A wait so long...

Apeksha Malviya is fed at her home in Bhopal, India on November 22, 2009. A quarter century after the disaster, many of those who were exposed to the gas have given birth to physically and mentally disabled children. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das) #

8 year old Annan is carried by Nafiza Bee, coordinator of the Chingari Trust clinic on November 27, 2009 in Bhopal, India. Twenty-five years after an explosion causing a mass gas leak killed thousands, toxic material from the biggest industrial disaster in history continues to affect Bhopalis. Annan suffers from cerebral palsy and receives vital rehabilitative support and care at the Chingari Trust Clinic. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) #

25 years the Bhopal gas tragedy, the victims continue to wait and suffer while the Indian Government and Dow Chemical turn an apathetic eye towards those affected. Isn't 25 years time enough to put something right that was so blatantly wrong. Doesn't Dow Chemical have enough means to clean up Bhopal? The answer is most definitely yes, but the total disregard of human life and suffering is appalling.

I wonder why haven't the local constituents pushed for sufficient relief and sanitation of the affected areas? Are all our politicians so corrupt? And if so why are the citizens of this country so blatantly overlook the miseries affecting their brothers? While growing up, the Bhopal gas tragedy was one of the most recurring themes of discussion inside class and out of it. It's been a long time since I left school and the situation has barely changed.

It's a matter of SHAME. For ALL OF US !!

a city so beautiful.

around 300years back a beautiful city was born. born somewhere in the northern part of india. people from far places in europe and asia would come to see the manifestation of luxury in form of a city.

people should not confuse luxury with richness over here, there would have been much richer places in hindoostan at that point but lucknow was luxury.

luxury reflected from lucknow's architecture, lucknow's music, lucknow's cuisine, poetry, dance, air, water, lifestyle, fashion everything.

the city fell victim to it's own beauty. the warm welcoming city with its youth and energy kept attracting people of talent and skill to be a part of its own skin. the process never stopped. not yet.

one may still see the remnant of the nawabi attitude as the old man smokes his hukka in a dilapidated house which would have been a once been a mansion. just that over the years the mansion had been divided and sub-divided into smaller and much smaller housing units. outside it still reminds one of it's days of glory. inside lies reality. and the old man is far away from reality in his fantasy he still lives the life of the his forefathers.

standing on the rooftop of the house of my childhood i could see so much being stuffed under the skin of the city. so many people, so many houses, so many rickshaws, so many cars... it seems to create an ugly texture on the skin of once such a beautiful city. it seems there are lumps in the skin which are about to burst and some greyish fluid will ooze out.

i just hope one day the warts burst and all the ugly things flow away with the flowing water of the ever flowing gomti. and leaves behind the flawless luxurious lucknow. lucknow of my childhood.

Dance dance

Happy Diwali

"Let your light shine. Shine within you so that it can shine on someone else. Let your light shine."

The festival of lights stands for the victory of the good over the evil, but I believe it should be celebrated as a festival of sharing and compassion. Until the unfortunate of this world are helped, the world will remain shackled by the devil. This diwali and ever after lend a helping hand, and then the victory of good over evil will be complete.

Some trivia about diwali:

• Bhagwan Mahavir, the Jain prophet, attained Nirvana on this day.
• Kerela is probably the only Indian state where even Hindus do not celebrate Diwali.
• Lord Krishna discarded his body on Diwali day.
• Diwali is also celebrated in Gkyena, Thailand, Trinidad, Siam, Malaya and Singapore.
• Sivakasi. a small town in Tamil Nadu, is the biggest home to the fireworks industry in India. And almost all workers in Sivakasi are below employable age.

In the seventh heaven

Income disparity in India

Its interesting how the income disparity in India has shown a sharp increase since 1990. Incidently that was around the same time India opened up to globalization. Another interesting observation is that the income disparity actually decreases from a period of 1960-1990 indicative of the socialistic nature of government.

Tsongo Lake

Tsongo lake, is one of the most sacred lakes in Sikkim. It is fed by the melting snow during summer and stays frozen during the winter. According to local folklore, polluting the pristine lake would be catastrophic for the world at large.