Guns and Roses...??

What does it take for an educated, civilized person to realize that for years he has been blindfolded by the very system he is proud of, the very system that was praised in his civics class, 10 years back, for being the most effective instrument of social change? What does it take for a retired couple to realize that the very leader who was supposed to protect and serve them, has scorned them and made a mockery out of their tragedy?
Huge banners and posters are lined up on the streets of every major city awaiting elections, proclaiming a particular political party's failings in handling a faceless, nameless terror that has streaked all faces of this great nation with tears and anguish. What do those banners imply? That the ruling government is of no use? Well, that's true. But another truth is that the party sponsoring the banners is equally inept when it comes to tackling these situations, as has been evident over the years.
It is merely bad luck on the part of the ruling party that they happened to be in power when the ghastly event occurred. Even more unlucky because it happened only a few months before the general elections. People find a way to forget, or haze out, bad memories. But this close to election time, people are going to demand answers to some very, very tough questions. If the government fails to answer these questions, they fail to come back into power.
This is perhaps the most opportune time for all citizens of this nation to demand that the politicians give plausible reasons for all their actions.
Any irresponsibility or insensitivity in replying will definitely spell DOOM, as is evident in some infamous speeches made by some pretty forgetful politicos.
Where bodies are strewn all over a palace of dreams, a very insightful politician manages only to see the "lipstick" that the mourners are wearing. Is the colour of the "lipstick" deeper than blood?
Why is it that such people, who can definitely not be called humans because they have lost all sense of humanity, are allowed to get away with such petty statements?
Why aren't they held accountable?
Why is it that the leader of a million people is allowed to take a "terror tourism" vacation into that same palace of dreams with his "curious" son and his "close friend"? And the audacity of it is that he defends it just as unabashedly on primetime national television.
Why is it that the deputy leader states matter-of-factly that since 5000 people were meant to have been killed, and that since the death toll has not even touched 200, this was just an ordinary incident that may occur in any large township. And goes on to maintain that it was NOT a "total intelligence failure".
Well it appears that the only people whose intelligence seems to be failing is the citizens of this country. Those citizens who believe that the right to vote is the most important weapon that they have, the most powerful way of expressing themselves, the best way of getting themselves heard over the loud political din. The framers of the constitution did us a huge favour by allowing us this right, but wouldn't it have been slightly better if only they had given us a right to choose the candidates for elections as well? What use is this "weapon" when inspite of its use, no results are forthcoming?
What choice do the people have? Re-electing a seemingly powerless government, or bringing an anti-islamic, bloodthirsty pack of mongrels into power in a nation that boasts of its multi-cultural and multi-ethnic fabric?
It seems like the only choice we presently have is to sit on our couches and sofas, switch on the television and watch these filthy creatures fight it out for the most coveted chair in the political sphere.
Or we could alternatively light a candle and march towards where the last explosion shattered countless lives? Or we could sit with roses in our hands infront of our esteemed leaders' palatial bungalows and offices, demanding that they listen to us?
Or we could wear white, or black, or any other colour-themed dress and express our solidarity with those who were the victims of these political games?
Ultimately, what difference will all this make? Will an orphan get back the parents that he lost on his 2nd birthday? Or will a father be able to embrace his 23 year old son once more? Or maybe two teenage siblings will again rest peacefully in their mother's lap?
No. None of this will happen. Because that's the way life is. We cannot turn back time. The people that are lost to us will now only be seen in photographs or hazy memories.
But what we can do is demand change. Barack Obama has managed to make the impossible possible by promising to bring change.
The only question that remains now is who will be OUR Barack Obama? Or will it be back to Guns and Roses?

