I never write about blasts. But this time, I have something to reflect on.

Please do not blame the terrorists. Yes, you heard it right, please do not blame them. They are a bunch of brain-washed, brave, passionate and maybe psychotic guys who cannot tell the right from the wrong. I'm not glorifying terror but think for a moment and you can't deny that the adjectives I have used are apt. Let us not be blind to the truth in our grief.

So why Mumbai? Not because Pakistan is our neighbor, no. Many states back terrorists to strike at other countries. But they do not bleed the way we do.

Do not blame the politicians. We elect them, yes, you and I. And it isn't like everyone has turned corrupt in a few years. This has been on for decades. But we continue to elect the same faces every time. And guess what, whatever we might say, we all know that this is what we would do again.

You see who was responsible for the strike??

What do you think will happen? Diplomatic edge and everything? Nothing is going to come out of it. India cannot strike Pakistan, it's a nuclear power and a strike is out of the question. Even the US cannot, more so when the country is your neighbor.

The US is backing India only because it does not want India to accumulate troops at the border. That will hurt US interests. The US is fighting for itself, not for India.
So, the great Indian circus show will go on for some months. Perhaps a bit more stringent security measures for some time. Then we will forget the wounds. And the netas would heave their sighs of relief.

What would you and I do? We would continue to run after our promotions and our IT jobs and MBA's. We would dream of that car and that apartment and that perfect home. Some evenings over coffee, we would reflect and blame the politicians. We are just not ready to get our hands dirty to do the cleanup job.

Until someone comes and blows up that dream. Then the cycle would repeat. And the news channels would say, life in Mumbai has come back to normal.

A cleanup isn't necessary for the nation. It is necessary to save our own skins.

A deserted lonely locale, placid murky beaches, average food, 10 close friends and lots of gossip.

How does that sound as a vacation? Not good enough?
It sounds fabulous to me. More so, 'cause the above description is of Bakkhali, a sea beach we visited about a fortnight ago. If you are a person who likes to visit the places no one visits, ie, places tourists haven't started crowding around already, it's just the place for you.

The above description is ironic, but I can't help it. It's similar to saying that I would love to get stranded on a deserted island for two days with lots of delicious food. Here are some pics(click to enlarge) of the trip that I wanted to post.

I've been really busy over the past week and miss blogging and stopping by at your blogs. This is an old draft that I felt wasn't good enough to post. But I thought I better post something so I dug it out.

My first and only job interview turned out to be really unique. Check.....

Now I had decided that I was going to go for the kill right from the start. It didn't matter whether I got the job.

So I enter the room looking more respectable than I ever have in my life.
Three men are sitting. (Thank god there aren't any ladies.)

MB> May I come in sir??

(Guy1, 2 & 3 in unison) Please do.
They point me the chair and I sit. They introduce themselves and say hello. I say hii.

G1> Yes?? can you be a bit louder please.
No one says that to me. I've always been asked to be softer, irritation seeps in.

MB> I'm sorry sir, I will definitely be louder from now on.

G1> What's the problem with your leg??
I realize that I have been shaking my leg. Now, come on, give me a bit of time to settle down, will you? I get really irritated now.

MB> It's nothing sir, I apologize again.

They introduce themselves. Then there is a pause, thanks to me.

G1>And you are?

MB>(Cursing myself. I shouldn't have messed this up) I'm Mahul Bhattacharya.

G1> Introduce yourself.

MB> I've been waiting for this one. Sir, I'm ..... from .....(college) . I come from a middle class nuclear family. I dream of of being an entrepreneur some day. I have good analytical skills, value creative satisfaction above anything else and love taking risks and shortcuts. I hate being on the taken path.

The men squirm in their seats while I pause for a breath. But the effect has been achieved.

G2> Risks and shortcuts??

MB> Yes sir.

G1> Tell me one risk you have taken that has paid off.

I fumble for a second. But only for a second. Then I'm back in control.

MB> Sir, this year the placement scenario in our campus has been dismal. But still I skipped all the companies that had confirmed. At one point, there were no longer any confirmed interviews left and I was yet to appear for a job. But look at it sir, your company did confirm and I was back in business. Today I will have a job and Samsung and Microsoft have confirmed as well. Now those very guys who had a job are regretting their decisions. That was a huge risk back then that has paid off now.

G1> Oh really? So which companies are you talking about?

