As I walk towards the sun

Thinking all I have done

Looking straight into the eyes

Makes me melt as ice

When I turn around to see

There is no one next to me

Oh that lonely feeling

I lied down in the night

With a mind that is tight

Looking up to the skies

Wonder the starry ties

When I turn around to see

There is no one next to me

Oh that lonely feeling

Walking down the streets

Feeling light on the feet

Empty in the heart

Like a train that departs

When I turn around to see

There is no one next to me

Oh that lonely feeling

Sitting on the bench

A thirst to quench

No one there to be seen

I am not Mr.Bean

There is a hole in the soul

I put my arms around to console

There is no one next to me

Oh that lonely feeling

All comments would be accepted and approved without any censorship.

Tip 3:

Exercise is mandatory for a healthy life. This exercise can be from various mediums. Typically we get carried away that we end up exercising more for either the upper part or for the lower part of the body. Core strengthening exercises are always mixed up. A typical body looks great when both the upper & lower body parts are worked out in tandem. Imagine a body were the upper body is big with weak legs or a body with strong legs & a thin upper frame. Both look disproportionate.

There was a time I was concentrating more on my upper body that even though I was running marathons I was getting injured. My legs used to get tired & worn out easily. Post an injury in which I had to stop running a marathon mid-way I understood the importance of leg strengthening too after a visit to doctor.

Since then I have been into balanced workout. Maybe my upper part is not that strong as it was before but I definitely feel fitter than before. In fact after line of injuries with effective workout I was able to get back to running & reduce the timing.

Its necessary to be fit than to have a huge unbalanced body.

8yrs later, on 10th February 2013 the feeling was exactly the same. This time it was at Auroville, TamilNadu. I ran only half the distance than what I did in 2005 but the difference was I was running after quite some break due to injuries and other incidents and events.
Last year I ran same distance at Hydrebad but the feeling of completion wasn’t the same. I was coming back from injury and wanted to test myself.
This time, I had a goal in mind. I was eager, excited, anxious and nervous and determined to do it. And to do it with ease.

Morning by 6:15, the half marathon was flagged off. Quite a lot of runners and by the time I crossed the start line, the clock had moved a good 5mins. It didn’t matter much. The runners in this run were far more disciplined that they never ended up pushing other runners to move ahead. With many in number the first km is always going to be slow unless you are in front of the pack. When I finished 1km it was almost 7-8mins by my watch. Then I slowly reached my rhythm and kept running. I ran and ran and ran. I managed to reduce time at few kms that I was able to finish 10kms in 55mins – 57mins. Was satisfied a little with a better performance so far. Simultaneously I was also losing my body salt/sugar and water. I need something with sugar and also water.
Thats where this run stood out. There were time stations at approximately 2.5-3km mark. And the stations were stocked with water, electrolyte, banana and chikki. Chikki was all I wanted, after a half glass of water. I took a piece of the chikki and kept biting as and when I was feeling the need for it.
And along the route they had some people playing drums and elsewhere people standing, clapping, cheering. The crowd was really supportive and encouraging.
I managed to overtake few of my friends from office and felt I might fall off if I didn’t slow down. I cut down the speed and finally finished with a time between 1hr57mins – 2hrs2mins.

That was one happy moment.

“India is my country and all Indians are my brothers and sisters.
I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage.
I shall always strive to be worthy of it.
I shall give my parents, teachers and all elders respect and treat everyone with courtesy.
To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion.
In their well-being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness.”

Just like we have forgotten so many things in our life this also seems to be one. Open any newspaper in the morning, the top news items would be rape and rape and rape and more rape or naxalism or telangana or cauvery water or some organisation threatening certain people related to arts (all girl band, art display in bangalore, movie release in Tamilnadu) or fishermen killing or pirates attack or dalit issue.

Isn’t there any development happening in India is what one would wonder. There seems to be too many issues disturbing common public.

