Free Hugs

Free Hugs: Australia



Free Hugs: Amsterdam

Everyone needs one. Its really amazing to imagine how much difference a hug can make to your day. Everybody needs a hug and everyone deserves one. This is a universal language that cuts across all barriers, be it language, sex, color and what not. This language does not need words. Its the language of angels and one that connects us, if we give it a try. I accidentally came across these videos while browsing youtube and it really touched me. Just watching it made me feel that I was real and very much alive. I also realized how much of a role human touch plays in our existence. Not being touched is as good as being dead. I can remember the first hug I got ever since I came here. It took two years for that to happen and for me it was the first touch of a human being that I experienced since I have been staying here. That feeling is unexplainable and suddenly you get the feeling that life is all good and everything is going to be ok.

The whole concept of Free Hugs caught my attention. After all, aren't the best things in life free? Sure they are and this action lets you give and take at the same time. How much better can it get? A quick research on the web and I soon realized that the whole Free Hugs stuff is actually a campaign. I initially thought that it was some guy who just made an inspirational video and added a song and posted it on youtube. The website for FREE HUGS is worth a hit and it shows how global this campaign actually is. Some more browsing and I see a lot more similar videos, mostly created by those who were inspired by the Initial one. I have put up videos from Australia and Amsterdam, as these two appealed to me the most. Watch other Free Hugs videos from Korea, Tel Aviv, China, Vancouver, Poland, Hollywood, and lots more. Just browse youtube. Was hoping to find a similar video from India, but there were none. We need to start hugging too.

So, my humble plea to everyone: HUG...!!! Hug your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, parents, grandparents, siblings, friends and hey, hug a stranger. Try it and you will know what it really is worth. And last of all, try not to pat when you hug. Make a conscious effort. Hold the person tight like you are never gonna let go of them.

A year in the Life of

This is probably one of those many past times that i have had, where I have surprised myself. I get bored fast and I don't really carry on with what I have started out doing. Music is excluded from the list of course. I don't know why i started blogging. I have always been a man of few words and I assumed that I did not have much to say. Today I have successfully completed one year of blogging. I guess I started a blog because a lot of people had one and I wanted one too. Just like a five year old kid who wants a toy because the kid next door has one. So the kid in me got myself a blog page.

So, i have a blog and now what? What do i write about? I have never written anything before and in the past, few attempts to write lyrics have only led to embarrassment when I have looked back at it. So anyway, I wrote some nonsense first and then i wrote a few posts about the weather and climate. I heard that someone once mentioned that if the weather did not exist, half of the conversations would not exist either. How true and the same goes for a writer. I believe that once you really start doing something, it could go two ways. One, you could get bored of it and give up, like i have always done. Two, you could really get into it. I guess I am into it. I really do enjoy blogging now and today I did go back right to the start and read all my postings. I can really notice a difference in my writing and the topics.

There was also a time when I thought that this blog was slowly becoming a music blog. I love music and have realized that I love writing about it also. There is a lot more that i want to write in that area. A lot of stuff from the glorious days of rock n' roll. I have the ideas but I do not want to pile it all up, least this becomes a music blog. I would prefer this being an open blog where I am able to write about any topic. Then came a time when Penny Lane almost brought my blog to a grinding halt, but thankfully its still alive now, thanks to Penny. Just kidding. So, from nonsense about myself, to the weather, to the food I cook, to how i lost my money, to music, to life in the United States, to Orgasms, to how some days just suck and any other stuff in general, my blog has survived and so has my interest in blogging.

A lot of positives have come from this. Apart from doing something useful, I have come across a lot of good blogs and bloggers. Some who I know well and some of whom I have never met. It doesn't really matter because the blog world is a different world after all and it cuts across certain rules.

Finally, a big THANK YOU to all those who have visited my page and keeps coming back. I may have given up long ago if it wasn't for you guys (ok ill stop. Its beginning to sound like a Grammy thank you speech)

Iron Maiden In India

They said it would never happen. They said it will snow in Chennai before Iron Maiden ever set foot in India. The reasons were plenty, and all of them believable. The logistics would be hard towork out. It would be impossible to transport all the equipment all the way to India in an economical manner, and make a profit from ticket sales, as the takers for such a band would be very few in India. I had heard about this news many months ago, from a very reliable inside source in DNA networks, the ones responsible for this gig. A part of me believed it but I also ignored it and thought to myself that I would believe it when it happens, even though my source was very reliable. So all said and done, it finally is happening. Iron Maiden will be performing in Bangalore, Palace grounds, on the 17th of March. A much awaited and much needed concert for metal crazy fans in India. It would be a dream come true for many. Those who believed that it would never ever happen, can now go and eat some shit (you know who you are).

