You've got a friend

When you're down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest hours.

You just call out my name,
And you know where ever I am
I'll come running, dear friend
To see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there...
You've got a friend.

If the sky above you
Should turn dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind should begin to blow
Keep your head together and call my name out loud
And soon I will be knocking upon your door.
You just call out my name and you know where ever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you got to do is call
And I'll be there...

Hey, ain't it good to know that youve got a friend?
People can be so cold.
They'll hurt you and desert you.
Well they'll take your soul if you let them.
Oh yeah, but dont you let them.

You just call out my name and you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
Dear friend, dont you know that,
Winter spring summer or fall,
All you've got to do is call.
Friend, I'll be there, yes I will.
Youve got a friend.
Youve got a friend.
Ain't it good to know youve got a friend.
Ain't it good to know youve got a friend.
You've got a friend.

James Taylor -- You've got a friend lyrics adapted for friend

Happy Christmas -- War is Over

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong

And so happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas
And what have we done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so happy Christmas
We hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
War is over
If you want it
War is over
Now...

-- John Lennon. Happy Christmas (War is Over) lyrics.

1971, Vietnam War.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

The Most Important Lesson

A mentor once told me, and I think this is the most important lesson:

"Doing the right thing is more important than doing things right."

The New Indian

The New Indian is angry -- angry about the chaos and the neglect and the colossal waste of pure Energy and Being -- not just in her own land, but in the World, but is quietly confident about her abilities and her invaluable contributions to the World, and is currently passive in the knowledge that she must prepare herself and prepare herself well, for the *time*, for this time will eventually come...and once again, it is this blessed land with it's mountains, rivers, oceans, saints, silent magicians and everyday people, not the politicians, that will slowly but surely transform the fabric of society, and lead the World out of its spiritual and material poverty, out of its Darkness, into Light, and the pure and ultimate Good that is true of Man.

*More about this goes in this space*

Privatisation of National Security

Asking for a profit/incentive-driven organization that makes National Security its business

Protecting our coastline

What should be done to protect the West and East Coasts of India?

Intelligence has it that 800 Gujarati trawlers were issued illegally to
some Bangladeshis over the last few months and it is suspected that
the entire West Coast of India has been recced by these terror agencies,
so that these miscreants can come in from anywhere at any time...

Having grown up in Goa, the last thing I ever want to experience in my
lifetime, is some family enjoying at the beach being blown up to bits.

When will they learn?

It has been heartening to see on some Indian TV channels that the Muslims in Mumbai have condemned these acts of terror and have issued statements saying that these terrorists who have killed randomly cannot and do not belong to the Faith and will not be granted even burial as per Islamic rites. I don't know if this is a common gesture from them, but it's the first time I had seen something like this. They have had a lot of their own killed as well and said that a few bad elements from outside tar the image of the scores of peaceful Muslims that live in our country.

I hope that more such initiatives from them will help to clarify their position to blind-haters in the public and shed more light on the fact that these types of attacks are more politically motivated than anything else, and common man, whether he is Muslim, Hindu, Catholic or Jew has little influence and bearing upon it.

What is still extremely disturbing though, is how some people still cling to their old divisive beliefs. A certain Mrs Thackeray sending SMS that the police and personnel killed during the attacks were mostly all Marathi. Or certain members of the opposition using it to gain political mileage to gain votes in the next election, instead of supporting the current PM in devising and implementing stronger security measures.

We can only elect politicians as good as the people we can ourselves become!

Mumbai - Stop Think Proceed

The recent terror attacks on Mumbai, whether or not we had a loved one involved in the massacre, has impacted the lives of Indians across the globe. At a time like this it is natural for every Indian to feel enraged, outraged, helpless and look for someone to blame. It is also natural to feel more united and patriotic. Justifiably, emotions are running high.

Amid all the mixed feelings that Indians are experiencing right now, I write on this forum in the hope that we will remind ourselves, not to succumb to the temptation of expressing our shock, horror and resentment in almost random ways, that can adversely impact what needs to be the plan of action in this hour of national crisis.

I call it a national crisis because this is not a one-off incident but one in a string of several incidents, which has culminated to a point where it seems like we are having a terror attack almost every month now in some part of the country or another, but this time it went one step ahead and too far in terms of the specific agenda and targeted victims. It must be obvious by now that it is not just Mumbai, but the entire nation, and even humanity itself which is under attack, and this goes for people of all regions and religions.

We need to calm our nerves and follow some logical steps before we come up with judgment, reactions, hatred, and even solutions. At the very outset we should refrain from being divisive in our very thoughts as we analyze and take stock of the situation. We must (since our lives depend on it!!) unite at this time. Stop blaming and hating politicians, Muslims in general (many of whom got killed in the shootings), Pakistan (it is a disservice to ourselves to simply jump to conclusions that the Pakistani government has any influence whatsoever on organizations like LeT, etc.), media, the police and other officials and even ourselves!!

We have to make security a national priority, and we simply have to find the cracks and fix them! This involves a joint effort by citizens, NRIs, politicians, media, intelligence, police and law and order officials, and even our neighbours and international governments.

Assuming that we are mostly citizens on this forum, we can, at the least, remove our own regional and religious biases, keep our eyes and ears open, organize and put forward recommendations to the government (better still take part in govt), and instead of condemning the entire breed of politicians and police, do our bit to appreciate those officials who did their best given the circumstances and the constraints and lost their lives to save others.

At any rate, Shoot,Ready,Aim was never a good strategy and should not be ours!