Chp 234. Goa Fest 2009

Just got back from Goa Fest 2009 – We won the SILVER ABBYs for best website category, and BRONZE ABBYs for best VIRAL! Wooohoooo!

Apart from these, two other webchutney creatives were among the highly coveted nomination list for India’s most prestigious and reputed “Abbys” Awards – aptly termed the OSCARS of Indian Advertisement Awards!



Look Ma! I’m on Stage!

THE ADVERTISING CLUB BOMBAY ABBY 2009 AT GOAFEST
CATEGORY:17(A) INTERACTIVE DIGITAL ADVERTISING : WEBSITE
NO.	AGENCY	BRAND AND CAPTION	AWARD
32.	JWT India	The Times Of India - Run/Ban Jallikatu	GOLD
37.	Webchutney	Axe Dark Temptation - Axeoggy	SILVER
15.	OgilvyOne WorldWide	Nokia - Way we Work	BRONZE
5.	Interactive Avenues Marketing Solutions Pvt. Ltd.	Travelocity.com - Be An Explorer	BRONZE

You can see the list of winners for various categories here: adclubbombay. O&M lead with 50 Abby’s followed by JWT India with 24. For us digital Ad agencies, we had just two categories, and we got an award in both. Next year, we’ll be back for the two Golds.

Click on picture for higher resolution:



Yeah, clichéd as this might sound, the award was heavier than I thought!



Goa was funnnnnn. Had an amazing time. Crappy journey though. Our ACD Nishi renamed the Tour company “Jaya Travels” as “Jyada Travels” and Jonathan added the Slogan – “Jyada Travels – Making you travel More!” – Because we spent 18+ freaking hours on the road!

Comfortable deluxe AC Bus and all, but taking 18+ hours when others could make it in 12+ hours was simply… torture.

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Goa Fest 2009 was held at Cavelossim Beach, but we preferred Palolem Beach as our destination because of the “Shack culture” over there. And boy did we make the right decision! *evil grin*

Staying right by the beach along with hundreds of other tourists was definitely what the doctor ordered to cure office stress. Of course for the other guys (like Ryan), other “stuff” might have “stressed” a bit more due to the “view”, but for me, it sure as hell was relaxing and peaceful.

Some of us stayed at “Big Bamboo” while the rest of us camped at “Big Fish”. Both were equally amazing.



Here’s the Big Bamboo gang mesmerized by the scenery in front of them



Boss is thinking of virals… a very different kinda virals.



“Big Bamboo” even went digital!!!





And here is the other end of the Beach – where the other half of us stayed at “Big Fish”.



Nothing like sitting on those chairs right on the beach with a breezer and a newspaper early in the morning after a heavy night of fenny. I could intrinsically hear symphonic-goth-metal music playing in my head because of the immense beauty & idyllic serenity lying in front of me.



Amazing shacks I’m kidding you not. Even Veera wasn’t feeling husband-sick for a couple of minutes!



Definition of fun? It differed from person to person



After sunset, there were none of those famous Goan bonfire parties at this side of the beach, but there were a lot of Shack parties everywhere. We “shack-hopped” from one place to the other, not even remembering where all we went…



I could have sworn I was speaking fluent German, Spanish, French and Polish at one point of the night. Must be the fenny!



I think there was some mystical cult ritual of sorts going on in the above picture. Anyhoo, I had a blast with fenny, as promised in my previous post. Loved it - both cashew fenny and coconut fenny. The bartender gifted me an empty bottle in the end as a souvenir for (apparently) finishing an entire bottle all by myself! Lolz.

I think he was lying.



Here is me, still feeling the buzz of fenny

Removed my clothes brazenly. Got sun-burnt terribly.



On Saturday morning, we went for a long boat ride visiting all the exotic places around the area like Honeymoon beach, Monkey island, etc and watched dolphins jump out of the water just 5 metres away from us! The scene was truly breathtaking!

Here we are getting ready for the trip. We went in two boats.







Swam on Honeymoon beach too and it was a very romantic swim. Ok I know that sentence didn’t make any sense but I had to talk like that to keep the Goa spirit alive!

Showered and changed the moment we returned and we all went to the Goa Fest for the Grand Abby’s presentation. That was when we won silver and bronze as mentioned at the beginning of this post.

Below are some of my bosses and their happy happy faces.



Hihihi… dude on extreme left is our Tech Head Saket, more famously known as Vulturo in the Indian cyber village. He rocks



Even Madhu, the Capital-18 guy smiled. Which means our recession pay-cut is soon going to be lifted. Wooohooo! Just kidding, but it sure was one heck of a small world when our investor turned out to be my batch-mate from B-School! Lolz. Yeah you should have seen how surprised and shocked we both were that night.

The best part of Goa Fest 2009? The amazing giant outdoor party by the beach filled with funky peeps everywhere conducted on two gargantuan dance floors with two different sets of DJ. House and trance had to be played, after all, it’s an Ad agency party (and if you can’t figure out why I said that, then you are not cut out for advertisement )

I had around 16 liquor coupons left at the end of the party which I didn’t utilize! The food was amazingggg too and the length of the buffet tables stretched for almost a mile! (at least that’s what it felt like at 4 in the freaking morning after dancing your brains out)



Love this next picture! Guess who?



I could have sworn I saw a girl with light bulbs flashing everywhere on her dress on the dance floor, with wings on her side (!) and a face of an angel, but then I thought I must have been hallucinating due to… my age, until I saw this pic again. Phew, what a relief! She really was there!



Here’s a masterpiece snap taken by Mr. Jonathan, our in-house voyeur photographer! (Some say he’s the guy behind desibaba…)



How I wish I had taken my friend Zualbonez’s advice in my previous post who commented, “Go to the beach with a towel and oil bottle and say you’re a masseur. That’s a definite babe-magnet.” Lolz! Top that up with this whole mystical “Kimasutra” theory and I’m King Solomon for a day!

I’ll end this post with a quick limerick

            Standing all alone in the waters of Goa,
            trying to avoid a snake or a barracuda.
            I suddenly turned around
            hearing a hissing sound…
            It was the CEO relieving his Anaconda!




Wooohooo!!! Goa roxxx, webchutney roxxx, our CEO roxxx, and we’ll be back next year for our two Golds. Keep that in mind peeps!

Chp 233. April 2009.

Wife ran home crying,
            with her skirt torn and face all bloody!
I jumped up in shock
            still a bit tipsy from a glass of toddy.


