The test of time!

How often do we hear a success story and get moved by it? It happens once in a while that we are spellbound by a mere story of someone who has achieved his transcendence .. and it might moisten our eyes to hear the story behind it.
Today morning, I got up and went on my Facebook.. only to read one more story of a kind. It was about Poland football team's captain Jakub Blaszczykowski and I was more than moved by it. Last night only I witnessed a terrific strike from this guy, only to wake up today morning and read something about him which made the goal a bigger treat.
This guy saw his dad stab his mom at the mere age of 11. Shocking! It's a wonder how he grew up, defied all odds and became captain of the Polish national team... scoring a much needed equalizer last night! After scoring, he dedicated the goal to his mother. Emotions ran high, and respect grew tremendously after knowing the story behind his life. It's not just about this goal.. he's already been voted the Best Polish footballer twice, in 2008 and 2010. He's won the 'Footballer of the Year' by readers of 'Sport' Magazine... and he's also won the Borussia Dortmund 'Player of the Year' in 2010. And all this... after he had literally planned to give up football... after his mom's death... only to be persuaded by his uncle Jerzy Brzeczek, ex captain of Polish national team.
It just makes me wonder about the tests time has in store for people... and only those who manage to defy all odds and run ahead of time become such special people. Take any example... and you will know of the adversities people have faced to emerge heroes. Such 'underdog facing odds to become hero' has been immortalized n number of times in our Hindi cinema.. but it's far from what these people actually go through. Cinema can capture an emotional scene from 10 feet away, but there's no lens that can capture the emotions running within the heart.
Just a salute to all such people whose lives are a constant motivation to the world. 

The Dictators around us

You've been studying History.. Sociology.. World Issues and much more. So, can you name some great dictators the world has seen? Kim Jong II of North Korea..? Or King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia? Well, they might be, but I feel there are greater dictators then the ones mentioned above. The dictators I'm talking about often dictate you the terms under which you live. They dictate you your reason for living, and your destination for future. They dictate you whether what you're wearing is right, or whom you're befriending is right?

Isn't it really strange when I tell you about all of these? It is actually strange, that we often allow people from our society, our neighbours, our distant relatives and everyone else to dictate terms to us, because approval is really important to us. Everything, right from wearing your tee-shirt to making a career decision, people influence your choice and you go with the choices which gets maximum approval.

Is it your uncle who will study engineering in college for 4 years and spend all the tough time, or you? Then why! Why did you take up engineering when YOU didn't want to do it? Is your neighbour going to the party to enjoy in your place? No! Then why do you change your clothes when he passes a comment on your clothes and laughs? Has he enjoyed your life ever? No..! Don't let him bother you.

We just have one life, and it's short enough to live it someone else's way. Don't try to be like someone else, because then what will happen about the original you? No one can be a better YOU than you yourself. So be your best, and be yourself!

Mumbai's rendezvous with the Underworld

        Bombay's had a long history and will definitely have a long future with the Underworld. Immortalized umpteen number of times in films, serials, crime journals, newspapers and novels, Bombay is undoubtedly the most interesting city in the world. The nexus between Bombay and underworld is unavoidable, for Bombay cannot stay without underworld, and the underworld thinks of Bombay as its bride.
        Bombay, I won't use Mumbai, is the most strategic city in India, or rather, one of the most strategic cities in the world. It offers the perfect advantage of being a port city. Port = Smuggling. Apart from the location, the division of Mumbai into distinct areas like harbour line suburbs and the adjacent down town is a perfect contrast. Harbour line areas like Dongri are still living in abject poverty since 1947 where as neighbouring areas like Malabar Hills command the highest residential prices in the world. Youngsters from Dongri eye plush neighbouring properties and dream of setting up a house there. The easiest way to earn a fortune is by smuggling and entering the deadly yet rewarding black world of crime. It simply begins this way, and a whole group of people follow, because peer pressure is too influential in this city.
     The police system in Bombay is the most powerful and efficient in the world they say, after Scotland Yard. In Chhota Shakeela's own words, the underworld knows that the Mumbai Police is capable of finishing them all off. Yet, is doesn't happen. The Mumbai Police officials draw a meager salary and it is not enough to support their families living in the world's third most expensive city, Bombay. Most of these police officials are on an underworld payroll and thus, crime flourishes in Bombay under the watchful eyes of the Police. Within a few hundred metres of every police chowky, there will be a thriving den of smugglers, drug dealers or a bar.
      Illegal business thrives in Bombay only because here, we accept an 'honest bribe'. In the entire world, bribe is not honest, because the one who gives doesn't tell anyone else and the one who takes never lets anyone know. In Bombay, everyone knows that everything can be obtained with a bribe. Everyone gives it, and everyone takes it. Yet, no one complains about it. There's an honesty to the bribe here. Because once taken, a police personnel will not interfere in the work of the criminal, however bad the work might be.

    And as they say, it's a MAXIMUM City!

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KslC0SXm9po