BOMBay?


Every Indian blogger is going to or is already blogging about the tragic scenes in Mumbai. There is enough said and there are enough opinions fluttering around for me to add another. The government is being criticized, the terrorists are being feared even more, the people are uniting under the umbrella of devastation and everyone is wondering what the hell can we do to stop these bastards?

It's scary how a person can be convinced to kill, brutally. Obviously, that person has a strong conviction that what he is doing is the right thing. "Revenge is right." "It's for the greater good. Right?" WRONG. I just wonder what echos in their heads. Are these terrorists freaks? Are they brainwashed? Are they working for money? Are their families being held ransom? What the hell is driving them to do such crazy, mindless things? I'm a human too. I know what it feels like to feel anger, hatred, love and the other countless emotions. Yes, I've been brought up in a good household and have been provided with all the "luxuries" of life. But how much shit can they have gone through, and how much have they been brainwashed to kill? They mindlessly murder and enjoy the success - it's sickening. 
Human capacity is at times, unbelievable, especially when the world gets a devastating reminder. Be it 9/11, the London bombings or the countless attacks in India, it is beyond me how someone can live with themselves after killing. I'm naive, unexposed, unharmed - no doubt and I'm glad. I guess it's beyond me to truly understand what it takes to kill and what goes on behind it. I'm glad that I'm not going to kill.
But what do we do about these killers? Hunt them down and kill them? Slightly hypocritical? So, we should NOT kill them? But, how can we live with that? "Kill them bastards!" Right? Should we take things into our own hands? Or no wait, let the goverment handle it, right? But the government sucks balls, what can they really do about it? 
We naive, helpless, almost insignificant people light candles, pray, get worried, console those that have lost, get upset, change our status on FaceBook showing that we are praying. But, how much of this praying and lighting candles is going to actually make a difference? Yes, it might lift the ones that have been hurt, but is it going to stop them from getting hurt again?
So, what should we do? Join the army? Start our own armed anti-terrorist organization? Vote? Oh some would say we should do small things to make a small difference and the small differences will eventually sum up to become something bigger. It's all easily said and done, but how big is this "bigger thing"? 
I'm not being a skeptic nor am I trying to prove a point. Honestly, I don't have a purpose behind this post. I don't even want this to make sense to you. It's just something that's spinning in my head. I want to throw it out there and see who my mind resonates with.
P.S. It's a mad world. Listen to: Gary Jules - Mad World

by Anish Malpani

Consumed By Time

I was in Portland, Oregan, away on work, for a whopping 5 days and only came back to Austin yesterday afternoon. It's about 6ish in the morning here in Austin and I have a presentation to give in exactly 6 hours on "same-sex marriages" (oh, the wonders of the free world). I have 2 mini-papers due tomorrow which I haven't really started. Right after my presentation today, we are heading down to Houston to catch the Coldplay concert. I have a mock interview on Thursday and then I am essentially free.

The house needs to be cleaned, the bills need to be paid and I need to communicate with my fellow Malpanis. My New Zealand visa has come through and I can't wait to hit the place under down under this winter. I still need to buy a bed, an iron and an iron-board. 4 out of 6 lights in of our little chandelier have gone bust and need to be replaced. There is a dire need to get groceries sorted out as there is literally no food at home. With Friday/Saturday comes a great desire to "party", get crunk and release everything that needs to be released. With Sunday comes a ton of meetings and the epiphany that I have a bunch of tests coming up that I haven't studied for.

Amidst all this, I really don't know why I'm blogging right now. There is no substance to this post and it has no real objective. It's about me and my life. But, that's the brilliance of having a blog. I can write absolutely anything and getaway with it.

P.S. Haha.

by Anish Malpani

Sporty Depression

Arsenal lost to Stoke. Texas lost to Tech. Something like that can be so annoyingly depressing. Those loses essentially mean that I cannot visit any sports websites, besides maybe, cricinfo. But still, it's so so depressing.

It's kinda fascinating how something as pointless as a soccer game or football game can affect your life so much. Currently the entire of UT is drowned in this droop, this painful low, that could have easily gone the other way. If we had maybe made that interception with a minute to go, the general mood of the entire University of Texas right now would be quite different.

Recently, like the whole wide world, life's been a little crazy to say the least. Constructive, no doubt, but tiring too. It leaves you desiring timeless time, when you can just lie down and enjoy the nothingness of life. Someday.

I'm saying all this now, but I know I would be complaining even if I had nothing to do. It all comes back the the brilliant balance of life. Too bad it's always imbalanced.

P.S. Que tal?

by Anish Malpani

Oh Lord.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmgFVpQJJhY&hl=en&fs=1]

A South Indian "Thriller" umm...imitation?

Crazy.

Enjoy.

P.S. Life's too busy to blog. Sucks :( Goli Maar!

by Anish Malpani

Losing Wallets

This summer in Dubai, I tragically lost my oh-so-very-importnat wallet. All my IDs, a good Dhs 500 (approximately $135), a Dhs 250 Food Voucher and a bunch of important receipts all disappeared into the thick, polluted air of Dubai. Thanks to my mum's sensational forward thinking, I was not carrying my debit card, otherwise the tragedy would have indeed been more tragic.

Yes, it was indeed a tragedy. If not a legitimate one, it was definitely an emotional one. I felt truly miserable and ridiculously pathetic. The thought of getting my foreign IDs made again added to the misery. The Dhs. 750 I lost defined my ultimate guilty feeling. Yes, it was a very sad day.

Obviously, someone did find the wallet. They obviously took the money and with a slight feeling of guilty disposed of the Texas-customized leather wallet. But I hoped against hopes that that somebody would have the decency to somehow get in touch with me, and with a delightfully charming smile, deliver to me, my lost life. Maybe he could Facebook me: "Dude, found your wallet. Want it?" Hell, I'd rather he take the money, but at least return the IDs and my beloved Texas-customized wallet.

So for the next couple of days, I signed into Facebook with great hope in mankind and belief in humanity. It was pretty useless. The "Secret" wasn't working. Obviously.

Fastforward to last week: So I was at UT-Austin, preparing for an ISA event in the Jester Auditorium, when I came across a wallet. No, it wasn't mine. But it was this random girl's wallet. The memories of the summer tragedy came rushing back. Karma was testing me - I better have ignited it's positive stream. So, I did what the loser-guy-who-stole-my-wallet did not do. I facebooked the random girl and with the great sweetness that humans can sometimes express, I informed her about my discovery.

I did not steal the money - it was already stolen when I found it (not that I would have stolen it - Hey, I'm being good here). But, like a good little karmic soul, I returned the favor that was never ever showered on me.

This, now, obviously sets up a delicious platform for me to dive into some great philiosophical thoughts on philanthropy, humanity, life, principles and ethics. And I will. Maybe some other time though.

P.S. A random incident-post after a while - I know. I just wrote this to be half-constructive, but I am still confused as to what motivated me to write this in this greatly busy period.

by Anish Malpani

Unbelievable

Watch this.
Drop your jaws.
Laugh.
Ridicule.
Discuss.
Have a stand.
Watch it again.
And laugh again.
And again.
Wow.
Unbelievable?

by Anish Malpani