I held her close;
            she blurted out, “Our Landlord raped me!”
Out I ran to him
            and into his heart my knife plunged deeply.


Satisfied, I ran back,
            to find my honey sitting on the stool.
I tried to console her
            when suddenly she screamed out: April Fool!








Happy April Fool’s Day everyone!!!





Am off to Goa tomorrow for the exclusive and most prestigious Goa Fest 2009!



An all-expense-paid trip to Goa – Four nights of reveling and partying and rubbing shoulders with (creative) professionals from reputed marketing, advertising, media, research and PR fraternities including big shot Ad-Gurus and head honchos of Indian & foreign agencies amidst the exotic Goan beaches and unlimited feni!



See you all on Monday, peeps! Woohoooooo!

Chp 232. Are you (alcoholic) manic depressive?

A couple of masturbations ago, I wrote about how creative people are highly prone to mental breakdown - Creative people & Mental breakdown

I mentioned briefly about Elizabeth Gilbert’s pep-talk on how creative people should deal with stress, and also asked whether bipolar disorder causes an increase in creativity or whether those who have exceptional levels of creativity are prone to developing bipolar disorder.

(And if my opening line “A couple of masturbations ago” is still lingering at the back of your head and bothering you, relax. It’s just a test to see if you are able to concentrate on a topic or not - something that many people suffering from manic depression are unable to do so.)

I came across this site “All about Life” while I was researching on this topic. What is downright scary is that I have all the symptoms for Manic Depression listed on that site!

But then again, just like horoscopes where every predictions apply to just about anybody regardless of whether the person belongs to a particular sun sign or not, such medical symptoms too apply to many people who DO NOT suffer from that particular disease.

Given below are the symptoms of Manic depression:

1. Increased energy, activity, and restlessness

YES. I am usually in an extremely restless mode. This has been much more prominent ever since I joined this industry. When I spend the weekends at my friends’ places, they all tell me the same thing, that I am highly hyperactive throughout the day & night, and warn me that it will be tough for me to find a life partner because she will find it difficult keeping up with all the things that I do!

2. Excessively ‘high,’ overly good, euphoric mood

YES. Our former Branch Head officially announced that “I was high on Life”! As soon as I wake up early in the morning, I can listen to my favorite Heavy Metal song and head-bang all the way to work. Put me in the center of a party and I will create the loudest noise. “Do you ever get tired?” is the question I hear the most.

3. Distractibility, can’t concentrate well

YES. Especially if there is a you-know-who wearing a you-wish-none inside my head. Apart from that, I have the habit of zoning out completely while I am in the middle of something else. There I was suddenly watching the ants crawling on the wall and mindlessly staring at them and wondering who the leader among those ants was and if they had individual names, mesmerized by the rhythm and pattern of their tiny feet movement which were almost hypnotic and taking me through a psychedelic trance, when suddenly the missus screamed out, “Are you done yet?”

4. Racing thoughts and talking very fast

YES. YES. YES. Many times I end up blabbering because my tongue cannot keep up with the words that flood my head. Sometimes I skip total sentences on the phone, so while it makes perfect sense to me, the other person on the line is completely lost! (To my dear friend somewhere out there: When I said “I wonder what you’re wearing in the middle of the night”, I actually meant to say “I wonder what the church has to say about the fact that you’re practicing voodoo while wearing those weird cult dresses in the middle of the night”.)

5. Jumping from one idea to another

YES. And in my line of work, this is a necessity sometimes. Open your mind and think out of the box. Build up one idea from the other until you create a giant idea - A killer concept.

6. Little sleep needed

YES!!! People are often shocked when they find out I sleep just 4-5 hours a day, and sometimes even less. I always thought it was a habit, after all I used to be a sportsperson back in school & college and sleep was a luxury I couldn’t afford because I wanted to perform well in academics while taking part in tournaments at the same time.

7. Increased sexual drive

Sexual drive? YES! After all, I am only human just like everybody else (including my neighbor’s dog that just won’t stop humping the poor telephone pole). Increased sexual drive? Hmmm… that’s difficult to say. As the saying goes, “It takes two to tango and conclude if the other person’s sexual drive has increased or not.” Ok I just made the last part up, but you catch my drift right?

8. Spending sprees

YES oh YES! One of my many weaknesses, because… confession time: I love shopping! I may be one of the very few guys who love to shop, although I shop like how typical guys shop “Look – Love – Buy - Leave”. I hate bargaining or looking around for better items, but nevertheless I always hit the mall twice or thrice a week.

9. Poor judgment

YES. I’ve always judged my relationships to be true and ever-lasting, and that I’ve finally met THE ONE. But in the end I’m always proven wrong, usually with a broken heart or a broken arm, or both.

10. Unrealistic beliefs in one’s abilities and powers

YES. I’ve always dreamt of flying and saving damsels in distress by the hundreds, even today, like a modern day Superman (not so much the cross-dressing part though). Back when I was a child, I used to fantasize about being either Flash Gordon or Conan the Barbarian. Loved those two characters and I still do even today! I’d give anything to be in their shoes (or Conan’s huge furry & smelly boots for that matter).

11. Extreme irritability

YES. And I kinda blame the Industry I’m in for this. There is nothing more irritating than coming up with a brilliant pitch/campaign and everybody loves it including your harshest critics and even the people you know from competing advertising agencies love it and you are damn sure this will definitely sell so you slog your ass off day in and night out to make it absolutely perfect… BUT in the end, dear client simply cannot see the logic behind it and rejects the proposal. Aaaaarghhh!

12. Provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior

YES …sometimes. I can control my temper now, pretty well. Back in college, I held the dubious distinction of being ejected from a basketball match the most number of times. Seldom was a match played where I was inside till the very last second! But then, those were the days I could dunk, and just like how I cannot even jump 1 feet above the ground now, my anger is nowhere to be seen today.

13. Abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications

YES. And I need not elaborate on this.

14. Denial that anything is wrong

YES, so says my mother, every time she wants to win an argument

Now wait a minute… yeah even all my ex’es used to say the same thing!

“Something is wrong with our relationship!”
“No darling, nothing is wrong.”

One week later…
“Kim, I am going to Darjeeling for the weekend with… John.”
“Sure honey, there is nothing wrong in that. Enjoy.”

One month later…
“Kima, I’m pregnant. With John’s child.”
“That’s lovely, sweetheart. See, there is nothing wrong with our relationship!”

