Cochin-Mangalore Gas Pipeline

As like any major revolutions that took society to tempest, "Gas-Pipeline" scoop too crippled like an ant on any hardest rock surface.

The Company, Returns...

It was a day, the oppression and frustration going through his mind propelled like an Inter Continental Ballastic Missile! What next, words spread in length and width as a blog!
Some Opportunists saved the words in local machine and distributed to alike minds, the corrupted ones. Created some more opportunity for their growth! But who cares!
So, the long await, is over, The Company Returns!

"The trouble with world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

--Bertrand Russell

--MUJEEB patla

"To have a dream in sleep is an entertainment; to have a dream in life is a blessing"

the DAY called EID!

Thick fog with steep cold, sun-rays still not in direct contact with earth-face, even the harder of the hardest could resist the allure a deep sleep pledge, given the blanket-warm conditions! Let it be any special occasion, the person under question will get in to a trembled state of mind when confronted with a situation of getting up and walking in to a bath-room (which barely justifies its “literal” or “built-for” duty) against all adverse provisions. A room built with a person’s body thickness in mind (of builder) Even the filthiest of the bed-bugs could not resist his promised “rest-in-peace” state! While considering his special surrounding (that he is severely alone), even the rockest of rock will get softened, let alone his STRONG BOSS’ crookedness. A year back, this person lost his Eid prayer by untrusting the people-around’s words. How could he! Each moment they mocked him and made it so sure that, he should be insulted, lied with. So when he doubted, what was so wrong happened. Justifiably he doubted their words, though true words come from them infrequently, he disbelieved in all! This person, he; is me. With all efforts against the inertia gathered in the form of comfort provided by blanket, a thrust of fear and confusion-determination pushed me out. With no idea of exact Eid prayer timing, than a lousy word from a “strict acquaintance”, 7am. 6:30am already, swelling crowd outside the masjid, the only way out, is to ask a person from the cult, “When exactly is the Eid prayer?” Pride would get tampered! How could I let that happen? Kept mum; and walked, hands in pockets; direction, towards canteen. The serving boy, in brand-new cloth, was in ecstasy. Smiling for reasons and no-reasons; but I just needed an answer, WHEN IS THE EID PRAYER? The question struck in his heart. Helpless he was, and smiled back with a vague guess of timing no-where in range of what it could have been. The tea was well-sugered; as mattered much from a tea shop. Not a query mitigation opportunity. I sighed for getting discouraged. Sipping tea, walking back to room, made a mind for 6:50am, what so ever be the real timing. Not in vain; the seat was right in front of a door from toilet and ablution place; on a bare floor with water spilled all over, by the people who made frequent in and out. White dress I was in, the doubt of being in clean and tidy seemed completely out-of-worry context. Announcement and reciting from inside masjid, echoed so well that the output on ear-drum resembled of a mixed band-width vocal recipe; understood nothing. “See the neighbor, act accordingly”; was the rule. In between a question popped up in my near-standing chap, “How these people do Eid prayer, seems different from ours?!”, my answer, “God knows, and them!!!” Prayer over, crowd dispersed. Some hugged, some shook their hands; and a minority (me included) ran to room, making others to feel, “this guy is in really busy mode”; only we know how badly we were in pursuit to catch-up with the sleep we actually ditched in between. 7:30 am to 7:30pm; no major developments. Loneliness killed the hero. Mosquitoes mused him and bed bugs did suck the rest. It was a Eid day, I believe. Continued, that, be with person you like more, and like you more, especially for the occasion so special. Well, I am stuck with myself here. Nor have the freedom to choose better. A choice was better, have I had one!

the CONTRAST PARADOX

Any break from that back-bending heavy loads and always-raising target-expectation chain reactions are more than welcomed, especially in a desert like ours, where, to get in to the nearest ATM we have to use all the transportation means other than ships and airplanes (if that was a requirement, I bet, we would have used that too). No hospitals in any miles distance. A perfect exception to the highly thriving, leaping modernizing world, I will go to the extent to argue with Thomas L. Freidman’s theory of Flat world with a deserted one.

