A different view for the Memorial Day.

Let me establish this post with a SALUTE to those Heroes who have laid their life’s for their motherland.

Today is the 26^th of November, 2010. It was exactly two years ago Mumbai was struck by the terrorist attack. And the entire subcontinent today mourns the death of the Police officers and the NSG commandos. 

Right from childhood days of this kind used to inspire me a lot. Also there where war-movies of various languages used to keep my mind a lot inclined towards the souls who left earth for their motherland. But today, i was stuck upon by some quotes of Eishower. I must say that this threw a light to a different dimension of thought we can make to the angle of those war heroes.

Memorial Day honors the tragedy of those who died for their country. All over the nation, ceremonies take place at cemeteries of the fallen. Volunteers place flags on graves; taps is played; flags are furled; and stern-faced members of veterans' organizations attend in solemn rows in their caps and insignia.

It's not a time for cynicism. And yet, that's just what I feel. As a nation, our feelings are manipulated on what should be a day of sorrow and regret.

Let me be clear--we should justly honor the sacrifice of those who died in war. But the way we do it glorifies war to yet another generation. It deludes our youth into believing it's their duty to enlist in the next crusade to benefit politicians and the military-industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us about. The martial music and stirring speeches perpetuate the lie that the fallen "died for our freedom." They did not.

Did our soldiers die heroically? Often they did. But for the most part, they died uselessly.

War is a failure of diplomacy. Instead of flags and martial music, we should offer apologies to the dead for yet again failing to avert the catastrophe of war. Our vow to the dead should be to redouble our efforts to find peaceful ways of settling disputes. On this day we should mourn not just those who perished in war, but our repeated failure to move beyond the barbaric practice of officially killing strangers just because someone in power who stands to gain from war convinced us that it's in our best interest to do so.

The message of Memorial Day should be "Never again! We will not send yet another generation of youth to the killing fields."

***

Eisenhower on war:

"When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war." (Press conference: 1953)

"I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its stupidity. War settles nothing." (Speech: Ottawa, Canada, January 10, 1946)

Dwight D. Eisenhower

34th President of the United States

(1953-1961)

Once again my prayer for all those who we lost and all those who lost. A salute to a nation that refuses to stay down when knocked down.....

A Bonus for the ‘Retrospective’ Me.

Writing about the various formats of departures and separation episodes happening in with me have become a cliché in APHORISMS. Those weren’t intentional. People may find this monotonous. But when it’s a page of life you can’t just escape skipping it.

And what has been written until now is a preface for me to crash into yet another story of separation. This time it’s something beyond the “separation story”.

The story starts from the 14^th September, 2009 when I met this man. For various (silly) reasons I’m bound myself not to reveal anything more about him. He was an elder brother for me, in all ways except in the blood-relation way. My living with him have taught me many “what should be” and “what should not be”. And the most remarkable achievement that I could achieve very soon after meeting him was an extension to this friendship. For as I always used to say, when a relation infects me beyond the barriers of friendship, they nest a space in me of any format of blood relation with respect to their age. As a matter of that theory, here, I got an elder brother and to elder sisters..and extensions are still coming in..that's the magic of this relation. I'm lovin' it..!!!

I believe that I used to be the biggest nuisance in the group explaining them my own plans, plots and principles. Being the younger one in the gang I used to irritate them the most and eat up their ears (ahem..!! FYI…not the Mike Tyson way...), creating an overall mess. For, I’m very possessive when I feel a person is mine. That is my flaw. Hearing anything about them as a black or gray joke from another person used to be thing that irritates me the most. For me, it’s my mistake that I heard something about them when I’m their best friend. Its my failure. And when there happens something like that, I take all the pain to make them understand what I feel.  Some may like, while some may not.

Now this is where my eyes shut themselves at the bright light of revelation. A revelation which speaks in me in a low voice… “I hate me for loving people so much”…

So this was how it went on as of now, for a little more than a year to be a little more precise. In the meanwhile, a petal had already separated from this flower. And, separation just means the increase of the physical distance between the so called “petals”. Nothing more…perhaps I think the intensity is directly related to the distance. It’s been proven several times.

But, even though I have had several such relations, this was a special group. For, they came out from nowhere and they provided me the strategies and arms in a battlefield on which I was an unarmed kid.

That was how it went…

Now when this man (about whom I started this post) was leaving, there arouse an idea among the remaining 3 petals to give him a memento of our friendship. The idea and its execution were clinically operated without losing even the slightest quantum of the suspense element for him. Following this, there came an opinion from one of the petals; to make some space in Aphorisms for this friendship. They asked me to script it with all what I have in mind.

Being an admirer of the past, I used to have a note of each passing day. Not a regular daily diary entry. I keep an Excel sheet which used to be my private joy. When the wanted me to write on our friendship I revealed (for the first time) that there was one such thing which I used to maintain. And I mailed it to them. Surprisingly for me, it surprised them a lot. They kept reading it on and on... one of them said its great and the other said they loved me a lot for that. Hmm….

Past, Present and Future. Among this I would always say that ‘Past’ is the most beautiful. Because, to evaluate the beauty of a painting the artist needs to finish it. During the ‘Present’ he can only keep on adding final touches to the beauty. Only after the final touch he admires the beauty of his own painting. Hence, I feel, beauty is always something of the past. ‘Future’ is only anticipation, just like a suspense-thriller.

Past reminds you of your mistakes, the hardships you overcame and also at some point bring a slight tender smile onto your face which sometimes can take shape of a big laughter. It may sometimes submerge you in thoughts which may roll out as few drops or a deep sigh.

I’m also really happy for myself that I could create a joy for my friends to a cent. Perhaps I think…the most apt memento that I can give for those three petals are the notes on those days…the Past…the memmories..and each degree of curve drawn on their faces to form a silly cute smile is my bonus...

A vote of thanks from an (Ex)Bhavanite.

Today, few hours back, my school the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Vidya Mandir, Poochatty…won overall championship at the 17th Inter-Bhavans at Kannur, Kerala. I felt my adrenaline racing once again when I read the news on Usha Pisharody Teacher’s post on her Facebook.

Years passed…but still I’m a BVB product and nothing on earth can change that. Thanks a lot to FB also for which laid the platform to give a wide reach for a news of of various sorts…

And also my heartfelt CONGRATS to my dear ju-ju-juniors…you guys have done a brilliant leap indeed. Love you a lot my dears…..

EAST OR WEST BHAVANS IS THE BEST…!!!!