…

15. Lasting period of behavior that is different from usual

YES. Like how my closest friends say about me, I am definitely not predictable. In fact one of my ex-girlfriends told me I was boring because my unpredictability is so predictable! (Women - who will ever understand them?) I get bored easily with anything that I do (which should not be mistaken for “I lose interest”) Hence I do other things, a lot of other things, and get back to the first thing only later. Like that I keep rotating things around me so as not to slip into insanity.



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There you have it on paper. I’m manic depressive according to the website, although I’m sure many of you would have said YES to most of the points as well.

So, how about you?

If you are extremely stressed with work, do the above test and let me know how you fare. How many NOs and YESes do you have for the above 15 points? Would love to hear your elaboration too.

Cheers.

Chp 231. Tea isn’t my cup of tea!

To tea or not to tea, that is the question. A light humor post.

Some of you may find this post a bit frivolous, but to me it is something that has always affected me deeply, especially when I am in Mizoram.

I’m a Mizo.

And I don’t drink tea.

See, I can already hear you all gasping! How can a Mizo not like tea, you’re thinking now, right? Well, I guess I am among the very few Mizo minorities who despise tea solely because of its taste.

I hate tea. Hate it, hate it, hate it.

And in our Mizo community, it is almost a given that every Mizo drinks tea, such to an extent that whenever you visit anybody, your host will serve you tea immediately without even asking if you drink tea or not. That is the Mizo hospitality.

Hence tea becomes a part of our daily lives. It gets embedded in our culture. It is served whenever guests visit other people or when a young pimple-faced Romeo visits his lady love at her house (with her parent’s consent of course). It is served at every Church functions, School and college programs, funerals, weddings, exam halls, community feasts etc.

We become this big pile of… tea drinking tea loving tea freaks.

And whenever I visit a friend for the first time or hang out at the house of somebody I’ve just met, their folks will immediately serve tea. And I feel so bad declining after they have already MADE the tea.

“Uh… I’m so sorry… I don’t… urrmmm… drink tea.”

They would look at me strangely…

“Are you a Seventh Day Adventist?” they would ALWAYS enquire

[ * 7th Day Adventists, one of the many Protestant denominations in Mizoram, are prohibited from drinking tea (or coffee or alcohol or eat pork for that matter) due to their strict dietary laws. ]

“No no, I’m not a Seventh Day”, I would grin back nervously. “I just don’t like tea”.

“Don’t LIKE tea?” they would ask, with a lot of exaggerated melodramatic stress on the “LIKE” as if to say it is sacrilegious to hate tea. And then with a fake plastic smile they would whisk away my tea, grumbling to themselves why the hell I never informed them in the first place that I didn’t drink tea BEFORE they made the frigging tea.

Yeah rittteee. You want me to come to somebody’s house for the first time and pompously announce not to make tea for me without even properly introducing myself? That sounds even worse!

Anyhoo, I guess that is the big problem I face in Mizoram. Mothers don’t want me serenading their daughters because they think I’m weird since I don’t drink tea and fathers assume I must be drinking “something” else instead of tea.

Smart dads!

I don’t like tea because I don’t like it. Period. It’s a personal preference and sometimes it is a little hard (and a wee bit frustrating) making people accept the fact that I don’t like tea.

I was brought up in South India, so I used to drink coffee, coffee and more coffee every day. Had coffee for breakfast, after lunch, after dinner, before and after a basketball match, I even had coffee while having coffee The Tamilians just love their coffee and I became a part of them. That is basically my story. The Mizo Man who went up a Tamil Hill but came down a coffee infested Mountain.

And when I tell people I loveeeee Ice Tea, I always get the same question, “Then how come you don’t like normal (sic.) tea if you like ice tea?”

And out goes my retort: “You like beer? Chilled beer?”

“Oooh yeahhh!”

“Well, suppose I boil this beer and give it to you, would you drink it?”

“Ewwww. NO!”

“I rest my case.”

And believe me, the complexity of this whole matter does not end here. Whenever I stay over at any of my friend’s pads, I have to take my own sachet of coffee powder because coffee is nonexistent in most Mizo households. That’s bad. It’s like you invite a guest over and that person brings along his own toothpaste… now how does THAT make you feel?

And it gets even worse from here. I’m talking about relationships. A deep meaningful relationship that always ends in disaster because I refuse to drink tea while the missus prefer tea over coffee. You may think, “Whats the big deal? Just make two separate cups every day, one tea, one coffee.”

Hah! Trust me, that’s easy for you to say. Sure, it’s not a big deal when the missus or I do that once, or twice, or thrice. It’s no big deal when we do it for a week, even a month. But try doing it for an entire year and you will know what I’m talking about. The frustration that creeps in is undeniable.

“Jenny darling, can you pass me the ketchup?”

“What the bloody hell do you think I am your freaking bitch-slave making coffee for you all day long!!???”

“Huh?”



Oh right, I did mention this was a light-humor post. Cheers (raise coffee mug)


Maybe… just maybe… a day will come when a damsel in shining armor rescue this knight in distress away from his tea-coffee imbroglio. Maybe that’s what people call true love. Until that day comes, I will remain a stubborn coffee drinker. Cheers once again.

Chp 230. Manure down 4-1, Arse up 4-0!

I missed the Manure - Liverpool match because I had to show my friend Ben around Colaba, South Mumbai, before dropping him off at the airport. But I was continuously updated with the score thanks to fellow-hardcore-gunners fan Amos and that definitely made my day! Well done Liverpool! You gave me the most memorable and pleasant 1 hour 45 minutes of text messaging in my life.

I received the first sms about Ronaldo’s penalty, and I was like “Noooooooooo!” but after that, every time I received an sms I was screaming out “Yesssss!” in jubilation. 4-1, what a whipass! As usual, none of my Manure fans friends picked up my calls! Bwahahaha!

Well played indeed, Reds. For a moment I was even actually thinking, “Now that Manure lost, I won’t take it so bad if Blackburn beat Arsenal”. Lolz, of course that thought came and went quickly but it definitely made me wonder if my hate for Manure is greater than my love for Arsenal!!!

I rushed home just in time to watch the 8:30 pm Arsenal vs Blackburn match. The moment I switched the TV on, Gunners scored! Now that’s what I call a great welcome indeed. It made me switch my TV off and on again later, hoping that I would see another goal the moment I switched it on again. lolz.

4-0. Now that’s another whipass game with a lot of drama and controversies.

Well done Oh Gunners!

