We Didnt Start the Fire

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
Rosenberg’s, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"
Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana Goodbye
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock
Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, Bridge on the River Kwai
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California Baseball
Starkweather Homicide, Children of Thalidomide
Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a No-Go
U-2, Synghman Rhee, Payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs Invasion
Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston Beats Patterson
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician Sex
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say?
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, Punk-Rock
Beggin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, Heavy Metal, Suicide
Foreign Debts, Homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shore, China's under martial law
Rock and Roller Cola Wars, I can't take it anymore
We didn't start the fire,
It was always burnin',
Since the world's been turnin'
We didn't start the fire,
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on...
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't...

Love this song so decided to go to Yahoo! and get more info...so here goes

1949
Harry Truman is inaugurated as U.S. president after being elected in 1948 to his own term; previously he was sworn in following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He authorized the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan during World War II. August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945 respectively.
Doris Day enters the public spotlight with the films My Dream Is Yours and It's a Great Feeling as well as popular songs like "It's Magic"; divorces her second husband.
Red China as the Communist Party of China wins the Chinese Civil War, establishing the People's Republic of China.
Johnnie Ray signs his first recording contract with Okeh Records, although he would not become popular for another two years.
South Pacific, the prize winning musical, opens on Broadway on April 7.
Walter Winchell is an aggressive radio and newspaper journalist credited with inventing the gossip column.
Joe DiMaggio is injured early in the season but makes a comeback in June and leads the New York Yankees to win the World Series.
1950
Joe McCarthy, the U.S. Senator, gains national attention and begins his anti-communist crusade with his Lincoln Day speech.
Richard Nixon is first elected to the United States Senate.
Studebaker, a popular car company, is beginning its financial downfall.
Television is becoming widespread (in black and white format) and becomes the most popular means of advertising.
North Korea, South Korea engage in warfare as North Korea attacks on June 25, beginning the Korean War.
Marilyn Monroe soars in popularity with five new movies including The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve, and attempts suicide after the death of lover Johnny Hyde. Monroe would later (1954) be married for a brief time to Joe DiMaggio (the rhyme in the previous verse).
1951
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were convicted on March 29 for espionage. They maintained that they were innocent even at their executions.
H-Bomb is in the middle of its development as a nuclear weapon, announced in early 1950 and first tested in late 1952.
Sugar Ray Robinson, the boxer, obtains the world's middleweight title.
Panmunjeom, the border village in Korea, is the location of truce talks between the parties of the Korean War.
Marlon Brando is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in A Streetcar Named Desire.
The King and I, musical, opens on Broadway on March 29.
The Catcher in the Rye, a controversial novel by J. D. Salinger, is published.
1952
Dwight D. Eisenhower is first elected as U.S. president, winning by a landslide margin of 442 to 89 electoral votes.
Vaccine for polio is privately tested by Jonas Salk.
Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess Elizabeth) succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realms upon the death of George VI of the United Kingdom.
Rocky Marciano defeats Jersey Joe Walcott, becoming the world Heavyweight champion.
Liberace has a popular 1950s television show for his musical entertainment.
George Santayana, philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist, dies on September 26.
1953
Joseph Stalin dies on March 5, yielding his position as leader of the Soviet Union.
Georgy Maksimilianovich Malenkov succeeds Stalin for six months following his death. Malenkov had presided over Stalin's purges of party "enemies", but would be spared a similar fate by Nikita Khrushchev mentioned later in verse.
Gamal Abdel Nasser acts as the true power behind the new Egyptian nation as Muhammad Naguib's minister of the interior.
Sergei Prokofiev, the composer, dies on March 5, the same day as Stalin.
Winthrop Rockefeller establishes Winrock Enterprises and Winrock Farms atop Petit Jean Mountain near Morrilton, Arkansas.
Roy Campanella, an African American baseball catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, receives the National League's Most Valuable Player award for the second time.
Communist bloc is a group of communist nations dominated by the Soviet Union at this time.
1954
Roy Cohn resigns as Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel and enters private practice with the fall of McCarthy.
Juan Perón spends his last full year as President of Argentina before a September 1955 coup.
Arturo Toscanini is at the height of his fame as a conductor, performing regularly with the NBC Symphony Orchestra on national radio.
Dacron is an early artificial fiber made from the same plastic as polyester.
Battle of Dien Bien Phu. A village in North Vietnam falls to Viet Minh forces under Vo Nguyen Giap, leading to the creation of North Vietnam and South Vietnam as separate states.
"Rock Around the Clock" is a hit single released by Bill Haley & His Comets in May, spurring worldwide interest in rock and roll.
1955
Albert Einstein dies on April 18 at the age of 76.