Going by certain events our diversity seems to be in question. All the candlelight protest for a rape victim seems to be long back with the case taking its own time and nobody protesting if a dalit girl is raped & hanged (like what happened  days ago in Bihar). Nor is there a voice for lot of things. We seem to be biased in our actions for our own brothers and sisters.

What respect can I give to teachers of today if they themselves molest or rape a girl. What respect do elders get when they are the one’s involved in scams & scams.

Where is “my people” that was intended in the pledge?

There is only one thing that makes us cross all barriers and come together, that is cricket.

While I can only still remain devoted to my country there is no more happiness.

All comments would be accepted and approved without any censorship.

Tip 2:

Exercise is one thing which can be started any time and can be left any time. The reasons for stopping exercising are always plenty but the most common reason is lack of time. I myself have fallen into this trap of no time so many times that I can only be a critic of myself.

Many years ago in the year 1999 was the first time I decided to start exercising. At that time I was big fat plump. Was afraid to walk in the corridors of hostel without a vest or t-shirt to cover my top. Then I started running around the cricket ground, it was tough initially to even complete two rounds. Then I progressed to 10 – 15 rounds. One round = 800mts.

Post running I would supplement with strengthening exercises. It all looked great, especially utilizing evening time. Then I found out that evening time sucks big time atleast for me. There were so many external factors which used to influence my routine. I shifted to morning hours. This was the best.

Early morning is so peaceful for running, firstly. The sound of birds, lack of noise & dust pollution and many other fellow humans still struggling to get out of the bed. One drawback was when I needed support while doing weights in the gym. One day I was unable to lift a particular weight during bench press that I was lucky to just place it on my chest for support. Am still alive!

In that year I was weighing around 65kgs and with the routine I was following I came down to 55kgs with waist size of 28 and no more tension of walking around hostel topless! It was only 5years later that I increased my weight to 60kgs which was required. Till date I have been balancing my weight between 60kgs – 63kgs and a waistline of 30.

Though am not regular at gym last few months but I still try or manage to maintain myself still. I do feel sense of pride that in almost 14years I have not become big nor very thin. My friends from college or school can definitely vouch for it.

If its difficult to go to gym due to lack of time, there is always household work which gives one enough exercise. Clean your own house (includes sweeping and mopping), wash your clothes by hand, cook by yourself. All these give ample strength to your legs & hands & lower back.

With this personal experience I can always say exercise is the key. Exercise also keeps your brain fresh.

Technically the movie is good. There is lot of attention given to detail. Every actor has got a defined role & some ways not ensured that it is Kamal Hassan movie all through. Rahul Bose has a major role in the movie and sometimes his voice is irritating but the explanation does for it.

Pooja, Andrea, Shekar Kapur all have importance. The best part is where a house fly on rife is shown closely, the son of rahul bose identifying the rife & bullets blindfolded, rahul bose son’s innocence, protrayal of emotions even by jihadis, the Afghanistan location.

The movie story is very simple and many times made by the Hollywood. But Kamal has definitely taken Tamil cinema to different length and heights. It would do no justice to compare this movie with “Ek Tha Tiger” or “Thuppaki”. Our brains have been modeled these days to watch movies without class. There are certain shots where the movie has matched Hollywood terms and in some gone beyond.

Usage of pigeons and the explanation to use them is something out of the box.

Kamal’s wife Pooja suspects him & he emoting gay expressions, hires a private investigator to track his movements. While she has an affair with Samrat Chkarabarti. In the course of trailing the investigator gets killed. Movie changes from there and a flashback of tale from Afghanistan. What would happen next is anybody’s guess especially those who watch lot of movies.

“neenga nalla vara keta vara” the past dialogue is repeated again with an answer for once!

All the songs are in the background which is the best part except for the initial part where it is required to exhibit his character as Kathak dancer. Showing the other side of man involved very much into classic form of dance is shown well. Every movement and step is shown well.