Two thoughts dominated me after the match:

1. Why were Blackburn playing soooo dirty?

and

2. Good for you Eboue on those two goals, but that’s not enough to silence your critics. You just got a lucky break and I hope this doesn’t get to your head. I love you, but it’s tough not to hate you when you screw up in all most of your games. Wish you my very best in your future games, bro.

Regarding my first thought, I came to arseblog.com and he too wrote about the exact same thing! Man, that foul on Almunia was nasty. Thank God it wasn’t serious.

Here’s the clip via ArchieTL



I am pissed off with Toure (not just the skipper but was also there right next to Diouf) and the rest who did nothing when this incident took place, other than run to the ref and appeal like a baby. Comon, this is the time when you intimidate the player who committed such nasty fouls on your teammate. Where is the team spirit? I’m not suggesting that you get physical with Diouf, but why weren’t any Gunners having any heated verbal exchanges with him? That was the part I couldn’t stomach. Seriously.

Apart from that, there were many other incidences of unsportsmanship behavior from the visitors side.

Arseblog.com rightly puts it:

Nobody can complain if a game is physical because football is a physical game, but Blackburn were filthy yesterday.

Maybe it's just me but there seemed to be a deliberate tactic to go for the ankles/achilles of Arsenal players. Theo Walcott should have had a penalty when Warnock stood on the back of his foot, Jason Roberts took Kolo's boot off with the same kind of foul and Andrei Arshavin needed four stitches in his ankle at half time. Coincidence? No chance. Scumbags? Yes.

Then there was the cynical blocking, grabbing, shirt pulling to stop our attacks taking place. When Arsenal had the ball they didn't so much want the ball back as to prevent us doing anything with it.

Yeah, shame on you Blackburn, and shame on you Sam Allardyce. Why do people always try to take out the Gunners through such means just because they are younger than them? Face it all ye oldies, Gunners are better and this is definitely not the right way to set an example. Ever since Wenger started his “youth campaign” at least 30-40% of the main lineup is always out injured most of the time.

And then there’s of course that cheap dive from Pederson, which by far is one of the worst dives in football history. That was definitely a straight yellow card in my books, but just as how Diouf escaped with just a yellow on a clear red, Pederson remained unpunished too.

Watch the clip below thanks to tykj3n and be the judge yourself if this is one of the worst dives you’ve seen or not.



Ridiculous!

And it was great seeing Eboue with those two goals, which shocked all of us. Yeah, his face was soooo happy I think his own goals shocked him too! Great to see such happiness and joy on anybody. Bendtner on the other hand screwed up every chance he got. We could have easily gone 8-0 up had he found his targets.

Remember Champions League against Roma first leg? Yeah we could have won that by at least 4-0 5-0 instead of merely 1-0 thanks to all the misses by Bendtner. Because of that, the second leg match had to come down to penalties and we barely managed to get through to the quarter finals. And because of the extra-time followed by the penalties, I could go to sleep only at 4 in the freaking morning (stupid time zone difference), sleep for just 2 hours and then get up again for office. Aaargh!

More reviews and clips of goals at arsenalist.com. Catch them there if you had missed last night’s game.

Just 9-10 matches remaining this season and Manure are still leading, but they won’t be for long. Quintuplet? My ass. More like “Can-you-play”, judging from the way they played last night. 4-1. Bwahaha once more.

Great game from Arsenal too, especially with RVP & Gallas at bench, and the likes of Adebayor, Fabregas, Rosicky, Eduardo and Silvestre ( !! ) still injured. Nasri and Arshavin definitely showed the way for the green Gunners and I am sooooo looking forward to our showdown with Manure on May 16th. Prepare yourself for another ass whipping win by us, you manures.

As a parting video, here are some of the many misses of Bendtner in the game, clip via weoutthere.



Cheers!

Chp 229. Still hung-up on the HRW report :-(

Why am I still so hung-up on this issue? My friends are telling me to let it go and forget about it. “They apologized and the moment had passed,” they say. But the more I think about it, the more restless I become.

In this age of quick internet connectivity where anybody can access anything, being accused of a blatant lie like the one that is brazenly displayed in the HRW official site has caused grievous mental trauma to many Mizos.

Many of us have written to the HRW too, but none of us received a reply. Anyway, we weren’t expecting a reply and we feel much better knowing that we’ve at least brought this to their notice. Kudos to all of you who have written to the HRW once again. I salute thee.

My post The Demonization of Mizoram too received a very high visit-count and I humbly thank all my readers for that.

Below are some of the news floating around the online space after this unfortunate incident took place. It is plain sad (and a wee bit pathetic) that prominent news agencies like BBC, AP, Reuters, FoxNews etc that were extremely quick to highlight this HRW report and splash it all across their front-page, did not bother to publish the HRW’s explanation at all!



Anyway, here you go, some of the news related to this topic.


zeenews.com reported:

Chins living in Mizoram on Wednesday expressed regret over allegations of discrimination and maltreatment against them in the Human Rights Watch (HRW) website.

Representatives of more than 20 chin organisations including leaders of church denominations said that their community is happy with the treatment from their Mizo cousins.

newkerala.com reported:

“We are grateful to the kindness and hospitality being shown to us by our Mizo cousins in India’s Mizoram. We strongly condemn such baseless information provided to the global human rights group that tarnished the image of the Mizos. We will find out who had disseminated such wrong information,” Cheery Zahau, co-ordinator of Women League of Chinland said here today.

“With the Indian government refusing to give refugee status to the thousands of Chin refugees staying in Mizoram, we will have no place to go if Mizos are hostile to us,” she added.

Rozathang, president of Zo Human Rights Global Network, also said, “We are extremely sorry for what has been mentioned in the HRW’s website. We will hold the responsibility while at the same time we apologise to the Mizo people.”

Mizzima: Mizos blame Chins for HRW Report:

The Young Mizo Association (YMA), a social organization in Mizoram state, on Tuesday, at a meeting with at least 23 Chin organizations demanded they refute a human rights report on Mizo’s treatment of Chin published by HRW.

“He [Zoremthanga, President of CYMA] said that HRW's report on YMA and Mizo authorities is not true and is exaggerated,” said the representative adding, “He asked us to apologize for the report.”

Chin state in western Burma and India’s Mizoram state share a porous border of about 400 kilometers. Traditionally, the Chin and Mizos regard each other as ancestral cousins and there has been constant interaction between the two communities despite international boundaries separating them.

