The End of the year….. A year of Change??

As the year comes to a close, it’s time to reflect upon the progress of the largest democracy in the world. It’s been a year of political turmoil, economic lopsidedness and bureaucratic negligence. India seems to continue fighting its vicious circle of problems, on every front.

This year, politics has seen it all. It has seen the emergence of a hero, or rather the creation of a hero, in the name of Modi. He has occupied the limelight of Indian politics, being declared BJP’s Prime Ministerial Candidate. On the other hand, we have the Congress who seem to be so keen on passing Bills and making statements, as the General Elections are just a few months away as we approach 2014. I have still been unable to comprehend how the Prime Minister has started to speak after 4 years. The state elections seemed to show the anger of every citizen of this country. Gone are the days when people were influenced by promises made in political rallies. They have realized the need for a positive change in politics. I would call it a renaissance period in democratic politics. We have witnessed the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party. Calling himself as the leader of a Movement, and not a political party, Arvind Kejirwal has managed to create the much needed change that Indian politics needed. Its been ages, but we never seem to have found a solution to one of our greatest impediments to growth and progress… Corruption. Kejirwal has always kept his focus on eradicating corruption by forming a proper channel of political administration. We hope he gets a chance to prove himself, as BJP and AAP fight for Delhi, with neither having the majority to form the Government, and neither ready to join hands with one another.. To be frank One thing I am very happy about!!!! :D

With Raghuram Rajan being appointed as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, the country has been witnessing a slow, but steady growth in economy. From a time when the dollar went to a record high of 67, he has managed to stabilize the economy, though its too early to call it an economic revolution. His primary concerns have been in controlling inflation and reducing Government expenditure. With a forever rising fiscal deficit, it continuous challenge for the government to stabilize the economy. This makes me wonder if it was the right time to pass the Food Security Bill. Criticized as a political move to gather votes, its been one of the very few bills passed by the ruling party in their tenure. With the current economic scenario, it occurs to every mind as to whether this was indeed an appropriate time to pass a Bill which would continuously bother the Government Treasury and test the Public Distribution System which has never been put into place. The manufacturing sector still seems hit by the economic crises. It’s a hope for a global economic change.

We move into a New Year hoping for a better political and economic revival benefitting the common man.

Last but definitely not the least, it goes without saying that the world has lost one of its greatest leaders of the current generation. Nelson Mandela had been and will forever remain as the hero of a Democratic Africa. His struggle for freedom from apartheid will always be remembered as one of the greatest fights that humanity has displayed to our systems and cultures. RIP Madiba. We will always remember you!!

THERE IS INDEED THE NEED FOR CHANGE………. HOPING FOR A GREAT YEAR AHEAD!!!!!!

Which is more beautiful??

A warm summer morning I decided to take a stroll along the countryside for fresh air. It was  long  since I had been to such a place. The skies were clear, the temperature  mild and it was a perfect day to enjoy  the beauty of  Nature. I wanted to spend the whole day amidst the green meadows just swaying my hands along the green grasses. Thousand yards away I could see a mountain as majestic as it can be, rising above all land, touching the heavens. The sun was hiding behind it waiting for the Earth to rotate a bit more so that it could display its ultimate powers. It was a sight I had never seen before. A light wind swept over the flowers and the  Nature giggled in the sunshine. In the silence I could hear the various sounds of Nature, from the birds chirping to the light wind swaying over the flowers. This was Nature, The Art of God more beautiful than anything else.

                                                              

                                                                           I just walked through the flowers making a path for myself, humming the tune of my favorite song. It was a day I wanted to spend  secluded from the busy life of the city. But then I witnessed something....Something I presume to be the next beautiful thing that God has created....A woman!!! I was there since long, enjoying the tranquility of Nature but I had missed seeing this beautiful girl. There she was, a few yards away sitting on the grass with a small dog accompanying her. It was now that I realized that maybe Nature is not the most beautiful thing God has created. She had  striking features with piercing blue eyes, a sharp nose and tender lips. I stood dumbfounded  watching in awe at this creation of God. She looked elegant and charming. 

                                                            

                                                                       I always had an impression in life that only character will decide a person and that I will not be tempted by looks of a girl. One second was enough to revolutionize my ideas of a perfect girl. . She did not  notice me as She was engrossed in patting  and caressing her dog.

                                                                        There was a voice inside me forcing me to go  and speak to her. But I did not have the courage to do it . I  wondered what she will think of me if I go initiate a conversation. She may be scared and run away But I was restless. There was no way I could just walk away from her. She was like the magnetic pole that always attracts the opposite pole. Questions kept creeping into my mind of what I should do next........

                                                                    Slowly but steadily, the clear sky was covering  with the clouds.  slowly it became dark. However; Nothing could make me take my eyes off her. I took me some time to realize all this was happening. Even though all this was happening the solitary girl was unmoved. She kept sitting and patting her dog  ignoring the changes in the environment . 

