Black Friday... and now Saturday, too...

Terror has raised its ugly head again. In Bangalore on Friday, and today again in Ahmedabad. And once again, the usual reactions are doing the rounds. The top politicians from the Prime Minister to the Hon'ble Minister for Home (and anybody who's somebody) have condemned the blasts and appealed for peace. At the same time they are proclaiming that they will leave no stone unturned in finding out the perpetrators and punishing them. Commando teams have been dispatched to the affected areas (talk about locking the stable door after the horse has bolted). The television channels are 'Breaking News' of the blasts and bringing viewers images that they would rather not see. The same images are being flashed across television screens over and over again. The Intelligence Bureau will claim that it had warned about the states about possible attacks. And after a few days, after the dust has settled down, it will be life as usual for all. Till the next spate of attacks, that is.

Does anybody really care if a few people here and there lose their life? Do we care? Yes, we all scramble for our phones and check on our friends, relatives, and colleagues. But do we spare a thought at least for the families who lose their loved ones? It is said that a people gets the kind of leaders it deserves. If we are apathetic to our countrymen, is it any surprise that our netas are just a reflection on the society?! Our netas are only concerned when there is an attack on Parliament. After all, it is an attack on the very foundation of democracy in India! And what about the attacks in the temple in Varanasi, the blasts in the market in Jaipur, or the blasts that brought a lasting darkness in the Delhi blast victims and their kin on Diwali eve? Oh well, now that is not an attack on democracy. Never mind the fact that the very edifice on which democracy is based - we, the people - is being targeted!

After every blast, some knee jerk reactions are seen. There is flurry of activity, with intelligence reports being cited, opposition parties blaming the government (even calling it a failure, and demanding President's Rule!) and the top police brass being summoned by the political masters. But do we see any policy changes? Do we see the powers that be taking a holistic view of the problem and bringing in measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated? Intelligence reports are still more like the Weatherman's reports. There is no actionable intelligence, that is, precise intelligence which the agencies can use to foil such an attempt.

How long will this continue? How long will India bleed through such a 'thousand cuts'? How long will it be before the policy makers wake up and take concrete measures? Till then, terrorists will continue to strike at will. Till then we will always live under a constant shadow of fear. Yes, you may not even realize it, because so numb have we become, that we do not realize this fear till such an incident triggers it! No doubt, the task at hand is challenging. It is not easy to police a nation of a billion people. But impossible is nothing... Not if you have the will... Not if you have the burning desire.. But above all, not if you have empathy for your fellow humans...

May God be with the families of the victims... May the souls of the departed rest in peace...

Dreamz Unlimited

Just happened to watch the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch video on YouTube. And I was floored... There is no other way to describe what I felt. I will not go into what the video is about, for there are simply no words to describe it. You just have to watch the video for yourself. Here is the URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
A short introduction to the lecture can be found in this shorter clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25tfstdGC-8

Randy Pausch passed away on July 25, 2008. Randy was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in August 2006.

While I will not go into what his Last Lecture was about, I would like to share with you some things which made a lasting impression on me. The first was the boundless zest and enthusiasm. Here was a guy who had been given two to six months of healthy life by his doctors. And yet, he is so full of Life! As if he seems to be smirking at Death and saying, "You can't kill the spirit, only the body!". Yes, Randy will always live on in the form of Alice, an edutainment project conceptualized by him. The second thing is his attitude towards Life. Never missing the bigger picture. As he says, "Did you get the head fake?" The third is his belief in the inherent goodness of human beings. You just have to wait, but people have a way of surprising you with what they are capable of. No one is completely evil. In times of cynicism, I feel that is the single most important virtue. Belief. Belief in humanity, in the fact that there is goodness in this world in no small measure. The fourth is genuine concern for his fellow human beings. As he says, "Always focus on others, never on yourself". In this world of big egos and small hearts, here is a person who is dying from cancer, and yet talks about enabling dreams for others. And dreams of doing it in a way "that is infinitely scalable".
Randy Pausch may be no more. But people like him leave behind their indelible footprints in the sands of time. The body may die, but the Soul lives on forever. As do the deeds and the philosophy of people like Randy. Rest in Peace, Randolph Pausch. May God bless his family.

Sala mai toh blogger ban gaya! [:D]

Well, so I too have been bitten by the Bug! And it's itching like hell! Well, I'm talking about blogging and the itch is the itch to post my first blog, here on blogspot. So often we want to do something, but then laziness gets the better of us. Take up that new hobby, call up your room-mate from your college days, clear off the pile of files from your office desk. Or, start your blog! That was how it was in my case. Have been thinking of it for a long while now. So finally got around to it! Watch out this space for new posts and also my other blog: http://amitprabhudesai.spaces.live.com/blog.
Cheers!