James Dean achieves success with East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, gets nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, and dies in a car accident on September 30.
1955 World Series as the Brooklyn Dodgers win the World Series for the only time. (There is cheering in the background of the song during this line.)
Davy Crockett is a Disney television series about the legendary frontiersman of the same name. The show was a huge hit with young boys and inspired a short-lived "coonskin cap" fad.
Peter Pan is broadcast on TV live and in color from the 1954 version of the stage musical starring Mary Martin on March 7.
Elvis Presley signs with RCA Records on November 21, beginning his pop career.
Disneyland opens on July 17 as Walt Disney's first theme park.
1956
Brigitte Bardot appears in her first mainstream film And God Created Woman and establishes an international reputation as a French "sex kitten".
Budapest is the site of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
Alabama is the site of the Montgomery Bus Boycott which ultimately led to the removal of the last race laws in the USA.
Nikita Khrushchev makes his famous Secret Speech denouncing Stalin's "cult of personality" on February 23.
Princess Grace Kelly releases her last film, High Society, and marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco.
Peyton Place, the best-selling novel by Grace Metalious, is published. Though mild compared to today's prime time, it shocked the reserved values of the '50s.
Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis boils as Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal on October 29.
1957
Little Rock, Arkansas is the site of an anti-integration standoff, as Governor Orval Faubus stops the Little Rock Nine from attending Little Rock Central High School and President Dwight D. Eisenhower deploys the 101st Airborne Division to counteract him.
Boris Pasternak, the Russian author, publishes his famous novel Doctor Zhivago.
Mickey Mantle is in the middle of his career as a famous New York Yankees' outfielder and American League All-Star for the sixth year in a row.
Jack Kerouac publishes his first novel in seven years, On the Road.
Sputnik is the first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, the start of the space race.
Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People's Republic of China, survives an assassination attempt on the Charter jet Kashmir Princess.
The Bridge on the River Kwai is released as a film adaptation of the 1954 novel and receives seven Academy Awards.
1958
Lebanon is engulfed in a political and religious crisis that eventually involves US Intervention.
Charles de Gaulle is elected first president of the French Fifth Republic following the Algerian Crisis.
California baseball begins as the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants move to California and become the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. They are the first major league teams west of Kansas City.
Charles Starkweather homicides capture the attention of Americans, killing eleven people before he is caught in a massive manhunt in Douglas, Wyoming.
Thalidomide: Mothers taking the drug Thalidomide had children born with congenital birth defects caused by the sleeping aid and antiemetic, which was also used at times (although not in the USA) to treat morning sickness.
1959
Buddy Holly dies in a plane crash on February 3 with Ritchie Valens and J. P. Richardson ("The Big Bopper"), in a day that had a devastating impact on the country and youth culture. The event was immortalized by Don McLean as "The Day the Music Died" in his famous tribute song American Pie. (As an intro to this stanza, Billy Joel mimics Buddy Holly's trademark "hiccup" style, singing a-UH-uh-oh...).
Ben-Hur wins eleven Academy Awards as a film based around the New Testament starring Charlton Heston.
Monkeys in space: Able and Miss Baker are the first living beings to successfully return to Earth from space aboard the flight Jupiter AM-18.
Mafia are the center of attention for the FBI and public attention builds to this organized crime society with a historically Sicilian-American origin.
Hula hoops reach 100 million in sales as the latest toy fad.
Fidel Castro comes to power after a revolution in Cuba and visits the United States later that year on an unofficial twelve-day tour.
Edsel: Production of this car marketing disaster (Ford spent $400 million developing it) ends after only two years.
1960
Lockheed U-2: An American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union, causing the U-2 Crisis of 1960.
Syngman Rhee was rescued by the CIA after being forced to resign as leader of South Korea for allegedly fixing an election and embezzling more than twenty million U.S. dollars.
Payola was publicized due to Dick Clark's testimony before Congress and Alan Freed's public disgrace.
John F. Kennedy beats Richard Nixon in the November 8 general election amongst allegations of vote fraud.
Chubby Checker popularizes the dance The Twist with his song of the same name (see "The Twist").
Psycho: An Alfred Hitchcock thriller, based on a pulp novel by Robert Bloch and adapted by Joseph Stefano, which becomes a landmark in graphic violence and cinema sensationalism. The screeching violins heard briefly in the background are a trademark of the film's soundtrack.
Congo Crisis: The Democratic Republic of the Congo was declared independent of Belgium on June 30, with Joseph Kasavubu as President and Patrice Lumumba as Prime Minister. The Belgians, however, had other plans (see Secession of Katanga).
1961
Ernest Hemingway commits suicide on July 2 after a long battle with depression.
Adolf Eichmann, a "most wanted" Nazi war criminal, is traced to Argentina and captured by Mossad agents. He is covertly taken to Israel where he is put on trial for crimes against humanity in Germany during World War II, convicted, and hanged.
Stranger in a Strange Land: Written by Robert A. Heinlein, is a breakthrough best-seller with themes of sexual freedom and liberation.
Bob Dylan: After a New York Times review by critic Robert Shelton, Bob Dylan is signed to Columbia Records.
Berlin: The Berlin Wall, which forcibly separated West Berlin from East Berlin and the rest of East Germany, was erected on August 13th to prevent citizens escaping to the West.
