Setu's Blog

It is amusing to me how more often than not, we are more invested in the future than the present. We keep thinking about the what next, planning ahead, measuring our steps today and working steadily towards that well-defined goal. We carve out a path in our head and we try to stick to it, avoid deviating from it. Eventually, we get there. We achieve what we strove for. But, somewhere between that journey, there's this sweet spot when all the pieces fall into place and the vision that kept you captivated is within an arm's reach with no hurdle in between. And that is a beautiful feeling. The last few days have been such for me and the goals I had set for myself a couple of years back, now seem right here. It is an understated, subdued emotion of happiness and serenity. The bearing of fruit of months and years of hard-work and systematic, planned efforts, coupled with the excitement of the life that lays ahead. I keep going back to the past, and realize how it all falls into...

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too. It was the morning of 5th November, 2008 when I heard these words from the then President-Elect Barack Obama as a part of his victory speech . This was a proclamation from the man who had just been elected the most powerful man in the world, that he understood the responsibility of the office he was just elected to. They were simple words exhilarating humility and goodwill, at the same time. For the last 8 years, I have had these very lines stuck in the back of my head, and even more piercingly in the last 6-7 months, and specifically in the Indian context. When we talk about India, we talk about the diversity of the country. 'Unity in diversity' is often the one sentence definition of India cited across the world. It is a society where each person is respected for their individuality as an Indian. It ...

I have respected the need for 'Freedom of Speech' ever since I first understood what it meant, sometime during a Civics class in school. It is the necessity for a society to grow. Ideas and opinions need to flow from one side of the table to the other. As a proponent of free speech, this freedom is something I take very personally and seriously. But, today, almost 18 months after one of the most hallmark decisions taken by the Indian electorate, I wonder if such a freedom exists anymore. It does exist in the Constitution, technically, but on the ground? I'm skeptical. A democracy like ours is very complex for me to explain, but a few things that I believe are underlying to the very fabric of our country are the need for rules and laws that are common to everybody. That all people, all religions, all languages must be treated equally. Yes, the Constitution of India doesn't recognize a national religion or national language. Hinduism isn't the national religion...

Exactly 5 years ago, almost around the same time, I wrote ' The Dream Called 'India'... ', my understanding of the dream that those who fought for the freedom of our nation must've seen, 69 years ago. Today, I am at the crossroads that has me turning cynical to the very same dreams that I believed were real and obvious. And that, not because I've lost the faith, not because I am any less determined to be a part of the change; but because I'm instigate and angry seeing otherwise happen all around me. All the time. Over the past few weeks, I've been struggling with many things that I see around me, and trying to get to the literal 'root' of the problem, and maybe I'm seeing things, but it takes me to a common conclusion about the country we have become: We love our freedom, but we love skirting the responsibilities tagged along with it, even more. And, there, we forget that the freedom comes with responsibilities. The burden of responsibil...

I remember one afternoon during my vacations just after my 4th grade rather distinctly. I sat in front of a computer in my parents' room, and after following a Google search result, landed on a website that played the opening song to a then popular Hindi television show. I patiently waited while the Dial-Up connection from MTNL streamed the song, and I kept playing it, on repeat. I kept listening to the song, and smiling, and laughing, and dancing, while my mom looked at me in amusement. This was when I found the internet and realized how amazing it was. I am sure I started using the internet before that. Hell, I had my first e-mail ID before that! And yet, this was my moment of glory. This, was when I had found the internet, and I was smitten. Little did I know, then, that this was the start of one of the most amazing, informative, intriguing and personal relationships of my life. My relationship with the internet. I'm sure each one of us that uses the internet has one su...

Author's note: While you read this, if you find anything offensive to you, or something that would touch a nerve to a political outfit, a religious entity, a spiritual guru, or anyone who is only looking to take offense in something, please pass me the email addresses of the people who I should forward this to, to get this censored, and I will remove the objectionable content. LOL, just kidding. I'm not taking back my words. Just over 2 months back, on 24th November, 2014, Sony Pictures Entertainment (popular for producing franchises like Spiderman, Men In Black and the hit TV show, Breaking Bad, among others), an American subsidiary of the Japanese media conglomerate Sony, was hacked. For those who don't know, hacking is a process by which a malicious person/group take down an account and/or website for reasons only they find logical. In short, they are internet bullies. Subsequently, it was found out that the hack was performed by hackers from North Korea. What follow...

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. and no good thing ever dies. I don't remember how many times and to how many people I've recited these lines, in the 6+ years since I watched 'The Shawshank Redemption' for the first time. And yet, much as I keep convincing people to believe in these words, I sometimes find it hard to trust in them for myself, shaking in the belief about the sanctity of these words. For longer than I can remember, I had been certain about my life and the way it'd go on. I knew what was going on, and where I wanted to see it, for whatever time-frame was asked of me. And then, 6 months back, things changed drastically, dramatically. All throughout these 6 months, up until the last few weeks when I found some peace of mind and stability, I had been wondering what is it that kept me going. What is it, that even after the tables had turned, made me want to believe in a better tomorrow than the yesterday? And each time, there was a si...