Terror, Terrorist, Terrorism-Vishwaroopam

The first month of the year 2013 has gone off in a jiffy and though there have been a flurry of activities in the Blue Caramel world, the results are being awaited expectantly in the succeeding months. The month of January has seen some reshuffling in the political scene of India and the future, though right now blurry, seems to indicate a direct contest between the scion of the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi and the Gujarat BJP strongman Narendra Modi in the coming 2014 Indian general elections.

January 2013 also saw escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan as the two countries were involved in border skirmishes along the LoC, in Jammu & Kashmir. The immediate heightening of tension was the alleged dastardly attack that Pakistani troops carried out inside Indian territory which resulted in the beheading of an Indian soldier and mutilation of another. These acts of "terror" and Pakistan's unabashed support to "terrorism" held centre stage in the Indian media during the month along with the tragic death of the BraveHeart, the fighter victim of the Delhi rape case.

The usual acts of terror by terrorists also hogged the limelight. Naxalites and Maosits killed many in Chattisgarh and Jharkhand but one glaring form of "terrorism" that is becoming more and more aggravated is the "Cultural Terrorism" as aptly pointed out by Kamal Haasan, the Tamil movie superstar, whose film "Vishwaroopam" got entangled in a form of cultural terrorism. The film which was cleared by the film board landed into trouble with certain groups. While one group claimed the film had blasphemous content, another claimed that a Tamil movie should not have a Sanskrit name. The result, the screening of the film was banned  in even Kamal Hassan's home state of Tamil Nadu.

You cannot please all of the people all of the time, even God cannot do so. So, an opinion, advise, a piece of work, writing, film or even cuisine cannot have all takers; Some would like, some would not. But a minority of people with radical views, can they take a multi lingual, diverse, secular country like India for a ride??? Can they spread fear in this way?? A fear which percolates to every layer of the society, a fear which prevents people from writing freely, a fear which prevents people from liking posts on social media, a fear which might lead to exodus of literary and cultural talents from the country??

A minority of people spreading fear amongst the majority, are they are not terrorists?? And the fear they are spreading is it not "Terrorism"???

Not all those who wander are lost-myBBB

Starting today till the 31st of March2013 is a competition courtesy www.mydestination.com, the leading travel information website network, for the wanderlusts across the globe. Christened the Biggest, Baddest, Bucket list, this competition envisages to bring together travel enthusiasts from all over the world onto a platform wherein they can share their travel experiences through self written travel blogs, photographs and videos. No technical restrictions are imposed and contestants can even participate by clicking with their smartphones.

The first step over, the actual competition begins when the participants are encouraged to garner votes for their entries. Making use of the social media, the voting for the favorite entries begin. The sense of competition intensifies when parochial affiliations intrude and friends, families and nationalities,  pitch in their support for their respective participants.

The rewards for the winner is Huge, to say the least. An all expenses paid around the world tour for 6 months awaits. During this period, the winner will be travelling across 6 continents, visiting more than 25 destinations of own choice and documenting the diversities that would be encountered.

That is not all, on return from the world tour, a cash prize of $50,000/- another reward for travelling the world without having to pay anything from one's own pocket would act as the proverbial "Icing on the cake".  Interesting no?? Amazing no?? Who says you can't have the cake and eat it too?? So put on your traveling shoes and start wandering because as JRR Tolkien has famously quoted "Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost".

For more details, visit www.mydestination.com/bbb.

Happy Wandering and all the very best!!!

In anticipation of the Biggest Baddest Bucket list!

There is a buzz in the air about the soon to be launched promotional campaign of mydestination.com which promises to be a pot boiler as it offers wanderlusts, a never before opportunity to travel around the globe and even earn some money doing so. What could be a better way to mix business with pleasure?

More on the same as we get the competition going, come 28th of January 2013! Till then au -revoir!

Revolutions not Resolutions for 2013!

From this year onwards, I have decided not to have any new year resolutions. If it has to be then it has to be "Revolutions" and not mere "Resolutions" for me in future. Hopefully 2013 would be a revolutionary year for all members of Blue Caramel at all the presently operational locations of Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Mumbai as well as other impending locations all across India.

By having a Revolution this year, I obviously don't mean an armed struggle between the members of the Blue Caramel family but I suggest overpowering restructuring in the way we all think, the way we all interact with the clients and the way we all overall function. We need to me more innovative, we need to be more adaptable and most of all we need to be more resilient, if we are to make 2013 really a Revolutionary Year for Blue Caramel.

With a plethora of activities planned by Blue Caramel in the areas of hospitality, publishing and event management this year, along with new initiatives from mydestination.com, the year ahead promises to be a great one. With the new look websites and the mobile application fully operational, it is imperative that we all strive hard to derive the maximum mileage that we can, at the earliest.

The Biggest, Baddest Bucket List, the high profile promotional endeavour from mydestination is to hit the world audience in the last week of January and the Shaam-e-Sama Sufi musical night is planned for February. If the saying "Morning shows the day" is any true, then real great revolutionary things await us all, the members of Blue Caramel as we march ahead and take on 2013 with full gusto.

Bye 2012- The year at a glance

Personally 2012 has been quite a journey for me. Presenting some of my favorite clicks of the year.....

Sun rises on the Bay of Bengal in Puri

Howrah Bridge, Kolkata

Old standing proudly with the New

Diwali-The festival of Lights

The courtyard of the centuries old Senbari of Baghbazar

Khasa Kothi, the HQ of Dept of Tourism, Rajasthan

The sun sets on the Aravalis-2012

A spider spinning its web on Lake Fatehsagar, Udaipur

What Future beholds?