Bay of Pigs Invasion: Failed attempt by United States-trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro.
1962
Lawrence of Arabia: The Academy Award-winning film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence starring Peter O'Toole premiers in America on December 16.
Beatlemania: The Beatles, a British pop/rock group, gain Ringo Starr as drummer and Brian Epstein as manager, and join the EMI's Parlophone label. They soon become the world's most famous group, with the word "Beatlemania" adopted by the press for their fans' unprecedented enthusiasm.
University of Mississippi: James Meredith integrates the University of Mississippi (known as Ole Miss).
John Glenn: Flew the first American manned orbital mission termed "Friendship 7" on February 20.
Sonny Liston beats Floyd Patterson: Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson fight for the world heavyweight championship on September 25, ending in a round-one knockout. This match marked the first time Patterson had ever been knocked out and one of only eight losses in his entire career.
1963
Pope Paul VI: Pope Paul VI is elected to the papacy.
Malcolm X makes infamous statement "The chickens have come home to roost" about the Kennedy assassination, thus causing the Nation of Islam to censure him.
Profumo Affair: The British Secretary of State for War has a relationship with a showgirl, and then lies when questioned about it before the House of Commons. When the truth came out, it led to his own resignation and undermined the credibility of the Prime Minister.
John F. Kennedy assassination: President John F. Kennedy is assassinated on November 22 while riding in an open convertible through Dallas.
1965
Birth control: In the early 1960s, oral contraceptives, popularly known as "the pill", first go on the market and are extremely popular. Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 challenged a Connecticut law prohibiting contraceptives. In 1968, Pope Paul VI released a papal encyclical entitled Humanae Vitae which declared artificial birth control a sin.
Ho Chi Minh: A Vietnamese Communist, who served as President of Vietnam from 1954–1969. March 2nd Operation Rolling Thunder begins bombing of the "Ho Chi Minh Trail" supply line from North Viet Nam to the Viet Cong rebels in the south. March 8th first US combat troops, 3,500 marines, land in South Viet Nam.
1968
Richard Nixon: Former Vice President Nixon is elected in the 1968 presidential election of the United States.
1969
Space Race: Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing, successfully lands on the moon.
Woodstock Festival: Famous rock and roll festival of 1969 that came to be the epitome of the counterculture movement.
1974
Watergate scandal: Political scandal involving a hotel break-in, eventually leading to President Nixon's resignation.
Punk rock: The Ramones form, with the Sex Pistols following in 1975, bringing in the punk era. The movement went beyond the music to a cultural attitude of rebellion against authority as a way of life, the reverberations of which are still being felt today.
1977 (Note that these two items, while later chronologically than the two 1976 items, come immediately before them in the song.)
Menachem Begin becomes Prime Minister of Israel in 1977 and negotiates the Camp David Accords with Egypt's president in 1978.
Ronald Reagan: President of the United States from 1981 to 1989; first attempted in 1976 to run for president.
1976 (Note that these two items, while earlier chronologically than the two 1977 items, come immediately after them in the song)
Palestine: The Palestine Liberation Organization is admitted as a member of Arab League; see history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Aircraft hijacking: Numerous aircraft hijackings took place, specifically, the Palestinian hijack of Air France Flight 139 and the subsequent Operation Entebbe in Uganda
1979
Ayatollahs in Iran: During the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the West-backed and U.S.-installed Shah is overthrown as the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini gains power after years in exile.
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan: Following their move into Afghanistan, Soviet forces fight a ten-year war, from 1979 to 1989.
1983
Wheel of Fortune: A hit television game show which has been TV's highest-rated syndicated program since 1983.
Sally Ride: In 1983 she becomes the first American woman in space. Dr. Ride's quip from space "Better than an E-ticket," harkens back to the opening of Disneyland mentioned earlier, with the E-ticket purchase needed for the best rides.
Heavy metal, suicide: In the 1980s Ozzy Osbourne and the bands Metallica and Judas Priest were brought to court by parents who accused the musicians of hiding subliminal pro-suicide messages in their music. (Billy Joel himself has stated on his website that even though the two terms are separated by a comma they are collectively one item, similar to "North Korea, South Korea" above.)[citation needed]
Trade deficit: Persistent US trade deficits.
Homeless Vietnam veterans: Veterans of the Vietnam war, including many disabled ex-military, are reported to be left homeless and impoverished, the country unable to yet handle its failure to succeed.
AIDS: A collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is first detected and recognized in the 1980s, on its way to becoming a pandemic.
Crack cocaine: Refers to crack cocaine, a popular drug in the mid-to-late 1980s.
1984
Bernhard Goetz: On December 22, Goetz shot four young men who he said were threatening him on a New York City subway. Goetz was charged with attempted murder but was acquitted of the charges, though convicted of carrying an unlicensed gun.
1988
Syringe Tide: Medical waste was found washed up on beaches in New Jersey after being illegally dumped at sea. Before this event, waste dumped in the oceans was an "out of sight, out of mind" affair. This has been cited as one of the crucial turning points in popular opinion on environmentalism.
1989
China's Martial law: On May 20, China declares martial law, enabling them to use force of arms against protesting students to end the Tiananmen Square protests.
Rock and Roller, Cola wars: Soft drink giants Coke and Pepsi each run marketing campaigns using popular music stars to reach the young adult demographic.