Iron Maiden have always had a huge fan base in India. Anyone who listens to rock music knows Maiden. Those who have no clue clue about heavy metal, love Maiden. Every rock band covers tunes by Maiden. Go to any college rock fest and you can hear chants of "Maiden Maiden Maiden" ring out from the crowd. It however came as a surprise to everyone, including the band, when their latest album, "A Matter of Life and Death" reached an amazing #2 on the Indian music charts, in terms of sales and popularity. It climbed over many popular Bollywood hits and pop hits. This is the highest rating that any international musical act has ever received in India. With all these, Iron Maiden deserves to perform in India, and more than that, the loyal fans in India deserve to see Maiden. We have waited for years, with nothing but hopes of seeing them live someday. With ever new album, the fans lapped up more and more of Maiden and at the same time trying hard to hide their envy at the more fortunate western nations where the band constantly performs. All i can say is, the wait is over. The doors were opened few years ago when Deep Purple, Scorpions, Roger Waters, Sting, Bon Jovi and many more performed in India. This is another big step, for greater things to come.

The word out is that a lot of fans have made travel plans from places as far as Mumbai, Delhi and many other cities all over. With the tickets being priced moderately (900 and 1500) it should be an added bonus to the cash strapped fan. Parikrama is one of the opening acts and so is Laureen Harris, daughter of Steve Harris, the bassist of Maiden. I personally am not so sure that Parikrama should be opening for Maiden. Another opening act is F.T.N (Fuck the Name), who won the campus rock idols. Three opening acts would only eat into the time reserved for Maiden. I wonder how long they would play. I would have been happy to see just one opening act, maybe F.T.N. Either way, Bangalore is all set to rock to classic Maiden.

ps: If my reliable source from DNA is to be believed, then stay tuned for none other than GN'R.

The Land of No Orgasm

Sex has a huge history in India. It was in India that the first literature on sex was written, referring to it as a science. The impact that sexuality had on the early Indian culture is very evident from ancient works like the Kama Sutra and from the stone carved statues that stand boldly in khajuraho. This would also make us believe that sexuality was more freely expressed in ancient India. Compare this to the scenario we have now, where the subject of sex is taboo and where some political groups make a big fuss because sex education was introduced in schools. What exactly happened in between? How did we come from there to here and what exactly caused this shift in attitude?

I believe that we are a little better than we were few years ago. Most schools still do not have sex education but at least some of us are talking about it, though a lot of it could be hush hush. I found myself trying to examine the time frame many years ago, but not too long ago. Maybe from 1900 to maybe 1975. Don't ask me why i chose this time frame. Its just random. I also further tried to look at the role women played in those days. I believe that their biggest role was that of looking after the matters at home, which of course included making babies. Some of them may have worked in the fields, but the men did all the big "bacon" work. Of course they may have considered their work as more important and who knows, they may have even thought that in making a baby, they played the most important role. Ohhh..its hard work being on top, isn't it? They believed that more kids meant more income when they were able to work, so out they popped, one after another.

There surely was a time in ancient India when sex was considered pleasurable, for both the man and woman, and now suddenly sex was taboo and it was supposed to be only used as a baby making tool. Pleasure was out of the equation. Oh well, not completely. The men still had their fair share of orgasms, didn't they? It was probably quick. No foreplay. The woman spreads her legs and it was over within a matter of minutes (read "seconds" for some). Mission accomplished. After all the mission was only to create a baby and nothing else. But what about the orgasm that the man experiences? Didn't the woman want one too? Did she even know such a thing existed or was she so comfortable within this bubble that defined her role? Did either of them know that the orgasm achieved my stimulating the g-spot is way different from the one that is achieved by clitoral stimulation? Of course it takes much longer for a woman to reach an orgasm and maybe if she was able to achieve it before the man, then she would have known what it was like. It takes a little extra effort from the man to give his woman an orgasm, but how dare we require him to put in more work at night, and that too after a hard days work, earning the bread and butter, their only source for survival.

I was reminded of this scene from Desperate Housewives where one of the characters rushes to the doctor because she though that she was having a seizure during sex. On further clarification from the doctor, it was explained to her that she was having an orgasm. All this while she thought that this tingly feeling she felt in her body during sex was what an orgasm was supposed to feel like. In all her married life she never knew what she was missing out and she had to wait till two kids later and till her husband died and till she got involved with another man, before she found out what an orgasm was. Good for her, she discovered it by accident, maybe because the man lasted longer, or maybe he was really good with his hands/tongue or what not. I couldn't help but think of the many who leave this blessed life without experiencing one of life's greatest gifts.

I really wish there was some sort of research conducted in India that would investigate into how many women actually achieve an orgasm. Now how do you even explain to someone in a rural area what an orgasm is? How do we explain to those women that sex is a lot more then just spreading your legs wide and closing them a minute later? I feel that a good way would be to educate the men. They need to firstly accept sex as something pleasurable that has to be enjoyed by both man and woman, and that the only purpose of sex is not to produce babies. I am tempted to believe that the urban men and women of this generation have a better idea. I would love to believe that a lot of women know what an orgasm is, and that they know that they are supposed to experience it during sex. I would love to believe that a man would assist his partner in achieving an orgasm, even if he has gone soft and dry, and not just turn around and go to sleep. After all, there is no greater joy in sex than watching your partner reach an orgasm. Hail hail the lucky ones who know that.

On a lighter note:
Johnny's sunday school teacher asked the class which part of their body did they think would go to heaven first. There were all kinds of answers. Some said heart, soul and some even said head. Little Johnny however said legs. The teacher was surprised and asked him why he thought so. Johnny said, "I walked into my parents bedroom last night and my mom had her legs in the air and she was screaming, "Oh my God, I am coming"