to be struck, fall down, rise back again, only to be struck once more. Amazing resilience indeed but of what use is it after all when it won’t save us and our dear ones from death.

Every time a tragedy strikes, our PM keeps telling us "we shall always stand up, we shall not be defeated by the terrorists”, no sir, we shall not be defeated by them, only massacred mercilessly and dead people don’t get defeated anymore…Its time Sir, to gather up all our guts, oil the tanks and guns, shake up the armed forces and launch a brave, bold and big-time offensive against those who dare to kill us and violate our lives time and again!!

Hope better sense and actions louder than words prevail this time around!

Passing Thoughts on Friendship - PART I

This morning, one of my friends called me to his room to show something he had written and whatever I write here, its only because that writing, straight from his heart, stirred something deep within mine...

Right now, what I am living are the last few days on campus, the last few days of student-life for most of us, the last few carefree days of fun and mirth, before we set foot out(again for me) into that so-called tough, wide,world.

I went through such a phase when I was leaving engg college, that too was one such foray into the "big, bad world" but things were different then. My age for one, was a good 4 years less and then, the pangs of separating from the friends you had literally grown up with, overrode all other worries and apprehensions. You knew you would be able to meet only a few of them sometime later but the larger chunk would perhaps ever be able to get together again..not like THAT at least. And the friends stayed, so did their friendships, through the better part of these 4 years. Why I wonder, as I look back from where I am standing right now.

I think because our friendships back then were never made on the foundations of needs and benefits. They were not made for getting work done, for winning prizes or marks, for reducing "per-head" cost or for getting some additional space to spend our times in. In fact, we used to say we were friends for "simple time-pass" but somewhere beneath all that thoughtless masti and merrymaking, the bonds deepened. Over time, they got seasoned by genuine care and concern for each other and of course that all-important feeling of love. And became the the bonds worth reckoning. The bonds that started over a cup of tea, sealed over a hot samosa from the canteen or a pattice at Ding-Dong, flavoured with an ice-cream from Jal Mahal or a pastry from Bake Hut and got toasted to by a glass of booze. They blossomed into something stronger and trust me, that helped. The power of the strong but simple friendships that were forged there gave a strange kind of strength when we met the corporates on our first jobs, some of us barely stepping out of our teens, some as kiddish as ever. It helped us shine, rather outshine a lot of "mature" people, and make our mark out there. And these bonds, these friendships still live on, through the ups and downs that the times dish out, they breathe on,in our thoughts, hearts, in our lives.

Passing Thoughts on Friendship - PART II

When I came back to campus, I thought I'm getting another chance to forge as good relationships, to meet as good people, to shower my love on as equally caring souls. But little did I know what the bargain was. 'Twas a much closer gathering no doubt, much more intertwined lives but much further distances. A larger chunk of almost everyone lurked below the surface and what met the eye formed a face, you could only watch, see and smile at. Forget seeing that face break into joy for you, or those eyes welling up with tears for your sake. The rules were different here. You were not supposed to fall into the "trap of friendship" with "people who could not be of any use to you", you were not supposed to like someone "just like that", you were not supposed to be too frank with people and fie on you if you chose to be apolitical. That simply couldn't happen here. You only had to choose to make things simple and people would accuse you of being "dumb", "cowardly" or "cunning and power-hungry" too! A "KingMaker" is what you would be called if you chose to ever support your friend and stay out of the run, an "over-ambitious and double-standards" person is what your would be called if you simply expressed a cherished wish someday but chose not to pursue it as badly as the others. And dare you go against the all powerful "cartels" and your head would be rolling somehere, its respect I mean. Your very friends would be turned against you and the whole campus would be agog with how scheming you've been. A beautiful picure, right?!!