Runner? Am I one?

I am running...the sun is blazing but I dont care....I am wearing my shorts and my sports bra...my six pack rippling as my legs move fast...my hands in correct coordination with my legs...my legs lean, muscular and sexy...
I wake up with a smile...
Now I am fully awake, remembering my dream. Wow! I looked great! I looked lean and and like a runner. And then I look at myself in my PJs. Well, better not continue with that saga...I would love to look like how I looked in my dream. I mean who wouldnt...
This is one of my fave topics. People look at me all the time and gasp in surprise-you run? Hmmm...then I am sure they gossip behind my back...she doesnt look like a runner. Arent runners supposed to be lean and fit?
I have been asked this question number of times. By many people. But last week, one of my colleagues asked me--- I see these Kenyans run. They look so different from you" He was playing it very safe by not saying they look thin. And then I thought' WOW. If someone as educated as he is can ask a question like that, then why should I even mind other people saying things like that. I am atleast 10 years older than that Kenyan he saw on TV, I have been running for only 4 years, while those Kenyans are training from the time they are 12. Finally, I work. Go home to my son. Sometimes, end up eating an Oreo cookie and just enjoy life. But the Kenyan (that he saw, most probably in the Olympics) runs all the time, trains and measures the food he eats. Probaly never eaten even a crumb of cookie let alone a full Oreo. To compare me with a Kenyan marathoner is downright stupid.
I know so many people who run now and am happy to belong to this special category of people. None of them look like the way a Kenyan marathoner does. They look like happy healthy individuals who can run 10k, 50K, 100K and even 200Ks. They train. Eat regular food. Gorge on beer and chips. Love their desserts. Some are thin, some are not so thin. But guess what? They are healthy and happy. I want to ask all these fools (yes, I am pretty passionate about this) if they can keep up with me for even 5kms. Forget 42...
So, please guys. Respect your level of intelligence. Dont talk like you have no brains. Yes, a runner is faster if he/she is lighter but a person who is not thin can also be a runner...

