Michael Jackson - a 'History'

‘King of Pop’ died yesterday following a heart failure…announced a radio jockey over the radio on the morning of 26^th June 2009 while I was having my breakfast with the usual habit of listening to radio. The news shocked the hell of me as I couldn’t believe what I listened to. I couldn’t believe my ears, for the first time though, reconfirmed with my mother about the broadcast and whether the words from the mouth of radio jockey were the same as what fell on my ears. She confirmed it and I could imagine myself falling in the deep ocean of grief.

Michael Jackson….the idol for whom I had deep respect, love and admiration was no more. Leave apart his ‘antics’, but as a musician and a talent he was class apart. I grew up admiring and imitating the impeccable dance moves of one of the worlds best dancers and I am sure fans all over worldwide will miss the person, his music and the ‘human’ side of the phenomenon called Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson has had a deep influence on the musical taste that got imbibed in me in my growing up years and could understand beats, rhythm listening to his music. I was exposed to this cult also branded as MJ. The dream to attend a MJ live concert was shattered the immediate moment as those unruly words hit me.

Today the whole day is spent in remembering the crazy things that I did remembering MJ…a dance show with a partner copying almost all the MJ dance movements, to the talks and debates about his music and fighting with people who used to bad mouth about him to getting large posters of the King and emulate his styles.

Being an ardent MJ fan, few words of grief and remembrance and prayers for his soul to lay in peace is how I can offer my share of condolences amongst the millions who would share the same feeling.

Lastly Michael Jackson proved to be a ‘Dangerous’ly ‘Invinsible’ ‘Thriller’ of a person who has left behind an immense ‘History’ written ‘Off the wall’ several times behind us to make us feel ‘Bad’….the King of Pop will live long in the hearts of fans

Michael Jackson – a ‘history’

City: past perfect or future tense-d?

We often dream. A dream of a bright future and an anticipation that the future will bring in all the things that we aspire for. Whether it is money, happiness, relations and security, we always look forward to the future. The cities are no less and somewhere each city dreams of its existence. We, the inhabitants of different cities can shape / de-shape a city into making a ‘city of dreams’ or a ‘city only in dreams’. The local authority constantly ‘fights’???? to create a ‘healthy’ future of the cities. But one must question whether these decision makers share the same dream as the common man?? Crores of money that is pumped in for the pretext of development of the cities find its several routes wither into the already wealthy pockets of these decision makers or into procrastinating things to make it work in the city. The denizen should be curious enough to question the authorities as to where does the money go.

One question that constantly pesters me is whether: The money is directed to make the cities of the past or cities of the future? Are we making a forward transgression or a reverse progression? The question then is: What is a city of the future, anyway?

Insofar as stimulus funds are available to repair failing bridges, dams, roads and vital infrastructure, that's where they should be invested.

To begin putting each city on the road to the future should be a on high priority. Which means building communities that are secure from energy supply disruptions and crippling energy prices. Laced with safe routes for people to walk and bicycle; able to provide a variety of mobility options so that everyone - including the young, old and disabled - has access to vital services.

Cities of the future condemn no neighborhood to be the dumping ground for waste, pollution or traffic; conserve vital resources such as water; prepare to withstand the anticipated impacts of climate change, including heat waves and extreme weather; protect and restore natural places so that kids of all ages have contact with nature; foster social interaction; and avoid urban sprawl, to name a few criteria.

If the benefits of building for the future are not clear, the urban leaders should think of it this way: If they plan to invest in buildings, transit systems, streets or infrastructure and those improvements are meant to last more than a decade, they are not building the city for themselves. They're building it for their children. The goal should be to create a community that remains competitive for generations to come as a wonderful place to live and do business.

The only anticipation is these urban leaders should have a vision that shouldn’t make the city as a brilliant example of ‘past perfect and future tense-d?’

School of Thought

‘We, as human being have as much as sixty thousand thoughts running in our mind, on an average, in a particular day’. I came across this interesting piece of information while reading a book. Most of these thoughts are repetitive in nature.