Well, what could I possibly have to say about friendships when a major portion of them were made not for companionship or sharing the good and bad times but for completing assignments, for having someone to share the expenses with or for having someone to crack jokes with. Seek someone out in distress and hear the sheer ingenuity of excuses. be Be ready to be remembered only when you are needed, not when you need somebody. Believe in someone and be stabbed with rumours about you by that very person. Help someone out by being a pal and be prepared to lose yours to them. Its happened here, happened to many of us, many a time but some just choose to laugh at it, some blow their top, while others just recoil into their cocoons. A real hopeless scenario, ain't it? And you wonder how people like a few of us who've tasted what true friendships can be like, survive in a place such as this Hades..

Passing Thoughts on Friendship - PART III

That, my dear readers, is what would like to end this trilogy in. Finally, I can come down to my last few thoughts, about people who though only a meagre handful have made a tremendous difference in my life here. They are those who love their friends not because they need to get their work done but because they would like to make someone's life happier and face cheerier. These are the people who have held their heads high and shoulders strong through the worst of times and who've never fliched in taking up a good cause. These are my friends, the rarest of specimens your would find in a place like this, and treasure them I sure do, with as much care that I can. Of course they have had their weak moments when they might have forgotten me or when they chose to believe someone else, but they are the ones who've always come back, who've always taken Me back, with open arms and no questions, people who've been there for me at almost all those times I sought them out.

These are the ones who've dared to stay apolitical, who've chosen to be in the hubbub of things, yet have safeguarded their integrity and sanity. These are those people who may not shine at the top of the class, who may not be the so-called stars, who may not be the most outstanding personalities, yet they possess something that perhaps even Satan may kill for, that fundamental humane nature, that closeness to the Almighty that keeps them on the righteous path, that beautiful heart filled with joys higher than the material pleasures.

And this might as well be a pean to them I guess. A rather longish Thank You note while I part from these precious people. Hope the Gods bless your lives with a lot of success, prosperiety and peace and fill their milieu with love and togetherness.

And the rest, well, I do owe something to you too. After all you spared no sweat in your efforts either. Thanks for having helped me learn about life and the world, the harder way no doubt. For were it not for you, I would have lost out on such valuable lessons though I only hope you don't get to learn anything in the way I did.

God bless all of you...all, nevertheless.

Hey Folks..close to one year since I wrote in here and I think my blog might have gotten around to missing me sometime at least. Not that my life has been uneventful or anything like that, in fact, it's been quite on the contrary actually..running like never before..the million assignments and exams and presentations (not really a million but those who know about Saggi exaggerations..will understand?..:-)..Wrote a couple of poems, a trifle abstract and complex and both incidentally during two boring MBA lectures( with due apologies to my profs if they're reading this too)..and a lot of mails too (God save those who got them though but I thought they asked for it..but if God's watching..here comes my apology..:-)..sorry dudes..) and I think I'll come up with some glossary kinda manual to help my readers read my stuff..which include some million highly customised short-forms and abbreviations n I know the pain ppl go thru to understand them..;-). Also on the cards is this book I'm planning to write on y experiences in Mumbai..aptly to be titled as "Of Bhelpuri and Vada Pav"...or something similar. Suggestions are of course welcome..

But right now, a brief intro to wht I am about to write. For those who've missed out the action in my life, I'm right now in Mumbai, doing my summer training in an esteemed company (I think the name's to be kept a secret..as per professional standards or something!!). I have this bunch of people who are with me from the elite B-Schools in India and who thankfully are not the obnoxious and snobbish kinds. rather, they are these enthusiasitc and awesomely funny chaps and chappettes (sorry Wren n Martin..but had to invent a word..!) and what I am about to do is this. Attach a list of some e-mails that were exchanged by two of us over our yahoogroup..just for kicks..nothing serious and nothing important. But worth a good laugh, especially if you are familiar with the Mumbaiya language and stuff..thought it might just make you smile a lil..

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[MY FIRST MAIL TO THE EGROUP]
Hi Budds..