That was a lunch time, biriyani burning in belly, with bubbles of Pepsi, altogether constituting an awesome experience one should definitely go through, at least once in a life (strictly once, repetition may cause irreversible consequences). Other than thickly packed work schedules, there is no place for relaxation than a warehouse with all those products we sell, or a small reception with two sofa sets facing each other with camera on the roof (reminding the “Big-Boss moments”)
The day was also not a different one, than it numbered new in calendar, rest of all were same, damn same. If monotony is killing, then I bet I kill myself each day throughout the ten long- straight-hours (officially; 11 or more hours, off-record). Same faces in room and office, even it is a rare coincidence to get some new faces in dreams.

Boring and killing; maybe the typical-framed expatriate life-style in Middle East.
The heavily accented receptionist is handling the phone calls on behalf of our esteemed brand; smiling and shying, he got his style of doing that; I am afraid; with the alphabets I can express even a fraction. Repetition of events, myself on sofa with Gulf News; and few of other employees trying to listen the always muted 42” flat TV, walled right between the camera on top and smiling face of our enthusiastic receptionist on bottom.

All of a sudden; like, directly from heaven a person made his appearance with a resume on the right hand, a very common view in today’s world of heavily getting- fired and least-hired. Sooner he made an approach to the receptionist, I don’t know what made him so over-whelmed, but he lost any control if at all he had any; the only thing we (receptionist, people gathered to enjoy the muted debate on CNN and half-slept me with gulf news in hand) could here is, “Me, my resume, job vacancy and some referred person’s name” and lots and lots of breathing action, which blown the words so much apart that, our receptionist was blinking repeatedly. But he could manage the highly-panicked job aspirant soul to get his way back. Hardly might he have kept fifty steps from door, I just flew to the table and ran a sight over the CV. I couldn’t believe my eyes, the guy was a bachelor holder in Mechanical Engineering and with sound experience as supervisor in the related field, from a place where education and health care is booming and always on top from all the other states of country, India. The person is eligible, but I doubt whether he was able. He had certificates and mark sheets filed thickly, but no confidence, not even a grand on pocket, and communication skill, “null”. The scene presented some laughter moment for all who were present there.

Then, rather with great surprise, I could see a person with hardly any expression, reflecting the steeled heart, and golden achievement he had, a young business prince, with the crown of marketing director to bunch of 20 countries, at his young age of 25. The person barely has any certificate or academically strong-hold to match his position, as the new paper jargons, but he is successful with his ability. The person who got whole sack of confidence and not a single piece of sheet in the file as mark sheet or academic certificates.

The paradox is that, both these persons belongs to same place and same age group. But they are on different verge of destiny. I don’t know whether the word “destiny” could be used to bound the condition, but I am sure the “paradox” is the other most prompt phrase which will describe the scenario. An engineer who cannot tell what he can do, and a sales executive who can tell all the thing which he may not be able to do. An engineer who can be proud to be a wiz in paper and a sales person who is a hero in market. One is jobless, the other is the director of a company. Should we change our age-old, strongly formed myth on education and success. Some wise mused, “beauty may open the door, but only virtue enters” long back. Maybe the phrase will re-joint to form, “Educated may get a job, but only the confident and able will climb the success”. I was still under the shock (of the incidents witnessed) and sluggishness (of hefty lunch), but time waits for no any thoughts to climax, it just ticks, and it did. And that was another lunch hour to remember.

a GRIM outlok

Dedicated to all those men/women/children those got killed for the very reason they were unaware of.

Religion- sheer a word for some; fiction for some others; grudge-builders for others; hatred-developer for many; leverage for some; sometimes a curse, or blessings for some others.

If the world goes for a poll to the most widely used/misused word, the R word will hit a jackpot in terms of numbers, I bet.