            I was trying to intrigue within myself as to how these thoughts monitor each other. If we as human beings recycle the same thoughts again and again, why aren’t we tired of thinking? Coz sixty thousand thoughts in a particular day come to an average of 42 thoughts in a minute. These 42 thoughts, if varying, can create marvels for the humans, for the city, for the nation at a broader context.

            But what human beings generally do is churn out the similar thoughts  every day, perhaps every minute???

            An interesting fact to look at , esp the way these thoughts shape our lives. As one of the points of the philosophy of existentialism goes: man chooses to act or behave in a particular situation, because of the way he has been conditioned. These thoughts are the only feeder to condition the human mind. The thoughts can make or break a person. Make him worthwhile to be a sensible figure in the society or break him to being unavoidable in the social eye.

            Just for a change, if one tries to simulate a situation where 1/10^th of those thoughts of an individual (i.e. 4 thoughts in a minute probably) are streamlined to process different productive and proactive situations, then the results can be astonishing. This holds true for a single individual. A collective exercise amongst a massive bunch of people can reap in manifold options which can lead us to mind-boggling results. That’s where one can dream of making a city / nation into a more meaningful and productive means of human existence. 

            Man’s greatest struggle for all time has been to master his/her mind. If we feed the mind with healthy and productive thoughts, we can accomplish this task with an ease. But as it is said, it is so difficult to be so simple.

            Shape…deshape….reshape is a constant process to stay fit internally and the muscles (read thoughts) need constant nourishment and necessary proteins to help it grow in proper spirit. If given proper treatment can shape it less or can make it shapeless. One needs to be a ‘thinking man’ and a ‘re-thinking’ man too perchance??? That is perhaps my school of thought. 

Blue vs Red

What a match…IPL final..Deccan Chargers versus Royal Challengers Bangalore!!!

Ranked last two for the first edition of the cricket contest clashed for the top two spots in this one….and the team which had no glamour but game plan, super performances and a purple cap winner clinched their hands on the golden India with a batsman driving the trophy. A deserving team all the way through slowly and steadily became the strong contenders for the plaque.

‘They-can Charge us’ (DC) is what they proved on to the Wanderers on 24^th May ’09 as they proved no wanderers but focused strongly on a crucial win.

Bangalore started hot favorites with lot of emotional backing for the two veteran players, who might be playing their last version of the short game.

Watching the cricketing bonanza live at the luxury of your home is priceless especially when family members are around, cheering every run by the DC and every wicket of the RCB. To cheer it up was the delicious bhel and some coke to quench the thirst (for a DC win perhaps !!)

But the most interesting part was all of my friends were watching the game at one of my friend’s place, while I was praying for the chargers at a fixed location at my home (some superstition I believe).

Tons of expectations from Gilchrist were shattered with the very first minute of the match when he unnecessarily stepped out only to be bowled by the opposition captain. By I was ‘bowled’ over by the temperament and stroke play of Gibbs, choosing sensible balls to hit and guiding the DC to a comfortable total. The cracker of an innings by Sigh-man-ds….gave a sense of sigh! coz those hard hitting shots proved match winners later on in the game.

The slow start of RCB gave a sense of a cautious run chase which proved extremely dismal at the end of the game. Wickets at regular intervals proved helpful to distance the chasers from the set total.

A sense of joy with fists pumping high in the air was the kind of expressional verb that can be used to describe the moment that made me proud of myself of the self belief that I had in the DC and the fact that didn’t prove me wrong. It was the similar feeling which rushed through my blood when I saw the Indians thrashing the Pakistani team in the T20 world cup finals two years back when the men in blue thrashed the men in green for a thumping win. I was assumingly joyful for my silent intuition since the start of the game was unfolding in front of my eyes and I was one cheerful spectator who saw a thumping win of the DC-ians in a clash of colour blue vs red.