So I AM added onto the grp..except tht cudn't chk this deluge of mails in the beautfiul scenic slums tht I've been visitin since last evenin.. n hence dear DJ's req to Shri Ram..
The latest frm this side of the world:

Our Prabhu's gone visitin the kem-ccho land..an a lot of "Gujarat ki Kudis" wud be makin it to his "I Hate" list..which in case u didn't know is his bestseller countdown..

The Seth gal is all wild(with anger..) n lonesome tonight..toDAY
actually..without her guide n sub-guide..ohGod..she's even started
hummin.."sara sara din tum kaam karoge toh pyaar kab karoge.." Sara...r u listenin..this cud be for u too...makes me go all hmm-umm..

An of course the Harappa dude..wht an original n profound name I must say..for wht else cud fit hisa kinda specimen..except the first civilisations of the world..though "pandu neanderthal" wud be more befittin..kya bolta hai public log..;-)...??

Guess all of u must have gotten into the groove..for May 12 is the D-Day..to get laid..in the grave baba..wht were u thinkin, gotta keep up the stds out here...oh boy, wht a public floggin bef tht sumptuous lunch..ever heard of "bali ke baad bhojan"..feel it then..

Whassup at the Gurukool room yonder? Roadrash n NFS in full swing uh? I, on behalf of my dear grp here would like to extend an..oh hell..drop in netime palz..
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[REPLY FROM A certain Mr. D J]
hey wht is this going on ... this girl is coming from slums and talking all bad
bad things ??wht is this ?? STD and gettin laid and all ... wht is this
nonsense ... this is a attack on indian culture and all ... we must stop this at once
,,,
so says :"angry ganesen"

cool babe dudes ... so says "hygiene harappa "
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[REPLY FROM ME AGAIN]

Hey..watt is the piroblem appa..just tryin to get ppl loaf a lil, esmail a lil..ande u arr malainin my good name..u "bina chhat ke building" (courtesy govinda).."bina pani ka nal"..bina..grr..bina alu ke vada-pav(this HAS to be courtesy me only...vada pav..mmm..)..u just kip kwiet n donn't espeek about my dear dharavi..emosional kar deta hai apun ko..very deep effect it has had on me in this lil time..most strong on my languaje..I saw "hotel deleicius" and "favorit restaurant" and wht not..c wht this has don to my inglis..pttcch..am so praud of being an Indian u know..kharach Bharatiya..wht up you will do holding of Indian culchur bhau.. u can't even hold up your guide's tame..

No ophences meant to any human being, alive or dead (the latter meant Wren n Martin n Milton n Shakesspeare n the kinds..the alive..of course no prizes for guessin..)

N fr those who r way-way confused by my mails, pls feel free to mail me
for further clarifications..till our 12-hr helpline gets workin..;-)...

Cheers..(if only I had a peg to add the "natural touch"..)

Soum
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[D J AT IT AGAIN]

dear beloved ,
we r again gathered here this time to celebrate the renaming of dharavi slums as "Soum - Vihar" alias "the earth that bore her weight" ... from now on we would treat this location as a national heritage site under the protection of ASI (archilogical survey of india ..for the uninitiated ...) and SHRIMATI SOUMYA herself .. we would be arranging buses for pilgrims who would like to visit the site where "Her Highness" set foot from the "DHABA" (another smaller holy site where "Her Highness" visits regularly and causes miracles like sudden
disapperence of all food and the manager hides out of fear .. )... all those interested should mail her immideatly

yours truly ,
haklu halwaai
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Hope you understood bits and pieces and hope there was at least a sligh chilling out of your nerves and a slight relaxing of your grey cells!!

Shall try to be back with my poems a lil later..Have a great life.

Soumya....
"Those who said money can't buy happiness, didn't know where to shop"

Barely two days into my MBA course here and I'm unequivocal with everyone else out here, "Life at MBA is going to be one helluva roller-coaster ride with all the chills and thrills no doubt but wonder if we'll be able to cope and shine". But then its not just about shining any more, is it? Gone are the days when you had below-average and average students and it was better than good to be a slightly above-average student.

