The Leveller ?

For anyone who's been stopped by a red signal, it comes as no surprise to see the same maniac who overtook you at the last corner sitting equally helplessly behind his wheel, just a few paces away.
"Serves him right"- (my instinctive reaction)
There are quite a few people you meet this way, either at a traffic signal or a traffic jam.They're the same ones who think nothing of breaking the speed limit (pardonable.After all, getting to cross the 30 kmph mark in a crowded metropolis is a rare luxury, so i don't really hold that too much against anyone.), overtaking from the wrong side (now that's dangerous!)or changing lanes without so much as a blink of the lights (c'mon, it really doesn't exhaust your battery you know, to keep the signalling lights on for a coupla seconds).
But to what end?
Ultimately, they also ended up having to wait (for longer than you too).
Which leads me to think, isn't there something similar in our lives as well?
Shakespeare wrote on it; 'Death - the Leveller'.
But even without going as far as death, i've noticed that such situations occur quite often in daily life as well.
By now some of you surely must have wondered, what about the ones who got away?
Obviously, everyone isn't detained by the Exalted Supreme One (ref : S.Nagar). So in the end, we never know whether what we do, really has any effect on our destiny.
For all our efforts, we may share the fate of those who never lifted a finger in their lives. And equally (?) possibly achieve far more than those who (in human terms) actually deserve what we get.
Is this LUCK,the elusive temptress who seduces gamblers all over the globe?The same sorceress who cons the unwary into thinking that their actions matter when it is She alone, who reigns invincible?

Greener grass

Although i'm following up on my last post, i mean to digress this time.



Charisma.



A single word that has made and unmade the destinies of millions of people.It's simple - some have it, some don't subject, of course, to the same law as beauty (variation with respect to the beholder and all that).

So why is it that i find Indian political leaders (with a few noteworthy exceptions) singularly devoid of this quality?(Here, i must make a mention of Rahul Gandhi as an exception.)
It would be interesting to find out what is it about movie stars, sports personalities, and publicity-hungry socialites that makes people take an active interest in their public (and private) that our leaders lack.

Let's face it, if i were an American voter, i'd know exactly whom i'd vote for.
On the other hand, having been told repeatedly that i'm grown up now, that i should make an effort to be politically and socially aware, i must say, i find the task unappealing, to put it mildly.

Mark Twain hit the nail on the head in this respect (as he always did). I guess it boils down to the fact that we're put-off by what supposed to do precisely BECAUSE it's what we're supposed to do ! Not that other things oughtn't to be done at all, so if i end up writing my next blog on something entirely unconnected with me, don't be surpri'z'ed!