Bangalore

Bangalore is my home town. I grew up here. Went to school here and met Sudarshan here. Most of my friends are here. When I was in the US, I used to always be very excited to meet a Banglorean. B'lore-the Silicon Valley of India...those were the buzz words may be 10 years ago and I assumed that because B'lore is so special everyone knew where B'lore was.
My co-workers in WF used to ask my friend (also from India) where she was from and she would start off "In south India, a state called ..., city...)
But when they would ask me where I was from, I never used to even bother to say India. Just Bangalore. I was cocky enough to assume that people knew enough about B'lore that they knew exactly where I was from.
I am proud to be a Bangalorean in many respects and associate so many memories with B'lore. I run in Cubbon Park almost every weekend. I have so many memories of going to Cubbon as a child and taking the train that they had for children that would go around CP. I love running in front of Vidhan Soudha. I think most times I run there that it is like running in Washington DC and just as beautiful. I love going to Indiana Fast Foods, to Sukh Sagar. Infact chaat has to be eaten only in Sukh Sagar according to me. I always ate chaat there almost all my life. Why eat anywhere else now. I love trying out new cuisines and restaurants but give me Tandoor any day.
Where is all this going you may ask...
I love Bangalore but what the F is happening to Bangalore? Forget about the trash on the roads, it was never clean ...Forget about the traffic...that has to happen with the growth...Forget about potholes...I really dont care... car...But what I care is the PEOPLE. What the F is happening to the people? I remember as a teen ager running in JP Nagar. I used to run for about 30 mins. And we used to have such a nice time doing so. People were friendly. Happy to see the youth being active. But now, running on B'lore streets is becoming a nightmare.
Yesterday, I decided I wanted to run 12K. Why bother going to Cubbon Park, I thought. Why not run near my house in HSR Layout. A few months ago, I had some crazy experiences with the guys on the road. I felt discouraged and didnt do any running on the streets. But yesterday I thought, this is B'lore. Its so cool. Cool people. Cool Cool Cool...
But guess what? B'lore hasnt changes in that aspect. B'lore cannot deal with a woman running. mind you...I was very properly attired. Just plain looking girl, running in tracks and a dri-fit shirt. And what happens?
1. I get whistled at.
2. People were falling off a cab trying to look at me
3. A Indica driver wanted to scare me and came so close
4. A bus driver didnt even try to slow down. I had to run to the pavement
5. And if I wasnt listening to music, I would have heard all the non sense comments
So, what is happening to B'lore? Why are people acting so intolerant towards runners. Why are the men behaving like dogs in heat (sorry dog lovers)? Why are men behaving like penises? Common guys, grow up. Is it the lack of sex ( our society is so hush hush about that and develop such a holier than thou attitude towards virginity and such.) that is leading to guys being sexually frustrated to such an extent that a girl on the road arises in them this non sense behaviour. My friend, who is an awesome runner always talks about how to stop this behaviour as well as groping and molesting on roads when a woman is running and she is an awesome runner in Bangalore. Just dont get it. I see guys running. They wear their teeny weeny shorts. No comments passed. Here we are wearing something totally decent (mind you.. I havent tried running in a Burkha yet) and we are forced to deal with this non sense.
Bangalore has changed. The people have changed. In spite of all the exposure, the men have become dogs.