the COMMA after love

moving on was something that i was definitely not looking forword to. but the time had come for me to look past the ruins and into the sunshine. easier said than done, most would say. me being a part of the MOST contingent, especially with severely defective eye-sight....lol. anyways back to business. moving beyond the shadows of a love lost was quite tough on my mental as well as emotional well being. everything seemed fixated upon the one thing that should have been dumped in the past, the guy. everywhere there seemed to be reminders of what had been lost, what would never come back to me, and also what would always come back to haunt me in my lowest moments. every memory seemed magnified exactly in the same manner as it does in those wierd old movies where in the climax a flashback(that too in crystal clear imagery, i mean how's that even possible??) is inevitable. everything seemed like a pointer towards the past rather than the future. so how screwed up is that?
but as they say(i dunno who they is, btw), everything happens for a reason. well, for the record i haven't exactly been struck by a lightning bolt of reason as yet. but i was sure of only one thing. i had been saved from what had been a disaster in the making. thank god for that really.
i began looking towards my family and friends for distraction, rather than any kind of support. a rather unnecessary burden it seemed to me. i went out for movies, shopping, everything that a girl normally does when she's happy. but me, i did it coz it passed my time and diminished whatever bad memories were left in this organ of mine called THE BRAIN. it took half a dozen movies, a dozen shopping sprees and a helluva lot more of weeping and sniffling to actually feel like part human. it made me realise that your heart doesn't really break at all(unlike the myth propagated by a certain half-naked cherub). it merely gets bruised, or in some scenarios, it just ACTS like it has been bruised. in my case, it was a big, black bruise. smack in the middle of my stupid beating machine.
it took some time getting used to the healing process, but what made it intriguing was the fact that it was a lot more painless than what i had earlier anticipated. who would have thought it possible when everyone, everywhere seems to believe that life after love is a shrieking hell of stinking tears and weeping noses. sure it started out like that with me too, but i definitely ran out of clean napkins a lot earlier than i, and others as well, had predicted.
after all these ventures, it occured to me that MOVING ON is actually even more hyped up than the ailment that one moves on from. it actually is a cleansing experience, vitalising, energising. in fact i strongly recommend it to all those who are suffering from LOVE...hehehehehe!!!
now the only thing that make my heart go into severe palpitations is the sight of rafael nadal....oops make that two...i am definitely including the chocolatey eyes of mario ancic(believe me, heavenly as well as yummylicious!!!)
SO TO ALL YOU PEOPLE OUT THERE.....MOVE ON....ROCK ON!!!!