Gone are the times when you could be friendly with everyone and yet have a strong enough personality to emerge a leader and grab a share of the limelight. Then you could be the star among your batchmates, the monitor of the class, the prefect of the hostel or the secretary of the college. There was so much limelight and so few aspirants or even so few fighters for that spot at the top that reaching the acme was an achievement soon forgotten too.

But here, here the world is so damn different, so much more challenging and so much more demanding, both physically and mentally. Here, everyone is above-average and everyone's been a winner from where one has come from. Everyone has enjoyed a spot in the limelight and everyone makes a grab for it. There's far more competition here than the earlier stages and everyone wants to come first. There's no one who's a back-bencher and neither does anyone want to be one.

The pressure's extreme and the tension's unsurmountable. The excitement has begun and it promises to be a fantastic journey through these two years here. It remains to be seen who will outshine the others and make it to the top five and who will languish in the dark alleys of failure. Hope for the best for me and the rest..God be with All of us...and You.

While writing the previous piece, I remembered this lil story I had in my collection. Seems sort of a continuation and maybe a further reinforcement of my fundas..so what the heck, here it is, to be enjoyed and appreciated by all like-minded people, to be simply read and forgotten by the non-believers and to be pondered upon by the moderates.

There was a mountaineer who went trekking at high altitudes..He went to dangerous heights and took up the challenges the mountains posed. Once this friend of ours was out in snow, at great heights, in peak cold......and he slipped!!
Down he went...and as he fell he had flashes of his life...all good times he had.....bad times...his wife...children...parents... friends.. he remembered them all.
As he was falling he felt a jerk...a he was hanging in the air. He had been a good mountaineer and so he happened to have tied himself to a rope.
Now he was hanging in air...all exhausted.....no tools...almost dark...and it was very chilly.
He prayed to the God and said.."Lord,save me! "
The Lord spoke to him and said..." My dear son, do u really think i can save you?"
"Yes Lord, you can" he replied. Lord again asked..Do you have faith in me"
"Yes"...our friend responded. " I have faith in you,Lord."
"Okay", said the Lord..."cut the rope."
Now our friend was bewildered..."Nooo!!" he exclaimed...I won't cut the rope..I am scared!!"
Lord again said... "Cut the rope, my son, listen to me" .
"No ..I won't" was the answer..."I WON'TCUT THE ROPE!!".
Ten days later...the rescue team found the body of our friend.. frozen to death...he was hanging...tied to the rope..............just two feet above the ground!!

Bottomline: If You Believe In God...Have Faith in HIM too.....And if you don't believe in God, try placing an iota of faith in HIM. He won't disappoint you!!

God & Faith..

I am in the process of leaving my present company for higher studies.So a bit of packing keeps happening everyday and I also do a lot of salvaging of my old stuff too. In the course of this, I managed to rummage a couple of my old college-time diaries and chanced upon a very dismaying entry.

Those days we were struggling to convince a friend who'd been constantly failing in all his campus interviews that he is a very capable individual and that temporary failures are just that, temporary. We kept telling him that he should continue his efforts with the same concentration even now and with the firm belief that success would eventually be his.

But that friend, though highly God-fearing and very religious, was so pessimistic about all his outcomes that sometimes I thought maybe Lady Luck herself was too scared to come near him. He made us sick talking about how badly prepared he was for the interview and how horrible his "kismet" was and how pathetic his performance would be. Never did I hear him saying that he was hopeful of getting through or that he was so sure of an excellent result, even though he would have solved all the questions in half the time, correctly.

I used to wonder why some people are like that, why they can't accept their strengths, take confidence from them and just work it all up to a tangible positive result. I used to see people pray to God obliviously and ask Him for help but could never trust Him enough to actually do what He says, to actually take that risk and wait to see the final consequence.