Paradise City

Yesterday was my longest run in long time. It was ages since I did a 35k and yesterday I did it. It was exhausting but I had to do it. All in preperation for the KTM and Ultra. KTM on Oct 19th. Ultra Nov 19th
Yesterdays run was organized in Kannakapura trail. I love this trail. Its full of rolling hills that kill you but so satisfy you. Each loop was 10k in distance so this meant I had to do 3 full loops and one half. Ashika and I started off and we had a great start. One of the first hills is of a crazy gradiant almost a vertical line ( I am exaggerating but only slightly). We didnt stop. The climb was a slow one but we ran one foot after another. Finally we reached the top and it was worth it. Right in front of us was a beautiful lake. The sight is so awesome early in the morning. So breathtakingly freash and everytime almost unexpected. This lake was making everything worth it.
After about two loops (20) we stared feeling the exhaustion creep into our muscles. The climbs were getting tougher. So we tried and tried. Many times the hills got better than us and we would run half way up and walk the remaining.
After the 30K mark, Ashika had run what she had planned and I had 5 more left. Everybody from RFL had left except Anjana who was also doing 35K. We started up the same hills almost walking up the hills many a times because by now it was so hot and our bodies were burning up. We completed our half way loop and turned back. I was listening to music. All of a sudden I decided I needed a change in song and moved to the next one. GNR. WOW. Axel Ross started singing Paradise City...This song gave me so much energy and I started singing with Axel and this song just pushed me up the last climb. I had just hit the finish line when the song ended. Nothing could have been better timed yesterday.
Its really funny how something completely unexpected gives you the vigour you need on a long run. Be it a song, a friend who tells you you are doing great or a lake. All so beautiful. Makes you appreciate true beauty around you. Thats what like about running. You think you are awesome, you are so unbreakable and can do anything alone...well, running teaches you you are just the opposite. You are awesome but there is someone else who has run better than you, you can break---even the best runner has gotten crazy cramps and has had to stop and you cannot do it alone. Sure, I can run by myself, without a friend but the friend who runs with me helps me run that last km when I am tired, a stranger who cheers me fills me with encouragement and a song gives me the energy to run. Thats what I like about running. Every run (and every runner will agree) will get you not only closer and faster to the finish line in a race but will also get you closer to humility. A person who may be much faster than you will always have great things to say to you because he knows that running the 35k is not easy. He has gome through similar emotions, if not at 30k mark may be at 35k, 40k mark ...

YAY!!!!

Bangalore and Ahmadabad Blast---what do they mean to us?

Friday was indeed a day of reckoning. We were at a talk when there were these hushed whispers all over the room…five bombings in Bangalore…no no its seven…Madivala for sure. Double Road? No may be Richmond Road…and through it all we were all the perfect participants at the lecture, laughing when we should and clapping when we should. Is it because we thought, wait, this is Bangalore, Really? Bombings? May be they were rumours…Well as the country learnt that they were indeed bombings in Bangalore.

Last night watching a debate between Renuka Chaudhuri and Rajeev XXX (the spokesperson for BJP)…Huge discussion on bombings of course. Of course they were really upset…BJP this and Congress that, they argued. Really, who cares a fuck if it’s a political party led bombing….the final result is that 50 people lost their lives (of course they were compensated…isn’t their life worth atleast Rs 5 lakhs) and lots were physically injured. (their injuries were worth Rs50,000) I do not use the word physically injured lightly here. The number of people injured mentally were billions. These bombings did exactly what they were meant to- create insecurity in the minds of the common man.

What happened after 9/11? The entire country united against the terrorists. I didn’t hear what the Republicans did and what the Dems didn’t do. Rudy was a Republican and what he did for NY was in no way connected to Republicans. What we went through in San Fran, uniting against the threats on the Golden Gate Bridge, the assurances we received from all that we are going to be ok. We can go on having faith in our police, in our politicians, in our teachers and preachers …this was what kept the US alive…fighting against terrorism. When is that going to happen here? Who is crediting the bomb squads who are risking their lives to unwire live bombs? Who is thinking of their lives? Is anyone saying thank you? No. All, we are having is two politicians on National TV calling each other names, behaving like children setting in minds of the viewers a further lack of security.

I am definitely confused about my future. On one hand, I want to do all the things I always wanted to do. Isnt life so unpredictable? Who knows when I might die? I deserve to be happy. I need to quit work and follow my passions. On the other hand, can I do so? After all if I can die so can Sudarshan, right? What about Sujay? Should I quit my work so that I can spend my time being a great mom. After all, with life being so unpredictable, shouldn’t I spend my time with Suj. And what about more children? Should I even bother? What if I die? Will Sudarshan be able to look after two children on his own. What if he dies? Will I be able to cope with two children on my own? See, all these question…they never occurred to me. I was happy. Not worrying about things like life, death, insurance but now all my decisions and big ones especially seem to be tainted with the negativity that has arisen due to the bombings. If I can be dealing with these kind of questions, I am sure atleast half the country is thinking of the same. Obviously the terrorists have won, haven’t they? They have managed to mentally injure billions of people.

WHAT???

In papers today.....









The truth however....