And the Mizos were the first community in India to have staged a mass rally in support of the monk-led protest in Burma in September 2007 and condemned the Burmese junta for its brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.

Mizzima: Report not aimed at Chin, Mizo confusion: HRW:

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia researcher of the US-based Human Rights Watch said the report focuses on the persecutions suffered by the Chin people in Burma and the subsequent difficulties faced in fleeing their homeland and does not aim at creating a misunderstanding between the two communities – Chins and Mizos.

“YMA felt that Chins who talked to us have disgraced them, though they had helped them. But YMA should take a look from the human rights point of view,” Ganguly said.

She said it is a fact that Chin people receive help from the Mizo people as they flee their home country, but HRW, as a human rights group, had documented the lack of protection by state agencies for any form of violation against the Chin people.

Ganguly said, “No Chin had ever complained to us about the Mizos.”

"Mizo people certainly help Chin people. That's why so many Chin people are living in Mizoram. Chin people also praised the Mizos for having helped them" Ganguly said.

And e-Mizoram, which in my books is the BEST source of Mizoram related online news today, reported (in Mizo) courtesy ZALEN newspaper:

Chin Community in Mizoram (CCM) thuchhuain a tarlan dan chuan Human Rights Watch, Thailand-a awm ten January ni 28, 2009 khan Bangkok-ah report an tlangzarh a, he report zingah hian Mizoram mipuite chungchang belhchian dawllo tak thuziak a awm tih sawiin an dem takzet thu an puang a. Hetiang hian an sawifiah nghal bawk.

HRW report (252)-a YMA-in Chin mite Mizoram atanga hnawhchhuahna order a siam anga thu ziak hi diklo taka ziak a ni a. Hetianga thuchhuah hi Central YMA in a siam kan hre lo. September 2008-ah Mizoram atanga hnawchhuahna order avanga chhuak an awm lo.

HRW report (263)-a Mizote rilru puthmang anga thuziak ‘Chin mi pakhat tihhlum hi ui pakhat tihhlum tluk lek a ni’ tia an ziak hi, Mizo mipuite hmuhsitna leh an zahawmna tihbawrhban theihna thuziak a ni a. He ngaihdan hi Mizote rilru puthmang ang lo taka ‘Report’ hi Zo Hnahthlak unaute inkara inhmuh thiamlohna thlen thei, tawngkam chhe tak a nih avangin kan dem takmeuh a ni.

HRW report (285/286)-a tarlan, "Chin mite tan thlanmual hran, khaw pawnah Mizo-ten an siamsak" tia an tarlan hi thu dik a ni lo. Riangvaite thlanmual hi tu tih hriat loh leh ruang latu awm lo mitthu te tana sorkar siam a ni lo. Chin mite kan thih hian kan awmna veng thlanmualah YMA buaipuia vui kan ni. Chuvangin, Chin mite tana khaw pawna siamsak anga ziak hi thu belhchian dawllo a ni.

HRW Report (297,298,299)-a tarlan, India Danin naupang kum tlinglo hna thawhtir chungchangah hian retheih luat tuk avangin chhhungkaw tan naupangte pawhin hna an thawk bawk a ni. Tihluihna avanga thawk an awm hriat a ni lo.

Somehow, somewhere, there is this deep empty hollow void within me… Something is missing, and I can’t quite figure out what. I am definitely not satisfied at the way things are moving, and I’m sure many of you aren’t either. Why am I feeling this strange depression and incompleteness deep within?

Is it because of the barely little reaction from my Government? I expected a lot more from our politicians and this incident shook my entire trust and faith in these people who are supposed to lead us forward into the 21st century. Lead us where? To a future where every netizen despise us because of the lies in this report?

Is it because of the fact that the CYMA got involved? I am not a big devotee of some of the actions of the YMA, but I am not a nonconformist either as the YMA is very close to my heart and soul. Am I angry that an “NGO” had to bail us out in the end when there are other proper channels of doing it? Doesn’t this somewhat highlight the incompetency of our Government when it comes to PR?

Is it because of the apologies that flew around in the aftermath? I kept asking myself, “Is an apology from the respected Chin leaders really required?” Because first of all, the damage had been done and no amount of apologies could repair the dent in our reputation until and unless the HRW retract their report. Secondly, why should they apologize when it was clearly not them who made such ludicrous statements?

Is it because the YMA demanded an apology from the Chin community? Though that may sound like the obvious thing to do for some, there is also that feeling of a “pity apology” once an apology is made after it is demanded. Not that I am demanding or expecting an apology from the Chin community, but why was there no reaction from the Chin community before the YMA moved into the picture?

Is it because of the way the HRW said the report was not meant to taint Mizoram’s reputation and that we should look at this report from a human rights perspective? I wonder what that means. Do you? I try my best to look at this report from a “human rights perspective”, whatever that’s supposed to mean, and I still fail to see how that justifies all the lies in it. What is this “human rights perspective”? Does it mean tarnish the image and reputation of anything and anybody so as to highlight the plight of those who are abused and oppressed?


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See, that’s the irony. Not being able to substantiate what bothers me, bothers me even more!

I don’t mean to come down harshly on our newly elected Congress Government, but I am surprised there hasn’t been much of a development from their part.

I mean, if this same accusation took place in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, or any other place in India, there would already be curfews and violent hartals led none other than the local politicians who would all be quick to grab this opportunity to become the “savior of the people”.

I am not suggesting that our Mizo politicians resort to this violence, but at the same time I do wish they had done a little bit more…

Seriously, dear Congress politicos and supporters, do you have any idea how the world is looking at you now because of the HRW report?

Here’s one such report, again from the same HRW site.

Burma/India: End Abuses in Chin State

On December 2, 2008, Mizoram state elections resulted in a sweeping victory for the Indian National Congress, the country’s governing party, which has not been in power there for a decade. In the past, members of Mizoram’s Indian National Congress have called for action against Chin migrants and have been even less sympathetic than the previous state government to the plight of those fleeing human rights abuses in Burma.

Urrrmmm… any comments? Or you’re all just going to keep mum on this too? Do what you want, for nobody can force you to say anything. But do remember that when Mizoram’s name gets defiled, every Mizo’s name gets defiled too. And when that day comes, we the people will do everything in our power to correct it. We won’t wait any longer for a political figure to step up.