As 2012 becomes a thing of the past, I am right now in a very pensive mood recollecting what occurred during the year and what beholds us all, the members of Blue Caramel, in the new year 2013.
Year 2012, to say the least, has been a year filled with challenges and at the outset promised much more than it has actually delivered in the end. Following my STEP theory, the analysis can be elucidated in the following paragraphs.

1) Socially- The malaise that India has faced in the societal frame work for time immemorial sees no ending and on the contrary forces seem to be at work to widen the divide between social groups. Vicious online and   campaigns on the cell phone were instrumental in creating an alienation of the people of the North-East this year. Rumor mongers had a field day this year, when thousands of people from all over the country migrated back to their own homelands in the North East after they were threatened through social media for so called murders of Muslims in their states. It virtually led to a collapse in governance and a mass exodus.
Rapes and honor killings went on unabated this year. But the most horrific was the rape, mutilation and murder of the "Brave Heart" of Delhi, a 23 year old paramedic who fought death for 13 days before finally succumbing to her injuries in a hospital in Singapore. The incident ignited a mass movement of the youth who wanted better governance and swift justice. The small spark thus ignited could turn into an inferno in the new year, if lessons are not learnt and remedial actions not taken.

2) Technological- Though technological advancement is an area is a field which India can boast of, 2012 saw a complete technological failure, when the wanna be "Super Power" had to go literary "Power"less for two continuous days, when the Power grids of the country collapsed. This unprecedented gaffe led to a lot of mockery of India in the international arena.

3) Economic- The Indian economy has had to withstand a lot of pressure in 2012 because of the world wide recession. Companies like the Kingfisher Airlines are on the verge of bankruptcy because of financial mismanagement and obstinacy. But on the other hand many have also recorded impressive growth showcasing the resilience of the Indian economy. But the divide between the economic "haves" and "have nots", unfortunately has widened resulting in the making of ticking time bombs of discontentment that just wait to explode, anytime.

4) Political- Political stagnancy and polity paralysis has been the hallmark of the year 2012 for India. Though the degree of it was higher when the year  started and has gradually become better as the year went by, on the whole, political parties cutting across the political spectrum, have given the feeling to the public that they have taken the masses for a ride. Less of constructive deliberations in the parliament and more of rhetoric outside, more of corruption, more of nepotism, has made the word "Politician" more dirty this year.   

So, what future beholds?? I for sure am not an astrologer, so I am not in a position to enumerate what the future holds?? I on the contrary believe that let future be future and lets not try to predict it. As the protagonist played by Ben Affleck in the movie "Paycheck" realizes if you know the future then you loose hope as it then becomes a certainty and if you loose hope then you loose life itself.

But going by the happenings that have surrounded us in 2012, in all probability it would not be very unwise, if it is concluded that 2013 promises to be a much better, happier and prosperous year than 2012 was. But then did not 2012 begun the same way with lots of promise??

The Doomsday!

So, the impending Doomsday is nigh! 21st December 2012 is the deemed date on which the Earth will encounter a cataclysmic event of catastrophic proportions as per the Mayan Calendar. The Mayas are an indigenous native Indian tribe that has inhabited the Americas from time immemorial. They are noted for their highly developed language, art & architecture, mathematical skills and scientific astronomical prowess.

Though the Mayan calendar does not explicitly state the "End of the World" on the due date, the readings of the calendar has been interpreted and misinterpreted by many astrologers and students of astrology & sciences over the years and thus we are on the threshold of "Doomsday".

Whether the world actually ends on 21-12-2012  is a question of lesser importance? The actual question is are millions of people all over the world not encountering "Doomsday" in their lives, each day, everyday. Have values, principles and ethics not fallen to the nadir?? If no, then how do you explain happenings that we encounter daily, locally, nationally or internationally???

In my home town of Udaipur, a nineteen year student was brutally stabbed and killed by a group of other students over a petty skirmish that started over entry into a cultural programme. A precious young life lost in a moment of stupid madness.
In New Delhi, the capital of my country- India, a 23 year paramedical student and her friend were first heinously assaulted and then the girl brutally raped in a moving bus by a group of young men. The ordeal did not end there as the duo was then thrown off the moving bus. The valiant "fighter" continues to battle for her life in a hospital in the capital.
In Newtown, Connecticut, USA, the 20 year old son of a teacher burst into a school and fired indiscriminately on the small students and the teachers. The result 28 deaths including 20 children.

These are just three examples of happenings from the current environment that have been making "News" and are just the tip of the proverbial "Iceberg". People in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Yemen and Syria to name a few, are they not encountering "Doomsday" everyday? In India, the tribals of Bastar, Kalahandi, and other backward areas are they not encountering Doomsday viz a viz their fight with hunger and poverty, everyday?? Are we as a society not facing Doomsday each day in every sphere of life, be it social with its belittling of relations and values, political with its hail of corruption & nepotism and economical with increasing frequent price hikes???

Facing "Doomsday" everyday has probably made us all resilient to the the prophesied "21-12-2012-End of the World" which even if it occurs is beyond our control. But past the prophecy date, we should definitely think hard and try to analyse and do everything that is needful individually as well as a society in the form of actions that are well with in our control; simple things like respecting our elders and heeding their advise or even abiding by traffic rules....

For all members of Blue Caramel, the message is when the going is good,  we should all strive to make it count because when hardships are there, positivity, resilience and the like all said and done, the reality is Reality Bites.