                                                                    

                                                                       Now it started to drizzle. It was now that the girl saw the skies and started to get up. She suddenly slipped. I don't know what made me do this but I went towards her and held out my hand. She held my hand and got up dusting the sand off her dress. All  this happened in a flash and got over even before I realized that I did it. She was then standing before me. We were facing each other, looking into each others eyes. A closer look at her eyes made me  feel her innocence. She was staring at me as if expecting I would say something. I knew this but I could not open my mouth; thinking of what I just did. Seconds seemed like  hours as we both looked at each other. The rain started pouring down in its full strength. Before I came back to reality she held my hand and rushed me to a nearby tree. Her dog followed her barking all the way. Her touch made me was ......... . We both stood beside each other guarding ourselves from the rain. Her dog was excited at the sight of rain and began jumping up and down. She ordered her pet to keep quiet.

                                                                      I was still in my dreamland. I started imagining us  walking down the aisle exchanging rings and sharing our love for each other. She brought me back to the “real” world by tapping me on the shoulder. I looked at her. My adrenaline was pumping... I wanted to tell her those three beautiful words “I love you” and nothing else. The picture of my mom came to my mind who would simply be frustrated at the of me loving a girl. But nothing seemed to be important to me than  her. I mustered up the courage to speak to her. I did nothing but pick a few beautiful flowers , rested on my knees and said “I love you”.

                                                                There was a look of surprise across her face to what then became the  cutest smile I had ever seen in my life. She fixed her eyes on me and leaned over to accept my flowers and said “Thank you.......”A voice more beautiful than that of a nightingale. Wow!!!!A look of acceptance spread across her face and I realized that I had accomplished one of the toughest tasks of my life. We both held our hands together, leaning on the the tree looking at the sun which had come out and the beautiful rainbow which was now visible across the mountain.

             

                                                                      Then suddenly water was splashed across my face. Thinking that she was playing with me I opened my eyes moving away the water on my face. I saw someone who was extremely familiar. She was none other than my MOM!!!!! There she was holding a bucket of water screaming at me “Get up you lazy fellow!!!! You have an exam tomorrow”. For a moment I felt so sad that everything was just a dream. But then I realized that such a person may never exist in reality because nature is God's most beautiful creation . What a dream it was!!!! 

My Story of Life

                                                                      Hictor Finner was an actor par excellence. Coming from a very poor family he had struggled a lot to become one of the best actors of all time. His hard work and determination had won the hearts of many. After grabbing two Oscars for this blistering performances in “Wonderful Man” and “The Woman's Sight” he was making a movie with one of the most innovative directors in modern era namely John Simmoner. Shooting had commenced and there was a lot of expectations on Finner's shoulders to satisfy the fans of his which was increasing everyday.

                                                                    Titled “The Thriller” the movie was about the life of a man.  It was made a point not to publicly announce much more about the movie and shooting was kept top secret. Only thing that was known was that Finner was going through a lot of training sessions for bringing his best performance on screen.

                                                                     It was just a week since shooting had started. It was 9:00 pm in the night. John made it a point to rehearse a shoot scheduled for the next day. That assured better performances by the actors. By the time the rehearsal was over it was 10:15 pm. Hictor after a hectic day of work comes to the hotel. Having no mood to undress he just falls on the bed and sleeps. Suddenly he hears a loud scream. He gets up trying to clear his eyes and see his watch. It was 11:15pm. Hictor was a gentlemen. He was always there to help people whenever he could. He got up and looked down the corridor. Only one door was open, two rooms to his right, allowing the light to enter into the corridor. He walks down the corridor and enters the dimly lit room. There he saw, covered in blood, a woman's body. Even her face was hardly seen. It had stabs all over the stomach. There was a slit at the throat. Agitated, Hictor runs to his room and calls 911.

                                                                  The cops arrive and collect all the evidence possible. It was a professional murder planned such that there were not much clues left for the police to work on. On questioning Hictor he explains how he heard the scream and came to the room to find the corpse. There was nothing much he could tell and the cops thank for his immediate call. He felt happy he could help in some way. He was told that her name was Helena, a manager in an IT firm.

                                                                   

                                                                   The next day Hictor is unable to set his mind right after the incident he had encountered and asked John for a day of rest and he agreed. In two days, shooting had resumed and there was a need to change the location. The crew fly to Detroit to continue their shooting. As shooting progresses John becomes extremely impressed by Hictor's performance.

                                                                   One day in the sets a strange event occurs. One of the crew of the film comes panting and shouting explaining that he saw the assistant camera man of the movie dead in one of the rooms in the location. Shocked on hearing this, Hictor and John run to Room no 14. There they find Julius, his eyes wide open and his hands hanging from the sides of the bed. There was a mark of a piercing knife on his forehead. The crew didn't dare to touch him fearing they may be responsible for losing some evidence. The cops arrive at the scene of the crime and try to get all fingerprint's available. They file a case and detective Marx from the Scotland Yard is appointed to investigate the case.

