Everybody sees what you seem to be;
But few see what you are.

Okay, I'll shut up about how I am not going to leave looooong intervals between posts and how I resolve to be more regular. Now, you might be wondering about the title of this post. Well, the title means exactly what it says. I'm going to transform myself into the classic 'Bad Boy' .

Hold it, I know that I am sounding like some lame character in a cheesy movie, and I know that picking up a supposedly 'Bad Habit' does not mean that I will become one. The thing is, I'm so tired of being the nice guy. All my life, I have been somewhat of a pushover, someone who will just not make a real effort to attain what he wants. Someone who does not speak up, who does not try hard enough to correct his wrongs. Lets just say that till now, I have not made a difference, for my sake, nor for anyone else's.

There is a limit to anything.
There comes a point when you say "Alright, that......is enough".

I've been an extremely lazy slob. I have neglected my responsibilities, to myself and to others. People have been put to hardship on account of my neglect. All that stops, right now. This is part of my roadmap to change myself, to make myself into a better person. An extreme makeover, if you will. But the fact of the matter is, I believe I am really more of the "Bad Boy", than the "Nice Guy". And that is how it will be.

Now, the start of the Smoking habit may seem like there is no point to it. One may think that I am somewhat influenced by the world of Movies and TV, and that I am trying to look "Cool", but that is not the case. I had deliberately started this habit first as a simple dare, then as a way to test my limits. I must say, I kind of like having a cigarette between my fingers. But I agree...... this is somewhat of a silly gesture, and in the long run, an injurious one.

It is silly, it is harmful,
But it is a start.

yours truly,
Ar'Nath
_______________________________________________________________________

"Can't you see the warning written on the cigar packet, smoking is injurious to health".
"I am a sofware engineer. I don't worry about warnings, I worry only about errors".

Hmm... Looks like I've got the hang of it now. I have resolved not to leave those wide open chasms between my blog post periods.

The reason for this particular post is that today, much against my wishes, I was sucked into a rather lively argument on the case of the "Holy Books". Normally I am the kind of person who does not give a damn about any of the "religions" that the people in this universe, or any other universes follow. But I did feel strongly that I had to contribute my share to the meaningless trash that passes today for discussion on "religion".

Well, the discussion was about the role of the "Holy Books" that the different religions and cultures follow. As you might have expected, any discussion about anything on religion is a livewire topic, and rightfully so, the atmosphere became really heated. People had a wide range of opinions on the "Holy Books", right from the ones who said that we should follow what it says, then only our lives would be meaningful, to the ones who were of the view that , especially in this time and place, the "Holy Books" are of little consequence. Then there were the people who leaned toward their "Book" of choice. All in all, I had a different opinion as to the relevance of the "Books" in daily life.

I personally feel that the Holy Books, of whatever faith it may be, hold a good deal of value, especially in this day and age. All the Books advocate healthy living, adherence to holding good values and morality, and living a full, satisfying life. That being said, I must say that, for all the value and power that the "Books" hold, they are only that. They are books, that is all they are. And what should we do with books ? We read them, try to understand what is written, and in some cases, relevantly apply what was explained. That is all there is to them. Nothing more, nothing less.

For all the regard/importance/power/fear that people hold them in,

THEY ARE NOT THE WORDS OF GOD.

Everything that was ever written in every one of those books, was not written or passed down by GOD. Whatever was written, was written by the HANDS OF MAN. Men wrote them, and they wrote what they believed in. Man alone wrote them, and Man alone is responsible for the consequences arising as a result of actions carried out on that information. They are not "RULES" that we should strictly follow, rather they are a set of guidelines that we should relevantly apply to lead a life that holds meaning.

Relating to the Heading of this post, do you think that the "Holy Books" should be Banned ? Given that the vast majority of the world's populace does not have the capacity to correctly decipher their meaning, given that the general populace blindly follow their supposedly "Religious Leaders", and given the fact that, throughout the history of mankind, religion has done more harm than any sort of good, do you think that the "Holy Books" of all faiths should be subject to a universal ban. I know it is not possible, and I am not sure whether it is wholly advisable, but still, what do you think ?

yours truly,
Ar'Nath

Long time huh ?

Well, this week has turned up some rather very interesting turn of events, for me at least. You see, I have not come in close contact with something like this in person, I have only seen it in movies, read about them in magazines, newspapers etc. But to come in personal contact with something like this is...............heartening.

There is this woman named as Lavanya* with whom I have had the pleasure of being a friend. I have known her for only some time now, but my respect for her has grown by leaps and bounds. And that is something that the people who know me will say "You're kidding". Because I give my respect to those who deserve it, and it doesn't come with money, power or age or anything like that. The only factor is the measure of their actions.

Alrite, let us get back to the story.
This woman Lavanya, is someone that one would call as "A rising star". I mean, she has everything going for her, she is beautiful, sexy, smart, funny and a complete roit to be around with. She belongs to a respectable "Brahmin" family, loads of money, a big joint family that absolutely dotes on her. Now, as expected, her parents started to look for suitable alliances for their "Darling Princess", and as expected she had quite a lot of them. You know, the usual, the Handsome, Good mannered NRI who is swimming in money and also the Successful Iyer boys back here. Yada yada yada, the usual story.

But therein lies the twist. This girl, Lavanya rejected every one of them and declared to her parents that she was not interested in marriage. Now, her parents are a bit liberal-minded and said they would accept anyone that she probably was in love with. But, she relayed that she wasn't in love, she just was not interested in being somebody's wife. They kept pressing her for the reason that she didn't want to get married. And the reason that she said literally gave them heart attacks.