The dubbing voice for Pooja is irritant lot of times. Don’t understand why she should speak “konji konji”.  Background music is not heavy to the ears and goes well with the situation. The script is engaging, the dialogues at certain times could have been better, there is mix of humour in the dialogues. At a point when for most it would seem the movie is dragging or getting boring (high influence of kollywood, tollywood & bollywood) I found it interesting and necessary for the story.

Now to wait for part 2 of the movie!

My rating would be 7.5/10.

Disclaimer: The posts with this topic are not general postings but from personal experience. These are my own views there can always be two sides of approaching just like there are two sides to a coin.

All comments would be accepted and approved without any censorship.

Tip 1:

Sleeping and waking up times. Human body also works around rotation of earth. The day cycle depends on the presence of sun & moon.

For a healthy body & mind it is essential to wake up early. Early is also not defined as 5:00am though it is ideal but never always practical. One reason to wake up early is also that the early rays of the sun is good for the body. Today due to different reasons and different work habits the body cycle has changed which has brought along with it list of health issues. Due to constraints when one sleeps very late in the night, it is essential to keep the room as dark as possible to relate to the night darkness.

It is not also true that those who get up early in the morning are all healthy. There are certain influences in this which I would highlight in coming posts.

Going to bed early, waking up early and an afternoon siesta gives body sufficient rest which keeps the brain active. While people may argue on afternoon siesta I have my own personal reasons.

There was a time when I used to wake up late in the morning. This affected my daily routine (includes nature calls) and the amount of activities that i could finish also reduced. My body used to feel weak and tired. Close to end of year 1999, I changed to getting up early and the results were positive. On & off I do wake up late and whenever my body would feel the pinch would again change to getting up early.

Almost for past 10odd years, I do make sure that I take time off for afternoon siesta. Post this my brain always feels fresh and I can finish work without much exertion. It is always better to give rest rather than trying to keep the brain awake by having a cup of coffee or tea.

In the night automatically my body gets switched off beyond 11:30pm – 12:00am. There are times when my brain doesnt even know what data it is transferring to my tongue for communication.

Tried and tested getting out of bed early does help (atleast me).

1. Erratic cab drivers. How many employees of IT/ITES companies have the balls to tell the driver not to drive rashly or not to honk excessively? I have personally seen many of these cab drivers drive like as if they are the only ones on the road. There are many times when cabs overtake me even on a 2-lane road completely ignoring the vehicle coming in front of them. When the vehicle in the opposite direction is close enough they switch the indicator and move in front. They are not even bothered about incovinience caused to the vehicle behind.

2. Erratic private car drivers. Many of private car employ drivers to transport them from one place to another. Not many have the balls to instruct their drivers to drive properly and not cut between vehicles.

3. Erratic driving. How many amongst us have the balls to drive safely and treat other vehicles with respect. And the honking part, its such an irritant.

4. Erratic autorickshaw drivers. For them they are the law. They will squeeze in wherever and whenever they want. Any argument with them is inconclusive due to the unity among them and the support they would get from the bureaucracy.

Personally I consider talking about traffic a waste of time due to factors mentioned above. When one is not perfect, he/she doesn’t have the balls to complain. Unless the entire vehicle community is reformed there can never be a change. And the change has to come from within.

Cost factor: Running involves one time investment which would sustain for some years. There is no need to buy high end shoes for running. A perfect fit which would not bring injuries is enough. There is no recurring cost.

Company: It is not mandatory that you need people around for running. The dependency factor is less. You feel like running just get up put on your shoes and start running. It takes two to tango, atleast 3-4 to play football, cricket, and any other sport but running its just you and the whole world in front of you.

Track & Trail: Where to run? There is no need for playground or open spaces to start running. The road is free. Nobody stops you from running on the road. You can run in nearby parks. If everything is boring then find a track which is off the main roads & has nice scenery. If you stay in coastal region then beach is always there for running watching the sunrise or the sunset.