As for me, I will be visiting “Mizoram House” at Mumbai more frequently in the next few days because my friend Ben, Admin of misual.com is there. There is also another person I have fixed an appointment with - She is a committee member of CYMA and is extremely interested in my article and this issue. We shall discuss the steps we as an individual can take, to make the HRW take notice of our protest.

Chp 228. Creative people & Mental breakdown

Many creative people ranging from artists to writers to Admen suffer from manic depression. The remaining are also highly prone to mental breakdown due to the enormous load and stress involved at work. For those of us in the creative field, mental instability has become just another part of our usual life, because we do not follow any “normal” schedule at work.

Interesting read @ Manic-Depression.net

Is Creativity A Symptom Of Bipolar Disorder?

Numerous famous poets, writers, composers, and artists were afflicted with bipolar disorder. But, does bipolar disorder cause an increase in creativity or are those who have exceptional levels of creativity prone to developing bipolar disorder?

It is a known fact that work stress leads to depression, diabetes, heart diseases etc just to name a few.

Here in advertising, coming up with “a strong idea” at the click of the finger may not be very difficult, but coming up with twenty different such ideas and working 72 hours straight in office is what drives many of us to pouring a glass of whisky much earlier (and much more) than other people, or popping that “funny looking pill” or puffing a cigarette that doesn’t smell like one…

Another reason for a mental breakdown is when we come up with an excellent masterpiece (a painting, a movie, a song, a book, an Ad campaign, or even a blog post) and then not being able to outdo ourselves the next time no matter how hard we try while a lot of people are expecting so much from us because of our previous success…

…that can drive anybody crazy.

The other day my boss Meghana sent me this link, which I think is the best pep-talk I’ve ever heard since I joined this Industry.

“Genius” by Elizabeth Gilbert

Source: TED.com





A must watch, people. Especially those of you who are in the creative field or people who are under a lot of stress and pressure from work.

The gist of the show – basically, how to cope with failures after a brief success, or identifying “your genius” as an external element.

Elizabeth Gilbert talks about how writers and creative people have a notorious reputation of being alcoholic manic depressive with a very grim death-rate in the 20th century alone - many creative people died young at their own hands.

“Creativity and suffering are inherently linked” and “Artistry in the end always leads to anguish” are some of her quotes. “The thought that your greatest success is behind you and that you will never out-do yourself again, makes you drink gin at 9 in the morning”, she stated nonchalantly.

She looked back in time to see how creative people coped with this emotional risk. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome, the people believed creativity is not from human beings, but rather a divine spirit that comes from an unknowable source. Greeks (like Socrates) called it daemons. Romans called it genius.

Hence due to this transcendent being, a person was under a much lesser stress (if his work was lame, it’s simply because his genius/daemon was lame!) and it also brings about humility instead of narcissism as the artist couldn’t take all the credit if his work was a grand success (“his genius/daemon did all the work while he just sat on his fat ass the whole day”) !!

It was only during the dawn of the renaissance that rational thinking set in and people “realized” it was man who was creative and not a spirit. Elizabeth felt this was a HUGE mistake and hence the reason why young creative minds today go mad and die early.

She also talks about the experiences of notable poetess Ruth Stone and musician Tom Waits, who have both experienced this external force of creativity trying to “thunder through their body” and that if they didn’t find a paper and pen in time to scribble out the experience, they would miss “it”. Seriously, how many times have you experienced this sudden formation of ideas within your head for no reason at all, sometimes at the oddest hours? I have, many times, especially in the loo.

I think I can sum up Elizabeth Gilbert’s final message as this: Instead of believing creativity comes from you, if you start believing your creativity is just on a loan from somebody, this way of thinking will change everything for you, giving you much more peace and serenity within yourself and at work.

Touché!

I’ve been trying a lot these days to think in this manner, and believe me, treating “genius” as an external entity has helped a lot. Boss calls me to office and asks sternly, “Why the hell were you browsing porn from office?” and I calmly reply, “Hey, don’t blame me boss! It was my genius at work.”



Ok all jokes aside, I think this is a brilliant idea. Try to treat “genius” as an external being, although take care that you don’t develop a Multiple Personality Disorder while doing it (don’t give him a name or talk to him when you are alone, for starters!)

Relax and don’t panic or strain yourself when you’re not able to come up with anything for a particular client. Just consider it as one of those days your genius drank a little too much the previous night with his genius pals in the local genius tavern and is still passed out back home. Take a deep breath and wait for your genius to recover and come back to you.

Peace out.

Chp 227. The demonization of Mizoram

“Oh brother, why have you tarnished my name?”


North East India is a complexity that outsiders will struggle to understand, simply because most of us from this region itself don’t understand our own complexities.

It is on such occasions that we look on to experts and academia for their pedantic researches. Stereotypes are easy to manufacture when ignorance persists, especially if defamation spits out venom in the form of unprofessional biased Reports.

The recently published HRW (Human Rights Watch) report had done just that – demonized the peace-loving state of Mizoram and horrified people all over the world into believing Mizoram is as bad as Afghanistan or Uganda.



I edited the above map from the HRW site for easier understanding. The area marked in yellow is Burma, including the blue area which are the Chin states. The area in red is Mizoram, a part of India which shares 404 KM long border with Burma (40% of Mizoram’s entire border).

Mizos, Chins and many others in this region share the same ancestry but are divided by an International border and a few dialect differences.

These people in the Chin states of Burma face extreme torture under the evil Thatmadaw (Burmese Army) regime and frequently flee to Mizoram to escape persecution. Everybody knows what is happening in Burma but nobody is willing to do anything about it. The Chin cause is like the Tibetan cause – Lost. It becomes a dinner-table conversation topic, and remains just that.

Just like Biafra, or Rwanda, or North Korea, people exclaim… “oh shittt…” when they hear the news. And then they carry on with their lives. Sure, people like you and me may not have the power to change the world, but Super Powers can… oh wait, I forgot. There ain’t no oil in those places. Stupid me.


Recently the HRW filed a report on the Chin people, aptly termed “We are like forgotten people”.

We are like forgotten people – Part 5 - Life for Chin in Mizoram.
http://www.hrw.org/en/node/79892/section/8


The content under section 5, called “Life for Chin in Mizoram” was terrifyingly disturbing. Keep reading this post to know what I’m talking about.

Meanwhile, I respectfully urge the HRW to take notice of this too. This is not one of those pompous “Open letter to somebody who’s not going to give a damn” articles. But I do need to address the people responsible for this report in a very direct and personal way.

