As I looked at the heart-wrenching photo of little Moshe crying out for his mother, lines from a song once heard came flooding back:

Ghar se Masjid hai bahot dur chalo yu kar le
Kisi rote hue bacche ko hasayaa jaaye

Ironic, isn’t it?

I love Rehman's "Maa Tuze Salaam" but I didn't wait to listen to it in its entirety at 8pm yesterday evening. I kept flipping through the channels because I wanted to be part of the solidarity that all the FM radio channels in Mumbai were displaying by playing the song at the same time.

I hope and pray that this heralds the beginning of the end of terrorism!

It’s said that politics is the last refuge of the scoundrels! Unless you have been hiding out in caves for the last 5-6 days, you would have come across the following gems proving it.

Small incidents like this do happen in big cities
- RR Patil, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister

Some women wearing lipstick and powder have taken to streets in Mumbai and are abusing politicians, this spreading dissatisfaction against democracy. This is what terrorists are doing in Jammu and Kashmir
- Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP Vice President

There was no bad intention in it. Many people come to such places.
- Vilasrao Deshmukh, Maharashtra Chief Minister

Had it not been (NSG Commando Major) Sandeep’s house, not even a dog would have gone there.
- VS Achuthananthan, Kerala Chief Minister


It’s amazing, isn’t it that they are united across the party lines as far as shooting from the hip goes? A clearer case of an epidemic of the Foot-in-The-Mouth disease would be hard to find!

Section 49-O of our Constitution and protest vote

Please check this out:

http://voteindia.in/news.php

I couldn't make it to Gateway of India or the Taj Hotel yesterday evening but as I was walking home I saw a couple of people lighting candles outside a college. As I signed up and lit the candle for those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack, a line from a trinket that once hung from my car's dashboard came to my mind:

When prayers go up, blessings come down.

All of us have sent prayers. I hope the blessings won't take long to come down.

Please sign the petition to the PM

http://www.petitiononline.com/26novAct/petition.html

Harry, Ron, Hermione, George, Fred, Ginny, Neville, Seamus, Dean and Draco! Some of you will think I have lost it completely but those of you who have read Harry Potter will recognize these students from Hogwarts. :-) I am back to my favorite world of unicorns, wands, potions and Quidditch!

I might have mentioned it on this blog that I am a die-hard Potter fan. In 2000, 2 of my friends gifted me with the first 2 books in the series on my birthday. I vaguely wondered if they are being sarcastic about my mental age - afterall, the books were about the world of witches and wizards. But by the time I reached Diagon Alley I was hooked. I read the 3rd and 4th book in the series, watched the movies and sadly lost track of Harry, Ron and Hermione thereafter.

But this time I am determined to complete the series. I have already finished reading Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets. Now I am onto The Prisoner of Azkaban. :-)

The Alchemist – by Paulo Coelho

I have always known that though I enjoy reading books, some of them are simply not my cup of tea. I read and sort of liked Paulo Coelho’s “Brida” but I am not sure what it gave me in the end. I mean, some books give you a glimpse into a field other than your own like e.g. medicine or forensic, some bring about fascinating insights into human nature which you could find useful in your day-to-day life while some take you to a totally fictional world e.g. the Harry Potter series. This wasn’t the case with Brida – although I did find something on the net on the Tradition of Sun and Moon, I couldn’t make myself seriously believe it.

So with this background it would come as a surprise that I chose to go for “The Alchemist” by the same author. But I have always wanted to read this one. It’s about a shepherd boy who has a recurring dream about a treasure near the Pyramids. It’s the story about his confusion over whether to follow the dream or not and his journey when he finally makes up his mind about it. I liked the book – especially the twist in the end.

Of course, there were some weird lines like “Lead, copper and iron have their own destinies to fulfill”. I wonder what the commodity traders will have to say about this ;-) But then there were gems like:

All the time he had to carry his jacket. But when he thought to complain about the burden of its weight, he remembered that, because he had the jacket, he had withstood the cold of the dawn.

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve – the fear of failure.

People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.

And of course the thought that binds the whole book together:

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

Remember that line from the movie “Om Shanti Om”? :-) Alas, I have wanted many things many times in my life and the universe hasn’t been of much help. :-(

I don't understand why everyone is reacting so angrily over the way the Pakistani media is covering the Mumbai attacks. You cannot expect them to accept that they did it.

I would have given them some credit,however, if they had suggested that India masterminded these attacks. But by suggesting that India, US and Israel plotted these attacks together, they have made themselves the laughing stock of the whole world! This is persecution mania at its worst!

Clearly they haven't heard that it is better to be silent and thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove it :-)

Spare a thought for the wounded soldier

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/dec/02mumterror-spare-a-thought-for-the-wounded-soldier.htm

Just 4 lines. I don't even know their true biblical significance. But they are comforting me when the world seems to have gone topsy-turvy last 2-3 days.

Joseph shall return to Canaan, grieve not.
Hovels shall turn to rose gardens, grieve not.
If a flood should arrive, to drown all that’s alive,
Noah is your guide in the typhoon’s eye, grieve not.

10 items or less

Nope, I am not describing the last checkout counter at the neighborhood supermarket. This, believe it or not, is actually a name of a movie. I came across it during my recent channel surfing. When I first saw Morgan Freeman, I almost pressed the button to change the channel because I thought it was “Bruce Almighty” and I was terrified I might catch sight of Jim Carrey twisting his face in yet another impossible way :-) It took a second to realize, however, that this was a different movie.

Honestly, I don’t have a clue as to what this movie is about. I plan to look it up on imdb.com. But when I chanced on the channel there was an interesting dialogue going on when Morgan Freeman asks the young lady with him as to what she would choose if she could only keep 10 things or less from her life. She rattles off her list and then he does the same. This set me thinking about my list and here it is:

- Family
- Friends
- Health
- My passion for reading
- My love of mountains and forests
- My hair (I know it’s a pain despite all the conditioner I heap upon it on a weekly basis but I wouldn’t trade my curls for anything under the sun!)
- My dimples (Hey, not many people have such cute ones!)
- Love for and ability to walk miles without getting tired
- Compassion
- Sense of humor (Friends claim I have it and who am I to disagree with them?:-))

So, what’s on your list of 10 items or less?