I name one. He asks me why and I vent out the entire frustration of not having a job on that poor organization. He listens patiently.

At the end of my neat criticism, he reveals that he is an ex-employee. Bechare ne personally le liya. And it seemed that he would have killed me if he could.

In case you are wondering, yes, I still got the job.
All said and done, I would not have given him the job had we swapped places.

This had to come, I was itching to get into this controversy.

The blogosphere is currently suffering from a serious bout of guest post fever.

Why guest posts??

* Everyone has a blog, at least everyone who writes a guest post on someone's blog. Well, almost everyone.

* I haven't seen many guest posts, only invitations for them. *wink*

* A blog/web log is supposed to be a dairy on the web. Do you invite others to fill up your dairies? That's the purist view.

* Amitabh Bachchan's blog does not host guest posts. Neither does Aamir's , Salman's or Sobhaa's. Nor do the celebs write any guest posts. Ain't we supposed to ape them?

* At the end of the day, isn't this just a way to show off how popular your blog is?

To tell the truth, I have run out of reasons now.

But also consider that......

* Someone might want to write something about something on someone's blog.

* I haven't read many blogs. I might be missing.

* A web log is not exactly a diary. You do not show your diaries to people.

* Amitabh Bachchan's blog is boring. Sorry Sir, I hope you will understand.

* I have an unpopular blog. Grapes are sour.

* I find the idea pretty interesting.

So maybe I would like to host some guest posts myself. Someday when I'm confident that some people would be interested. Till then, I'm happy criticizing.

It's my first post of November.
I'm a bit disturbed, and there are a lot of things going on in my mind. Here are a few.

* I'm a lazy blogger.

* I write extremely poor book reviews. Hope I refrain from writing another.

* No one visits my blog. Well, almost no one.

* At my current rate of adsense returns, it'll be 50 years before I receive my first cheque. If google keeps the amount fixed at $100, that is.

* A lot of hits can be traced to a comment I wrote on someone's blog. Maybe I should start commenting generously on the blogosphere.

* People aren't downloading my new pdf tutorial (How to assemble a PC).

* Almost 75% of my total hits(counter at the bottom) are my handiwork. *grin*

* It's been months since someone scribbled on my cbox. If you are unfortunate enough to be reading this post, you know what I would be asking for.

* I'm clueless about my reaction on Obama winning the election.

* I'm tired of writing this post.

So, bye.

An interesting fortnight ends. It started with the end of a vacation, a hugely entertaining college strike and ends with the onset of another, shorter vacation. But I enjoyed this fortnight because I read three brilliant novels back to back. The Namesake, The God of Small Things and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
A Thousand Splendid Suns deserves a review. It's a beautiful tale, as radiant as the title suggests. I was aware of the valor of the Afghans, but took it for the guns and violent bravery associated with a war ridden country. But this book shatters all notions and brings out the silent, enduring valor of the Afghans. And all along you have this eerie feeling that the characters in the tale exist all over Afghanistan.
The simple and plain Mariam is a character you rarely come across. She is so ordinary like one of us and yet, at the end of the story, it's Mariam who continues to haunt your memories.
I'm left with one regret. I do not know farsi or pashtun and I cannot admire the poetry and the title in its original flavor.
Thank You Mr. Khaled Hosseini.

Yes, this post is dedicated to my bum. And yours, and the guys and gals next door's. And to the beggar's, cop's, shopper's and shopkeeper's in the street. To cut it short, everybody's.

Why??
Imagine what you could not do without your bum. What would not be possible if humans did not have one.

What would happen in a bum less world?

* You can't sit. How would it feel standing all day?
* You can't sh**. Where would you from?
* You can't celebrate birthdays. No birthday bumps.
* Urdu would miss one of it's most admired greetings. 'Tashreef laiye zanaab'.
* English would miss one of it's most loved swears. 'Kick his a**'.
* People would look weird. I would have a difficulty admiring them.
* Kylie Minogue would be half as famous as she is. So would Rakhi Sawant.
* Sidney Sheldon's novels would grow thinner.
* My headmaster's canings would become unbearable.
* Nudity would grow into a necessity. Unless everyone starts wearing frocks of course.
* Where would the docs give injections?

If for some reason you believe that I should not have written about something so lowly as bum or that this post is below taste, I apologize. Please post accordingly and I would apologize personally to each of you.