Dear Amy Alexander, Sara Colm, Elaine Pearson and the rest of you who had dedicated their life to such a noteworthy cause as the HRW, I just wish to convey my utmost support and commendation for the admirable work that you’ve been doing in the name of humanity.

Having said that, I would also like to convey my disappointment on the quality of work rendered at the section “Life for Chin in Mizoram” in your article “We are like forgotten people”.

I wouldn’t exactly call it shoddy, but it definitely reeked of favoritism and lacked any mature signs of professionalism.

Believe me, my heart and sympathy go out to the Chin people. But you didn’t have to take Mizoram down just to exhibit and magnify their plight.

Your report: “Life for Chin in Mizoram” couldn’t have been more one-sided!

You’ve branded Mizoram and the Mizos as a devil-incarnate in your report, like the kind of villains Rambo would shoot down with no mercy if his latest movie was extended for another 10 minutes. Everything was negative about Mizoram, right from the very beginning to the afterthought. Believe me, that negativity will linger in anyone’s mind after reading it. In that page alone, Mizoram was mentioned 233 times.

233 times of mostly criticisms, vile dirty criticisms about Mizoram.

Everything was so biased, with no actual research done to hear the other side of the story. Well, let me be that voice for you, if you think I’m not worthy of an interview since I’m not one of those persecuted by the Junta.

Starting with the very first point on that page:

“Here [in India] I am like a prisoner. Even though India is the biggest democratic country, staying in India is like staying in prison: no freedom, no happiness, no money to take care of my family.”

-Chin refugee living in New Delhi, India [236]

First of all, we’re talking about a Chin refugee living in DELHI and the problem he faced with India as a country. So why was this issue placed right under “Life for Chin in MIZORAM” section as if to single out Mizoram or somehow imply that Mizos were responsible for the treatment he received in Delhi?

Secondly, let us put aside (for a moment) the discrimination he faced in Delhi. FYI, not only Mizos from Mizoram but the entire Northeastern community face such discriminations in mainland India especially in Delhi. If the refugee felt he was treated badly, he should know that even WE face that same treatment and many of us still feel like a stranger in our own country.

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Regarding all those lines and paragraphs about how Chin people in Mizoram are discriminated when it comes to jobs and salaries, I wonder why Ms. Amy Alexander never MENTIONED in the report that the Mizos in Mizoram THEMSELVES are not able to find any work or jobs that pay enough, therefore many of us are forced to migrate to other parts of India looking for jobs.

That was a cheap shot, Ms. Amy, really cheap and sly.

It wouldn’t have hurt to mention in your report that the economy of Mizoram is too small and underdeveloped to maintain this large influx of Chin refugees in Mizoram, which by the way is more than 100,000. That’s roughly 10% the population of Mizoram.

10% of an entire population is not a miniscule amount, mind you.

Suppose we look at America, based on the data of “total number of refugees that enter the country every year” from NCELA and US Dept of Health and Human Serivces - Office of Refugee Resettlement, the total number of refugees who entered America between 1988 and 2008 (the same period of time when Chins came to Mizoram) is roughly 1,300,000 which is just around 0.5% of the Country’s population.

And Mizoram is not even comparable to America in terms of development. There must be at least more than 100,000 Americans whose personal asset value individually is more than the collective wealth of all the Mizos put together. Many people now feel that if this is the response Mizos are getting from the World community, then Chins are always free to move to neighboring states like Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Tripura etc.

Do the maths, dear Ms. Amy. Mizoram – high unemployment among youth – lack of opportunity – lack of modern technology – lack of MNCs and other private sectors – saturated government services – no means of self development - restless youth everywhere with qualifications but no job openings… When we can’t even feed our own mouth, why do you crucify us for not being able to feed the Chin people?

Seriously, it is fine by me if you mention about this issue, as long as you also mention in the same sentence about our current situation. Our Chin brothers need all the help they can get from anyone who are ABLE to provide them. But by avoiding that fact, it looks like you’re just trying to win the sympathy of “overloaded philanthropists” who have no idea what or where Mizoram is.

This is completely hogwash, ma’am.

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This is another quotation many of us fail to digest, and has caused a huge furor not just in the Zo online community but back home too.

The way [the Mizos] think is that killing a Chin person is like killing a dog. It is not that serious.

- One Chin woman.

All I can say is, Whaaaaat????

Everybody’s totally shocked at such a statement because this goes way beyond anyone’s most vivid imagination. How could any normal sane human-being say that?

Due to this, we had to moderate and delete many comments that poured in at our discussion forums. Comments like, “If that’s how they feel and how the World is going to look at us now, might as well…”

I don’t even want to continue typing such disgusting comments…

See the seed you’ve planted?

This report definitely alienated the Mizos further away from the Chins and we tried our best to control the damage by removing provocative comments that poured in regularly.

And with such reports highlighted in Reuters, BBC, FoxNews, AP (Associated Press) and many more, the world is now going to look at us in a completely different way.

Like what many Mizos and Mizo expatriates commented, sometimes people exaggerate a lot so that they can get a refugee status as quick as possible from developed countries and migrate there. No offence intended to all my Chin brothers who had migrated to other Countries – I know the treatments you’ve faced in Burma are genuine. But is it really this bad in Mizoram? Is this how you really feel we consider you all as? I need to know this, straight from your heart.

I would really LOVE to meet this Chin woman who made that statement. Sit down with her for a cup of tea. Listen to her story. If she is lying, ask her why politely. If she is telling the truth, ask her to take me to this Mizo who treated her like that and take appropriate actions against him.


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And dear Ms. Amy, in your entire article you failed to mention one very IMPORTANT factor, probably the most important factor if I may say so. And that is the CRIME rate of the Chin refugees in Mizoram (mind you, I am not generalizing the entire Chin community elsewhere here).

You yourself mentioned that Mizos accepted the Chins during the first wave of migration in spite of India not being a part of either the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol.

We never complained about that influx or the many others that followed, after all, they are our brothers.

And then you started writing about how Mizos are now pushing these Chins back into Burma, like as if they are diseased or something. I admit there exists many tensions between the local population and the Chins. To deny that would be to blatantly lie in order to save one’s face. But I won’t resort to such blinded chauvinism. There is a lot of truth in your report, but the way you have reported it is completely wrong.

Yes, many Mizos aren’t exactly the best of friends with the Chins.

But in your long course of research and interviews etc, I am surprised you never took any effort to find out how this rift took place. Did you think the Mizos suddenly woke up one fine day and decided, “Hey I hate the Chins!” ???