Personally speaking, there have been so many occasions in my life when I could do nothing but believe that there IS a God, that He is there for me anytime I need him and that if I just do my stuff and entrust the remaining to him, He leaves no stones unturned to get things in place. I don't see God as just Lord Ganpati or Lord Shiva, I don't visualize him as only Durga maa or Lord Jesus for that matter. For me, God is that Supreme Being, that scientific principle, that cosmic power which creates, sustains and destroys anything and everything around me.

For me, God has more to do with my faith than my religion, God is more of a consistent companion and guide than someone who's just carved in stone and adorned with flowers and who is worshipped every morning and sunset. In fact, had it not be been for this aenoian belief in that Heavenly entity, I doubt if I would have been able to sanely survive the different circumstances and situations that this short lil life has thrown my way. I guess that since my faith has never betrayed me till this day so maybe that is the reason I fail to see why other people can't believe in Him enough.

But then, aren't there too many instances of God being around for us not to accept His existence? And haven't there been enough folklores and tales talking of how someone suffered for lack of devotion to drive the point home? Or are these tales considered mere figments of imagination? I hope not coz I can't imagine a person just striving on and on, without a little bit of feeling that there's someone to take care if things get awfully out of hand.

And mind you, I am not talking of the strong-minded atheists who have a couldn't-care-less kinda attitude, who just go out there and get everything for all its worth, who spend all their lives getting their dues by sheer hard work or luck maybe, but who've seldom felt a need to shiver in anticipation or feel depressed or shed a tear on some unachieved feat. Either they are too powerful or they are too carefree. They might definitely survive but wouldn't they be just a handful?

But what I am seeing is a normal individual with a very normal level of self-confidence, a person who is not going that extra mile without a heart-felt assurance that he would be protected from unforeseen consequences and that he would continue to live with no big loss, in one piece if nothing else, I am talking of a person very much like me, very much like the millions breathing around. A simple belief in the existence of that Supreme power can serve to assuage all pains and miseries, can serve to add that shock-absorber to make things a lil lighter to bear and can give that lil extra push to make the going a lil easier.

Don't many of us feel the same and acknowledge that Divine presence in our lives? I would like to think so.

Nothing New!
Some time ago, I'd read this collection of some kids writing to that Supreme Power ...God.
This was done in a Sunday School class and were too cute to miss.
I think they're worth a read, for those who didn't know them...


Dear God... Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't you just keep the ones you have now?

Dear God... Who draws the lines around the countries

Dear God... I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that okay?

Dear God... Thank you for my baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy.

Dear God... It rained for our whole vacation and is my father mad! He said some things about you that people are not supposed to say, but hope you will not hurt him anyway.

Dear God... Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up.

Dear God... If we come back as something please don't let me be Jennifer because I hate her.

Dear God... I want to be just like my daddy when I get big, but not with so much hair all over.

Dear God... I think about you sometimes, even when I'm not praying.

Dear God... I bet it is very hard for you to love all the people in the world. There are only four people in our family and I can never do it.

Dear God... Of all the people who worked for you, I like Noah and David the best.

Dear God... If you watch me in church Sunday, I'll show you my new shoes.

Dear God... I do not think anybody could be a better God. Well, I just want you to know that I am not just saying this because you are God already.

Dear God... I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday. That was cool!

Pure Innocence par compar!!

I wanted this kinda site since a long time. Something which will let me express my views freely, free from the invisible boundaries of the psyche and especially free from the drudgery of the web-pages coding. I don't know what it will feel like to see some of my views published in the media, even though this ain't exactly one. Lemme see, what is it that I really want to write about...there are scores of topics, some conventionally the "topic of the day" and some close to my heart.

But today, let me write something that I have felt about probably the most used and abused word of English language, Love. I know someone, rather lots of "someones" who fell in love,were loved back and told so too, they saw dreams of a fairytale life ahead but eventually had to just chill out with a "this isn't THAT love you know". Wonder what THAT love would mean and how the person would know it. Like they said in Dil To Pagal Hai, it could be a thunderbolt falling on you or a flash of lightening or it could probably be like that title tune playing everytime you come across the chosen one or maybe it would be a divine revelation as it happened in the Mahabharata.