The air was so cold in moisture and dropped temperature, with already sunk sun on horizon, the evening was more than soothing for anyone with normal senses. As usual, that road from Kasaragod, abundant of pits, moved out stones, revealing the contractors’ very intention of building the road, but failing to hide his greed for money with compromised quality norms on raw materials being used or worst-workmanship; easy and comfortable for the civilians to curse the rotten system around but takes bravery to put fingers on and act against; but we prefer to share seat with fence sitters and indulge more on gossiping or mumble against than any constructive way of dealing. Some; even count this among the man-achieved blessings for keeping in check the vehicles from making a try to touch the up-limit in speedometer and hence more lives to heavens.

No difference in usual circumstances, but the mesmerizing air around made a human more a human; so what about beasts in human skins, they will never gets affected by these naïve-allures from nature which stays way low in their scale when comparing the pay they received for the mission to accomplish or for the fructification of the mission they have raised to. One motor cycle with its shimmering headlight approaching, an auto-rickshaw and a van over taking it, street-lights off (thanks to load-shedding or power-cut whichever may be the Electricity Board’s excuse this time, or part of the bigger plan!),the nature-sponsored peacefulness shattered by an agonized cry, snatching the entire neighborhood’s attention to the “motor cycle-auto rickshaw-van” scene. Some rush moments, the four-wheelers fled the spot. But the people gathered could see a ruthlessly stabbed youngster on floor with body parts which was built to be in, actually came out, a “not-so-eye-friendly-watch”.
Another instance of communal rivalry, newspapers concluded. Or, a newly evolved, established way of dealing and returning on “same-pan” style of approach.
This is a scene from my beloved district. Though repeatedly been considered as “the very far” district of Kerala (famous for deep communal harmony, elevated health-care matching the western world, and hiking super-consumerism) by the states-men of far south Trivandrum, the capital city, the district is still very Keralite. The far Kerala’s fluctuated left-right rulers put the district, Karnataka politicians keep it near. With cultural-linguistic diversity, the place has been in lime-light for the reasons which are negative most of the time; and Malayalam movies for decades notoriously depicted the place to be goon ruled with the epic character Kasaragod Kader bhai.

The people were more humane before. They put hands on shoulders of their brothers never caring on the others name or faith. They lived; loved; dealt; treated; cried; screamed together. They respected each other and revered their brotherhood. Many times they forgot each other’s religion in the merry mood of the festival they were gathered. Nobody questioned other, or it was never required to be doubted on other party’s presence in others’ festival; they ate together, they cracked jock on each other, and laughed altogether. Now sounds like the lines from day-dreamer.
Jinxed now; those places and occasions never looks they were used to.

Doubt is the emotion which comes first, whenever one gets near to the stranger now. To leave the home after 7 pm, considered as very brave decision to be made. The very neighbors we used to boast upon, now turned to be source of all fears. As if the world capsized altogether. People stilled perplexed in understanding who, when, why, how spilled so much hatred among brothers. Why it became necessary to be so hostile in our own home, and concerned on our own surveillance plans.

Please be reminded that, this state is part of that secular India whose father is still that charismatic-messiah of secularism, “Mahathma” Gandhi, than the venomed Godse; though the efforts are on its way to turn the lamp skin on jackal.

Some, who managed to touch this point, might be cynic on the narrator’s intention and his attempt to inflate the situations to make it more monstrous. But he just wanted to convey a simple message which he understood, that, the situation in Kashmir never allow one to explode a bomb on his brother’s worshipping place; or, because some brain-washed crowds demolished some worship-place, will never give an explanation on your ill-treatment of your brother’s family, or because some tyrant ruler, history back, behaved unjustly; should not make you to be much more unjust to your fellow being. Stop searching for the reason to hate and kill. We may be different in faiths, we may have difference in opinions, we may have different viewpoints; diversified, but beautiful-so do the rainbow, adding only beauty to its spectacle. But what if one fine morning the blue in the rainbow feels to be all alone and spread over all other hues, that is something we have to be worried about.
Or, as he comprehended with his primitive data-base of knowledge; it will not be humane to be inhumane for the reason which was never humane.