Many crimes in Mizoram, especially burglary and drugs trafficking are committed by people from Burma. This is a fact. I am angry at my own Mizoram Government for not taking any effort to publicize this fact to the Human Rights Watch commission. People always have an unfortunate incident to narrate regarding the time they were robbed by their maid or servant from Burma. Watch the evening news about the police nabbing a thief who stole a bike or a pusher caught with drugs, and chances are, they are usually from Burma.

My family itself had been a victim on many occasions. Whenever a maidservant leaves for her home [Burma] for “vacation”, a lot of stuff from our house disappears, and she never returns. Once our maid even ran away from our house in the middle of the night taking along with her all our expensive household possessions that she could grab.

And at our farm in Neihbawih, Sihphir, two different sets of Chin caretakers ran away from our farm taking along with them our entire livestock (cows, pigs, hens etc). When the first set ran away, we rebuilt it from scratch suffering a HUGE loss. And then the same thing happened again in spite of my relatives telling my father not to hire people from Burma again.

Now our farm is completely ruined, but fortunately it is now utilized by my cousin who runs a de-addiction center [Bethesda Care Center] there, free of charge. Yes, at least those untoward incidents led to this noble venture, but the way it happened is not exactly right, don’t you also agree?

This is also the main topic of discussion regarding this issue at any Mizo discussion forum. One user called chenguaio from misual.com commented:

TO AMY ALEXANDER, incompetent self ambitious so called social worker :
my brothers and sisters come from burma, i take them in, WITH EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES.
BUT THEY SELL DRUGS TO MY KIDS, STEAL and RAPE my daughter. Madame AMY, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Believe me, Amy ma’am, this is the sentiments shared by many.

My mom is now skeptical about employing anybody from Burma, but my dad is still the same. He tries not to stereotype and has been called a fool many times whenever he pays for his principles. But I admire him for that and follow his footsteps. I abhor generalization of any kind, but I do not speak on behalf of the entire Mizoram population.

Hence with every reported crime that came in, Mizos grew further and further apart from our Chin brothers, such that all it required in the end was a single matchstick to ignite the fuse. And that was lit with the rape of a nine-year-old girl on July 17, 2003. The Mizos cried out, “Enough is enough!”.

That’s the “Quit Mizoram” movement you were talking about in your report.

Sure, many of us condemn the fact that a lot of innocent Chins had to pay for the crimes of a few, especially through mob-rule methods. But we need to look into the crux of this matter deeper.

Much as I did not support that movement, I don’t blame the Mizos. I don’t even blame the Chins who committed such crimes in Mizoram. Just like how Mizos have a reason for resorting to that, the Chins too committed such crimes because they were driven to desperation. Desperation that arises from the utterly pathetic socio-political and economic conditions back home in Burma.

Hence we need to point our fingers back at the military regime in Burma. The real bastards who are killing my brothers.

Maybe for once we can stop spreading the blame everywhere. What’s happening in Mizoram is just the ricochet caused by what’s happening in Burma. If we all concentrate our focus back to Burma alone, none of this will happen again. My brothers will be free in their own homeland, instead of being forgotten by the World.


Yours truly,
Brother of a Chin.

Chp 226. Valentine Post – The sequel.

Ok I will make this post shorter than usual.

Just to answer many of my kind friends and visitors who asked: "Why don’t you just ask a girl out?"

Well, frankly speaking, which girl would ever wanna go out with a guy like this?

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[All photographs taken on Feb 15th, 2009]











And of course the priceless one!




Cheers!

So that’s what I was doing on Valentine’s weekend - Playing around with Nicola’s MacBook "PhotoBooth" application. Jobless me!


Next Post: Trip to Daman and Udvada, Gujarat. Hope you visit again to read that. And don't stop loving each other just because V'day is gone. Peace.

Chp 225. Valentine for the Lone riders

Lovers all around me, hand in hand, with fresh red roses and whispers of sweet nothings straight out of a cheesy love song. I realize I am living the lyrics of song writer’s dream, eating every word from the pain to the overwhelming passion.

Every single line is personified, every punctuation magnified. The melodious tune renders me immobile, transporting me beyond an astral plane within my head. Love – a realization that it conquers all. No matter how much one tries to deny it, in the end we all succumb to its consummate Power.

The methodology may differ – be it a chubby young cupid in pink diapers shooting its red arrows of love, or a sultry blonde siren with blood trickling down her fangs amidst a dark gothic ambience, eventually we all fall in love with the person made for us.

The difference sometimes, is that some people have too many people made for them. Such consequences are disastrous. The casualty figure is higher than all the wars put together, after all, we die not just once when it comes to Love.

Then there are those who still haven’t found the one made for them. Like cowboys we roam the planet, whistling our song of sadness as a form of escapism. Ridiculed by those who are in love, we are like the pariah of Paradise. The wind is my only companion, and memories are all that I have of what it feels like to fall in love.

The journey ahead is still barren, like a parched land of paddy where the root refuses to sprout, not because of the lack of water, but because the farmer refuses to care for it. I’m a potter without the clay.

When Pygmalion created the statue of Galatea and fell in love with it, Aphrodite gave Life to that statue. As for me, I have already sculptured my Galatea in my head. The problem is, she comes to life and then dies again, many times. And every time she dies, a part of me dies. Others may resurrect again like the magnificent Phoenix in all its fiery glory. Me, I zombify, mentally.

And yet in spite of all the forlornness and empty talks, there is also that great freedom and euphoria about being a lone rider. The call of the wild is enticing, and like the mighty river Amazon, we cut across unexplored parts of our emotions slowly, but steadily.

Maybe in that journey we will come across a new Goddess to worship again. A new religion to follow. Someone who can make us change everything that we stand for and believe in. Never underestimate the power of a woman.

And when that day comes, there will be lightning and thunder battling with each other inside my head again, celebrating the highest achievement of mere mortals. A fusion between the darkest inhibition and the purest of all sins. An avatar of completeness. A ridiculous melodrama of never-ending bicker, yet perfectly fine and acceptable.

But until then, us lone riders will keep riding. Alone. From one sunset to the other, occasionally sending out smoke signals to reassure each other that we are not alone. An acknowledgement. A universal understanding.

A testosteral bonhomie.


Meanwhile, a happy Valentine’s Day to the rest of you.

If you like this post or you’re A Lone Rider riding towards the sunset all by yourself please feel free to digg!