And what if all these signs were experienced by just one of the two people presumably destined to be together. That happens and surely, the person who feels all this is right in believing this is love for wasn't he/she shown all the apt signs and auguries. But that is not to be, the person swallows his pride first to confess, then swallows his tears when not acknowledged in kind and finally has to swallow the feelings and "move on" in life. Too simple? Hardly. Ask someone who's been through it.

I once wrote something to a friend who was trying to get over someone. Family problems, he said. Tough to forget him, she said.
But my job was not to question them and their opinions, all I was expected to do was lend that shoulder and utter those words of encouragement which as you'll see, I dutifully did. Read on...

"All I want now is u have to get 'aar ya paar', yeah one phrase which one of my friends here had used on me and am using it on u.
I know this will hurt, so much so tht you might have a recurring headache and you might feel so empty and void , that there'll be a vaccuum that no one else would be able to feel, you'll want to smile n you will, to the point of hurting your jaws.But inside, you'll be crying rivers of tears,you'll sit n laugh at a joke in some serial or film n then just shrug n forget it all but when it comes down to a senti scene, shruggin won't be as easy, you'll start by cryin for the hero or the heroine or some damn actor but you won't realise when you 've stopped cryin for them,when you've started cryin for yourself...when you've started lettin down those defences you so bravely put up in front of the others,you'll wonder if you are finally over him or if you are still breathin some hope. I know all this will happen dear and you'll be going through it every single day for God knows how long.

I know its very nauseating at times and the loneliness just kinda gets to u at times. But then the realisation ought to set in, that you've managed to scavenge myself from that bin of unwantedness, that you've stopped giving all your love and everything else that you have to someone who won't be around for ever,who won't even return that much love to you, that you've managed to stop putting someone on the top of your priority list without being on the same position in his. You begin to realise that had you continued in the state you were in, it would only have caused irreparable heartburn and you would have screwed your life big-time.

For a long time one goes on thinking that there's a chance and that one day, he'll see more than wht you seem to be, he'll ignore some faults n follies in u, like you have done for him, he'll look for the real and inner you, appreciate the person you are, that he'll penetrate those depths of your soul and see how much you love him, how much you are ready to go through only for him and how much happy he'll remain all his life by being loved so much by someone.

But no,dear, this does not happen,not with everyone and not in every case anyway.God knows why, but there seem to be too many illogical and unnecessary reasons for a person not to love u back, for a person to simply turn a blind eye and a proud head to your sincerest and deepest feelings, for a person to simply say "Sorry, U r someone I can't afford to lose but did I ever say I love u...no way buddy?!!"

All said and done, maybe its his bad luck or yours but things going the way they are, there's very little chance of saving that heart of yours unless you decide once and for all to end this emotional business and trust me, it does seem impossible but then its anythin but that. In fact if u really really make up your mind about forgetting a person and getting over some person,its quite quite possible.

But what you need girl, at these times is some interestin side scene, some friends you can always go out and have fun with, some pals of yours who'll always be there for you anytime and any place you need them, some pals who'll know just how to deal with the entire situation. And am rest assured you'll come out from this with ease..no, thats a wrong word, not with ease but definitely so. "
End of Quote.

I wrote that to her some time in September 2001 and she was all grateful and determined and all that. She's still seeing the chap. Period.

And my new resolve ever since has been to reduce the number of keystrokes in my mail to anyone in this respect. Makes no sense actually coz at the end, its "each to his own". People will keep falling in love, will keep on feeling all those mushy emotions, enjoy those romantic movies and novels and quotes and finally, will keep breaking their heart and moving on in life. No mail can stop them, no friend can make them see reality and for that matter no amount of writing it all out will help them. It didn't, for me either. :-).