Mind factor: When you run one can think over lot of things thats going on in the mind. It gives time and independence to think freely. No negative thoughts, just clear mind and clarity.

Endurance: In this world there is lot of negative energy around you. Anything you want to do there will always be a force which will undermine your efforts or push you to give it up. Working against all these, the moment you push yourself and reach the last step there is a smile, satisfaction of completion. The extra mile effort always pays.

Fitness: Everyday run of even a km burns some amount of calories. Brings about a balance in the body.

One can think of anything else as per ones own body and interest. Running is simple, no dependence and its an open world.

Just a single judgment on this case is not going to deter men around India nor in any other part of the world from committing the crime of rape. If we look just in India, the reasons are plenty and the whole system needs a change.

Media:

We did have programs like “Satyamave Jayate” what has changed from then on, since the time Aamir Khan took the issue to public through visual media. We all watched it as yet another program. Years ago there was a song which was used by guys for eve-teasing.

How many movies in the past had rape scenes? A simple search in Google would give the results of mainstream movies which had rape scenes. These have a negative impact on the society. Did the women commission ever question such movies, if so whats the ratio? The censor board used to remove certain scenes but never the way the villian in the movie used to hold the female lead actor.

In recent times in addition we have what is called as “item numbers”. How many female actors have stood up and said we will not do it? To get the mass and make more money the producers and directors want such a lady cast in their movies. And this is “item numbers” are not just today. The name is of today’s origin. We did have Silk Smitha, Disco Shanthi, Helen and many others.

We have had movies in the Hollywood with sexual content again we are talking about a matured audience over there. The impact is minimal unlike in here. We in India are still not a matured audience nor matured enough to just look at a girl and leave her alone.

We have such reports in the media, like in today’s paper. The person say’s women of today are also equally responsible for their actions due to the way they dress up. And conveniently blames it on Western influence. If it is so true then what about minor girls who have got raped? A simple search for recent news results in a report published 2hours ago where a man was arrested for raping a minor in Srinagar and few minutes ago where a minor girl was raped in Punjab. The news goes on & on. Last two days there were media reports on minor girls raped in Karnataka and one incident in Pondicherry.

Also, from time known women were dressed up so as not to show any cleavage. Today on one hand many say display of cleavage is provocative while on the other men roam around beaches in underpants and topless or they use public walls and compound walls as toilets or lying on the road after drinking not knowing where their pants are. What happens to these men, nothing. Which is where the part of matured public comes in. If men walk around it is not provocative but it is if a women does. It would take generations to change this mindset.

Female infanticide:

This is one of the biggest problems still which is not solved in the society. A girl child born in the family is either killed or left in the garbage or left in the hospitals. This is not only with poor families even some well-to-do families. The lady who gave birth to the child either has no say or is also partner in crime.

This reduces the male-female ratio in the society and it affects later. The one who sows also fosters crime in a way.

Human trafficking:

Women trafficking is not only for commercial sexual exploitation but there are cases where this happens for guys in certain parts of the country to get married. There is a crime patrol series on one of the TV channels and even though this particular case was brought out, things don’t change. Is there a end to this.

Politicians:

Nobody is guilty till proved in court of law. How many of us Indians go to our towns or cities to cast vote during elections? How many use alternative method of postal service? How many women come out to cast their vote? If we have to keep any candidate with an investigation pending unless people unite and come out to cast vote and keep them away from entering Assembly or Parliament we cannot comment on this.

Public:

We not only run away from exercising our basic right of casting vote, we also run away when we see a victim on the road.

Women:

They are the victims and they cannot be blamed. Maybe they could control things. Hinduism regards women as God if the culture is lost who is to be blamed, the man or the woman in the upbringing of their children?

My summary:

The entire system needs a change. There are many things in the society apart from rape and this needs to be cleaned. This is a circle and the entire chain needs to be broken. There should be awareness at or from the grassroots level.

Can people holding candles go down and make a change?

Can media make a change?

Can movies make a change?

Can I make a change?