                                                                  

                                                                  He questions everyone in the sets individually trying to get as much information as possible. Shooting remains canceled for a period of a month. Investigation was being carried on but it was in vain. John and Hictor were questioned the most, being the director and the lead actor. They share what ever they could giving all the information to the detective.

                                                                After a month, producers start questioning the progress of the movie and the director resumes shooting. Everything was going well,when after five days of shoot a terrible thing happens. One of the light men in the crew is found dead hanging from a rope in the sets. Marx rushes to the spot. He immediately orders the shooting to be canceled and demands the crew to stay in a hotel for fifteen days for questioning. They have no option but to abide by the rules.

                                                               After many sessions of questioning the detective is unable to draw a line. Just when he was about to question a crew member some intuition makes him think of a solution to the problem. He swivels his chair turning to the director. He asks the director to tell him the plot of the movie which he was currently shooting. The director hesitates,hinting that it was kept a secret. After a bit of persuasion the director tells him the story.

                                                              The movie was about a man who, due to the loss of his wife becomes depressed and slowly starts becoming mentally ill and starts killing people who come in his way or get into arguments with him. As the director starts elaborating on the story the detective gets a clue. What if Hictor himself, because of his involvement in the character had himself turned into a killer? The idea keeps coming to him but he doesn't express this thought. After hearing the complete story the detective thanks the director and leaves.

                                                              The next day Marx questions Hictor on the preparations he had done for the movie. Hictor explains how he had researched on behavior of people who were mentally affected. As Marx started digging deeper into what Hictor had prepared, he gets to know how Hictor had prepared the screenplay by exploring new ways to murder people. Marx now gets a clear idea on who the murderer is. The only point was that there was not enough proof.

                                                              Hictor is asked to come to the neural and psychiatric centre. Having no idea on why he was called, he goes there. Top doctors from the leading psychiatric research centers in the country assemble there. The psychiatrist start questioning Hictor. Slowly as he digs deeper into his character in the movie he senses a change in Hictor's behavior. Hictor starts yelling at him and suddenly reaches out to a surgical knife and tries to attack the doctor. The personnel in the hospital quickly hold Hictor by his hands and legs and rest him on his chair.

                                                             The doctors explain John that this is a case where too much involvement in his character had led Hictor to become that character itself. This was not exactly a case of multiple personality disorder. Only conclusion doctors could come out with was that maybe the story  was running in his head that particular time leading to his dangerous actions. The whole plot was clear to the doctors now. It was Hictor who was responsible for these deaths. Marx gets the information on the death Hictor had encountered in the hotel. Marx now gets a clear picture in his mind. The only problem was that, while collecting the details from people Marx had interviewed, Hictor had a perfect alibi on every occasion.

                                                              The only way to conclude the case was in the hands of the  specialist doctors by making him accept his mistakes, from the horses mouth itself. The sad thing was that Hictor never knew he was responsible for the deaths. Keeping him under complete attention under the doctors and luring the story out of his mind, Hictor(or his subconscious memory which was responsible for the deaths) finally tells what actually had happened.

                                                               “I was actually reading a book that day on how to slit the throat of a person and murder him. That's when a  woman came to my room asking for water. As I was talking with her she was telling me that being a woman and a wife was the worst thing that had happened to her. After she went I just took a knife entered her room and slit her throat.” - After hearing this the doctors realize that Hictor was physically responsible for killing the woman but it was his subconscious mind. The “real” Hictor had heard the scream earlier but assumed that he had heard it only after he had come back to bed. He killed her because she was of the opinion that being a wife was a worst feeling. Whereas in the movie he has lost his wife and he becomes mentally ill because he starts missing her.

                                                             

                                                                “Similarly I had come to the sets earlier than anyone else that day when I was alone with Julius. As we were talking he spoke terribly about his wife which I didn't like and I killed him. Similarly the light man I killed was earliest to come to the shooting to set the lights when we had arguments about personal life as a husband” - This was all Hictor's subconscious mind narrating what all it had done. Hictor always had an alibi because these incidents happened in minutes before he actually returned to his hotel. When Hictor was interviewed by Marx regarding his activities his subconscious mind failed to tell the truth and he always proclaimed that he never went to the shooting spot so early.

                                                               Here was a man, because of nothing but his passion for acting never realized what he was doing when he was shooting for a movie. Here was a man who had to be treated for years and still be kept under close watch for his activities. Here was a man, who's involvement in his career was solely responsible for his career to come to an end........

                                                    These were the last lines in the biography titled “My Story of Life” by John Simmoner.