Agony

NEVER ONCE HAD I IMAGINED THAT I WOULD NEED THE ASSISTANCE OF A BLOG TO GIVE VENT TO MY AGONY, MY EMOTIONS, MY FEELINGS.
NEVER ONCE HAD I IMAGINED THAT I COULD BE STRONG ENOUGH TO EXPOSE MYSELF BEFORE THE WORLD AND LAY MY HEART OPEN FOR ALL TO SEE.
I HAD ONLY IMAGINED THAT THE HAPPY PHASE OF INNOCENCE, JOY, AND ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL WOULD CONTINUE AND LAST FOR AS LONG AS I WISHED.
ALAS! IF ONLY ALL OUR WISHES CAME TRUE.
BEING SINGLE HAD ALWAYS BEEN A BOON FOR ME. I HAD BEEN POPULAR, NOT TIED DOWN TO ONE PERSON, ENJOYING SCHOOL LIFE TO THE HILT.
BEING OVERWEIGHT, I WAS ALWAYS THE GUYS' BEST FRIEND AND THE GIRLS' CONFIDANT. I NEVER IMAGINED THAT MY LIFE WOULD EVER BE SCENTED WITH THE SWEET FRAGRANCE OF VALENTINE'S DAY ROSES, OR BE FLOODED WITH A LOVER'S ATTENTION.
KNOWING FULLY MY SHORTCOMINGS, AND COMPLETELY BASKING IN THE WARMTH OF THE LOVE THAT MY FRIENDS SHOWERED ON ME, I WAS SATISFIED. I NEVER CRAVED THE LOVE OF A MAN. I NEVER WISHED FOR THE WARMTH OF A LOVER'S EMBRACE.
BUT GOD HAD OTHER PLANS. MAYBE HE WANTED ME TO FEEL THE LUXURIATING FEELING OF BEING LOVED DEEPLY, OR MAYBE HE WANTED ME TO DROWN IN THE BLACK AND DARK SEA OF PAIN, IN THE AFTERMATH OF SUCH ECSTACY.
MAYBE HE SIMPLY WISHED FOR ME TO GROW UP AND SEE THE WORLD FOR WHAT IT ACTUALLY WAS.
ONLY HE KNOWS WHAT HE PLANNED FOR ME, FOR HE SENT ME AN ANGEL OF LOVE. HE SENT ME THE SCENT OF THE MORNING DEW AND THE TWINKLING OF THE STARS ON THE BLANKET OF THE BLACK SKY. HE SENT ME THE PURITY OF A NEWBORN'S SMILE AND THE WARMTH OF A BLAZING EMBER. HE SENT ME THE BEAUTY OF THE ORCHID AND THE WONDER OF THE GLOWING SUN.
TIME PASSED. THINGS CHANGED. LIFE CHANGED. I CHANGED. I BEGAN DEPENDING ON THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS SO MUCH THAT THE THOUGHT OF LOSING THEM DID NOT CROSS MY MIND EVEN FOR ONE INSTANCE. I CHERISHED THE TIME WE SPENT TOGETHER AND KEPT IT SAFE FROM ALL ILLS. I DIDN'T REALISE THE MOMENT WHEN I BEGAN TO TAKE THIS GLORY FOR GRANTED. MAYBE IT WAS MY FAITH IN HIM THAT LED ME INTO BELIEVING THAT NOTHING COULD GO WRONG. OR MAYBE IT WAS MY BELIEF IN THE ADAGE,"GOOD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE".
BUT GOD KNEW THE THAT IT WAS TIME TO SNATCH THE TOY HE HAD SO BENEVOLENTLY BESTOWED UPON ME. HE DECIDED THAT THE TIME HAD COME FOR ME TO FACE THE REALITIES OF A WORLD SO FORLORN THAT IT IS UNIMAGINABLE.
LOVE LEFT US. WE GREW APART WITHOUT ACTUALLY REALISING IT UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. HIS HEART HAD LEFT MY BOSOM FOR A PLACE UNKNOWN TO ME, NEVER TO RETURN.
WHAT FILLED THAT HOLLOW SPACE WAS THE FEELING OF REMORSE, A SENSE OF GUILT FOR LETTING THINGS GO ON AS THEY HAD, A FEELING OF BEING BETRAYED, A SENSE OF NOT BEING GOOD ENOUGH.
THE CAVITY STILL PERVADES MY SENSES. IT ENGULFS MY MIND AND DRAWS TEARS OUT OF MY BLEEDING HEART. IT NUMBS ME AGAINST THE PAIN THAT HAD FILLED MY DAYS UNTIL NOW. IT BREAKS MY ALREADY BROKEN SPIRIT TIME AND AGAIN. IT SHATTERS MY SOUL AND KILLS MY BEING.
BUT I KNOW WHO TO TURN TO. MY GOD. HE HAS BEEN THERE ALWAYS FOR ME, BY MY SIDE, HOLDING MY HAND EVEN THROUGH THE TOUGHEST STORMS. HE WILL SURELY CURE MY AFFLICTION AND MAKE ME AS GOOD AS NEW.
I HOPE HE SEES THIS AND FEELS THE PAIN THAT SPLITS MY BEING INTO TINY FRAGMENTS, FRAGMENTS SO SMALL THAT THE NAKED EYE CAN NEVER SEE THEM. BUT THEN HE HAS THE MOST POWERFUL LENSES, THE LENSES OF LOVE, THE LENSES OF UNDERSTANDING.
I AM SURE HE WILL GUIDE ME AND STRENGTHEN ME. I KNOW THAT HE WILL MAKE LOVE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERSON FOR ME, AND THAT PERSON IS ME.
HE WILL HELP ME LOVE MYSELF, CHERISH AND UNDERSTAND MYSELF AND THEN HE WILL SEND ME ANOTHER FRAGRANT MORNING WITH THE FRESH DEW ON THE LEAVES.