Lavanya, is Homosexual. Yes, she is a lesbian. Her family, naturally, was in denial. They thought she was out of her mind, and tried to change her mind, saying that it's not true, that she's just thinking that she is. Then they started to bully her into marriage, telling her that it is wrong, that homosexuals are perverts, and all that stuff. Come on people, grow up. They even blackmailed her that the family honor would be shattered, that they would commit suicide, that they wouldn't give her any property etc, if she did not acede to marriage. But, for once, a woman stood her ground and was strong enough to stay true to herself. She was a mature woman who was confident about herself and her own sexuality. And you know what she did ?

She walked out on her family. She is now living in with her girlfriend, they rented out a separate apartment. The thing is, the other woman, Aparna* is also from a conservative Brahmin family, and she too experienced the same animosity from her family and her community. As far as I know them, the two of them wouldn't give a damn about what anyone thinks of them. As far as they are concerned, they have good jobs, a good home.......and each other. They are now living happily together, and also thinking of adopting a child in the future.

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't know many people who would do what they did. That too, both hailing from conservative Brahmin families. If this is not courage, then what is. I dont understand why people make such a big deal, why such animosity against Homosexuals. I mean, one's sexuality is one's own business, but still people feel that they have the goddamed right to butt into it, comment on, and dictate terms. I feel disgusted by these so called "normal people" and would gladly tell them where they can go. Well, Lavanya & Aparna, I have the greatest respect and admiration for you guys and I wish you a wonderful life together.

GODSPEED........and good luck

yours truly, The RA

* Names have been changes to protect identities. Not that they need it, but still.

Nothing of that sort happened, the heading was just to grab your attention - everybody loves an overreaction.

Well, it goes like this.
Some of you may know that I am currently writing a novel. Or rather, trying to for the past 3 years. It so happens that, a loooong time back, 10 days ago, I came across a sub-editor for a major book publisher, at a 3Ds Max conference. He was one of the guest lecturers and yours truly, most obviously, just tagged along with one of the invitees. After the usual round of welcome speeches, speaker felicitation, product launches.......you know the sequence, there was the Gladiator spectacle (Q&A session).

It was the most lively part of the entire event.

Anyway, after that, I joined him at cocktails and was introducing myself - in short, giving the personal sales pitch. I told him that I was in the process of writing my own novel, and had completed a couple of chapters. I was kind of surprised when he asked to see a draft, and naturally I replied in the positive ( guess he was too drunk that time ).
After a couple of days, I got a callback saying he wanted to meet me in his office. I was a bit apprehensive, cos' my novel is somewhat over-the-top and rightly so, that was the opinion he had of the story, or at least what he had of it. To cut a long story short, he told me that they would consider my novel if I would tone it down, heh! as if I would.

Basically, it was a take it or leave it situation...................from me.

Now i am back to writing it, the way I intend it to be - Epic, Dark, Fast, Swashbuckling, Outrageous and totally Over the top.

Watch out. Watch for it.

yours truly,
91

Long time since the last post, huh ?

Well, nothing really exciting is happening....at least to my standards. Anyway, I got the payment for my first real project (PixelKast dMedia) only yesterday, and I got the urge to splurge a little, obviously. I got myself some things and was just window shopping at Spencer's Mall, when I slipped into the Landmark store. I remembered that I had to get a gift for a B'day party later that I was supposed to go later that evening. So, I was browsing and wondering just what I have to get this gal when my glance fell on a very tacky looking book. It was another book on Marketing principles and how to do great marketing....you get the idea.

Just as well, I thought I should gift this book to her, as she was really into Marketing, Sales etc. I was going through the contents when I realised what a treasure i held in my hand. I mean, this wasn't just another book on how to be a great marketer - whole with bullet points, charts, case studies, acronyms and catch phrases. This was completely against the norm. I like it so much that I bought an extra copy for myself, and needless to say.... she was absolutely delighted too.

Now, the book is called "FREE GIFT INSIDE" by Stephen Brown. This is one book worth treasuring. The ideas are not revolutionary, just so obvious and "right in front of you" that you tend to wonder how you could have missed it. Well, I guess it is human nature to completely miss what is obvious. Anyway, I would say that this book is a goldmine for anybody who is interested in marketing, and who is really meaning to "mark his presence", to borrow a tagline. The material is top notch and you cannot help but laugh at Mr.Brown's style of writing. The front cover was definitely keeping in with the book's ideas, it was so tacky that I has to pick it up and see what was inside. I mean can you imagine any self-respecting author titling his book "FREE GIFT INSIDE" ? Well, the name alone would ensure that people would at least pick it up.
But I should warn you though, you will need a good thesaurus by the side when you read this book.

I am really taken in by "FREE GIFT INSIDE", guess it will help a lot with my marketing stint.

yours truly,
Ar'Nath

I hate that line above. I thought I could never "Hate" something or somebody, but I was wrong. I hate the above line and also those who utter it to the very core of my being, whoever it may be.

What is it with such people ?
Well, I can understand why they feel such an affinity for that particular phrase. Being that they lead such pathetic existences, I don't feel the need as to why such people have to inflict their sense of being rock bottom upon others. I usually don't even bother to respond to such low lifes, but when my father is a part of them, it is a bit sad. not that i am showing any partiality towards him, he is a low life too, he has always been, i have realised it only now.

Many do not realise the damage that the above phrase does to people who otherwise would go on to succeed. But then, i guess it is a part of life to overcome such deep trenches of pessimism and do what you are meant to do.

yours truly,
Ar'Nath