My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist...

Quite like other King Khan fans... I, too, was eagerly waiting for the release of 2010's biggest movie... "My Name is Khan"...!! I was definitely hoping that this movie creates history... but not exactly in the manner that it did... :):)... I switched on the TV and MNIK was all over... on all the news channels and news papers ... and then soon on all major chat shows... discussions... twitter... blogs...and what not!! Tragically, all this coverage was not for the movie or its story... rather it was totally focused on one person... SRK... The Shah Rukh Khan...!! All this coverage... the publicity... was not in good taste... It was bad... very bad...!!

All this uproar was triggered by Shiv Sena.... they were and still are protesting against SRK... that is because he is supporting the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in IPL teams. Their weapon to achieve this goal... is to disrupt the release and running of SRK starrer MNIK...!!

First and the foremost I so totally disagree to the reason of the protest... but if for a moment I let it be...!! Still disrupting the movie doesn’t make any sense to me at all..!! What I don’t understand is ...if we are protesting against person and his ideals... then how in the world... protesting against his film serves any purpose...??? In any film... he is only playing a character... which may or may not portray his own ideals or principles...!! And more so... there are more people involved with making of a movie... they have also put in their money and soul in it... what about them... and their efforts??

Now coming to the reason ... it sounds so lame... so baseless... and so very illogical!! SRK is supporting inclusion of Pakistani cricketers... so what’s the big deal about it?? He is an individual and as an Indian.... living in India ... definitely has the freedom of expression...!! Doesn’t he...?? Shouldn’t he?? I am yet not arguing the merit of the statement made... I am just wondering... if we indeed belong to the largest democracy of the world... and are we abiding with the very core of the democracy...?? Shouldn’t we be free to speak our own mind... word our own opinions??

And then I watched the movie...only to realize... how ironic it is... to protest against this particular movie...!! P.S. - On records... I agree its typical Karan Johor... candy floss... and larger than life film...Still the innocence of the protagonist touched my heart.... The simplicity of the plot is remarkable... and the message is indeed worth the whole effort involved in making it...!! It convey a simple message ... that you should not generalize people’s character... that you must not make opinions against a person based on nationality... religion... creed... color... complexion... gender... or language...!!

If the hatred between these two nations.... India and Pakistan.... is one bitter truth... then there is another truth as well... that we share common roots... and a common beginning...!! I am no advocate of India-Pakistan peace ... and don’t believe that any effort or initiative can ever change the equation between these two nations...!! But I am a strong supporter of freedom of expression....I understand that this is my personal opinion.... and I should not influence anyone else with it or impose it on others...!!

In the movie, Mr. Khan is trying to prove...My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist... and the tragedy is that he has to prove his authenticity and patriotism in real life as well... and still we claim... that we are a free nation...Are we really??

Eleven Years... then... and now...

Yesterday... I met Sumit... after a gap of around 11 years!! Sumit is my friend from class XI-XII. Thanks to Orkut that we connected five years back... but it was not until yesterday that we actually met... except that we talked a couple of time over phone... may be!!

Eleven years... is a LONG time... indeed a very long one...!! More than a decade ... wow...!!! My family and friends who have been with me through all these years... cannot estimate how drastically I have changed over all these years...!! This is similar to the case ... where people who interact with me everyday... do not realize that I am putting on weight and all of a sudden I meet someone after 2 months... and he/she is shocked to see how much weight I have gained ... !! This is quite normal human characteristics... we adapt to delta changes and it does not catch our eyes... :):)

When we decide to meet ... it felt just normal... as I would feel when meeting anyone else...!! We had decided to meet at CP (Connaught Place,New Delhi)...  When finally I was walking towards the gate 5 of the CP metro station... where Sumit was waiting... it felt really weird...!! I felt curious... excited... scared... happy... confused... and all this at the same time!! I was unsure if we would even recognize each other.... but with all due credit to mobile phones... we could locate each other... :):)

Over these years... so many things have changes... our appearances... our personalities... our priorities... our ambitions... and us...!! :):) It’s not that I did not expect changes... I did...and it is obvious!!

In fact I am pleasantly surprised... that I experienced for myself ....the following beliefs –
- At any time, our priorities are based on the given time, space, age, and needs.
- No time or context is permanent. This too shall pass.
- Everything that happens ... happens for a reason.
- We can ONLY connect the dots when we look back and derive the reasons.

...Now...my career and my marriage top the priority list...!! I am constantly exploring as how to strike a balance between office and home...!! No more examination fever.... but now we are part of the never ending rat race... and that’s the only game we play!! We discuss... finances... and also how the US policies can impact Indian IT sector... all that serious stuff ... :)!! Now... talks are more centered on likes and dislikes of our spouses... and constant cribbing about the in-laws (P.S. my in-laws are just awesome... I absolutely don’t have any complaints:))...!!

...Then... life was all about studies and competitions.... law... engineering... and medical....!! Gossiping... girl friends... boy friends... :) ... Cards... chocolates....and roses :) ... we would discuss comics... movies... music!! We played hide-n-seek... truth or dare... and what not...!! We were immature.... but innocence was intact...!! Pocket money was always insufficient ... but we had a generous heart...!! Competition was so much... but there was no back stabbing...!! Life was so uncomplicated ... so simple!!

Now as I write... I can just go on.... I am absolutely overwhelmed... with how my life has evolved over these years...!!I am not unhappy... rather... by all standards ... I am very happy...!!I have economical independence... I have a loving spouse... I have a home to call my own... and of course I have a good job...!! Definitely ... these were my dreams then... and now they are the reality... so I have more or less achieved the milestones that I had decided for this decade...!!  Still I yearn for those bygone days... Back then... I could trust more... had more faith... and I would not think before smiling... there was no rulebook for etiquette...!!  I did not have any guidelines for managing people.... :) still I was closer to people then..!!

Meeting Sumit was a very nice experience...!! It brought back so many memories... joined so many broken links... we shared those achieved and yet-to-achieve dreams... and we laughed over those long forgotten jokes...!! How we came first and second in the class... and he had issues that a girl beat him at exams :)...!! We just couldn't finish talking... there was so much to share...!! 

We have grown... over all these years... and we have changed... but for those 2-3 hours... it felt as if we were transported back to our old school days... and it was definitely so much fun :)