THE CARROT

It's red it's beautiful and is shown more often than given.I am talking about the super sweet vegetable fruit called Carrot.The vegetable has many usage in Indian Cuisine.It's for everyone ,rich, ultra rich ,poor ,ultra poor, Bureaucrat,Politicians,and we soldiers who unfortunately get it in ration.
let's begin from top.You will be made constitutional head of the state.What a sweet Jagar ka halwa with rich cream as dividend.Truly the puppet culture in India has died because of this carrot only.Hats off to the British colonisers who first thought of this as a tool of Governance.Rai Bahudurs and sir so ad so are the legacy which they have left for us.
Why else in earth we should have some obscure politician as Governors or High commissioner to a commonwealth?I think its a fruit by which you can curb bitter taste.It is used to keep the dissatisfied the rebels the outspoken in good books.We all have seen stalwarts axed some time or the other.This happens when the individual does not succumb to the temptations of the carrot.
Moving down you have promotions and postings and what not.still down the ladder you have leave as leverage.Well the vegetable which was to be used to give flavour and colour has surely got rotten.I think its time to give way to clean green vegetables like spinach.For we all will be given the carrot one time or the other.
Au revoir

A YEAR AFTER

A year after i started swinging the club.Time flies.It seems it was yesterday when I first went to the Golf Course.They guided me and the Guru Mantra was GAP.Not the apparel brand but acronym for grip alignment and posture.I wanted to learn fast and start playing on the course.I did but with flaws as it happens with amateurs.Since i landed on to the course and as here in Thimphu because of small population the game got you in to golfing circles.From the first tournament where i qualified for the second round to the last where i could not i learned a lot.For the game teaches patience but i dont know how much it has helped me?
Few days back the pro coach gave me few tips and changed my grip The alignment and the posture.There i was back to square one.So the lesson learnt is learn the correct thing in the first go.Happy golfing.

A TREK TO TIGER'S NEST

My friends Abhishek and Deepak obliged to take out some time from their busy schedule and landed in Thimphu.Usually to visit western Bhutan one requires a week or say 4 to 5 days.One comes here to relax and not otherwise.They gave me two days in toto.I as a good host let them relax the first day and took them around Thimphu city.Now one had to offer them what is best here in one day.So I decided to show them Taksang Monastery.That is the most important monastery in Bhutan.legend has it that Guru Rinpoche (Precious Master), the father of the Bhutanese sect of Mahayana Buddhism, arrived in Paro Valley more than a millennium ago on the back of a legendary tigress. He meditated for three months in a cave where a monastery was later built and called Taktsang Lhakang or Tiger's Nest.
Due to a late evening in the bar we started as usual 'late'.By the time we reached the base in Paro it was noon.Now the expected time to trek up to the the Monastery is two hour plus and for people new to trekking three hours.We had no choice we had to do it within the time frame of maximum three hours.Since it was winters by four it gets pretty cold and chilly here.So we set out at the earnest.Abhishek had a problem with breathing so he gracefully opted out.Now it was left to three of us me my driver and Deepak.To strat with Deepak did pretty well.But half way on he was exasperated.Thanks to sepoy Mishra he pulled and motivated Deepak while I set the pace.It was warm sunny day and the Paro valley looked golden.Paro chuu (river) was like the silver serpent.It was majestic sight which encouraged us to climb faster. We had our moments of tiredness but we tugged along.Deepak specially was great sport.We managed to climb in one and half hour.An achievement since he had no trekking experience.We were back by three O'clock.Thankfully for Abhishek also as he waited down at base for three long hours.A trek to tiger's nest was a fulfilling experience as we checked our endurance after a long time.It reminded me of my days as cadet at National Defence Academy.Thankfully we were not carrying backpacks and rifles.The feeling of doing the climb was overwhelming.The Taksang is aptly named.
We were quite hungry so to end we stopped at one of my Bhutnese friend's place in Paro for Noodles.Truly a day to remember and blog.

THE HUNT FOR GREENER GRASS

NEITHER I AM HERE NOR I AM THERE
Beware that's the fate most of us at one time of the life or the other face.For the sake of clarity we all want greener pastures at least I want that.Presuming there is nothing wrong with it.Or is it? I Am here in one of the God's own land but my heart is filled with thoughts of things that i miss.When I am here in unit I want to be at home. At home I want to be with friends and feel miserable.So Neither I am here nor there.
Keeping the list going I want to do soldiering and then i want to have a comfortable time.I want to have financial freedom and at the same time seek true happiness with lots of money.Whatever that is?I want to be cool and calm and at times want to be aggressive.Anybody going through this page would feel how confused the person is.I agree it's really confusing.So the Grass is greener on the other side of the fence.That's what the wise men said.But still i crave for the grass across the fence.Not satisfied with the logic i saught an interview with HIM.I dreamed I had an interview with God.“So you would like to interview me?” HE asked.“What questions do you have in mind for me?”I was ready as Karan Thapar would be.“What surprises you most about humankind?...”God answered...
That they get bored with childhood they rush to grow up and then long to be children again.
“That by thinking anxiously about the future,they forget the present,such that they live in neither the present nor the future.”
"That they live as if they will never die,and die as if they had never lived.” Continuing the dialogue I asked... “As a parent,what are some of life’s lessons you want your us to learn?
”God replied with a smile To learn you cannot make anyone love you.What you can do is let yourself be loved.”“To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most but is one who needs the least.” " To learn how to forgive to learn how to love others and to learn that I am here always"
And i woke up I hope.

WHAT'S IN THE STORE

Welcome 2008.Now the question is what is in the store for us?Well by us i mean what's there for me and you personnaly?What's in store for our family?Last but not least what's there for us as society or as a country?Personally as Bejaan Daruwalla would say You will have Blah Blah Blah......of which one can't make out head or tail.Then of course he has his name Bejaan and plus he is Daruwalaa too.No fun intended. But i am no Nastrodamus or the astrologers who eat up lot of spectrum on the idiot box these days.Though everybody has right to speculate it might have some logic who knows.
I start with me 'Thou shall tend to make less and spend more ofcourse the Dime','One will move from place A to B'ofcourse i am due for my posting.'You might grow socially'I dont know seeing the previous two predictions i should hope for the best or otherwise.The list can go on and on.
Cutting the long list short i move to you. If you are an investor in stock market make hay while it shines.Not the sun but the bullish market.For other sector updates do read Economic times.Inflation will drive the expenditure so spend .If you are in private sector your salary will grow at least at 14 %.If you are with the Government you will have to wait for the 6th pay commission or the Elections which ever happens soon.So all those looking forward for it pray for Karats to pull some strings.
In tune i move on to the larger sector widening my horizons.Politically the country will be in state of flux like the last half century.We shall have elections and some constitutional interventions.Though one hopes for the devine one.On the security front The government will spend more and people will be more insecure than ever.Not even the security forces would be spared in the hinterland.We shall hear lot about Laskars,the maoists,the caste heralders and the religious zionists.You while reading it may tend to brand me pessimist.We shall talk again on the issue sometime later.Oh i forgot The Global war on terror would continue.Moving on to Sports. Olympics does that ring some bells.Medals tally!My safest bet would be on shooters and Archers and women athletes .On cricket on foriegn soil we would be routed at home we would flourish.On hockey well it would be some time before we have some other movie coming like chak de .Don't hope for more and pray India qualifies for the olympics.Though personal brilliance in sports would make headlines.Of all what i have written i have not touched the issue of Global warming and Natural calamities as it is it would be on News quite often.
After all these we still hope for a wonderful 2008.So keeping in tune and style here is looking at you kid A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.