Facial Creams or Racial Creams ? Know before you use it !

One day as I kept working on my routine schedule, a colleague casually called me and said, "Hey buddy! your face looks darker than before. You seem to have lost complexion after settling down in Oman.". In a rather disinterested way, I shook my head in affirmation carrying a gentle smile.That thought continued to perturb me for a while. I began to reckon deeply within only to find an alarming reply intuitively.

The connecting mind-links drove back to the years of 'apartheid', where the entire South African continent was badly inflicted with chronic racial discrimination. The protocol was, if you had a dark-skin-complexion , by all possible means you were dominated, ruled and suppressed by the Whites. Their freedom was completely curtailed and they came under the control of fair-skinned specie. Later of course, thanks to the black leader of South Africa, Nelson Mandela who fought against racism in the country and inspired the future generation for a change.

Yes ! I agree that was history ! but as you all know, history has a lousy way of repeating itself. Never before has racism taken a rather nastier invisible shape as now, which in my opinion, is beyond rebuttal.

Perception of less fair and dark-colored people have literally undergone a paradigm shift. Facial massages, skin-whitening, glowing face-creams, white radiance, brighter and healthier face cleansing, etc have turned out to be lucrative businesses of this era. In today's world, the thin line of awareness sunk-in all age-groups is that, "if you want to please somebody, aim to have white-complexioned skin". Its no exaggeration to say that, even dark dogs are not preferred as pets by many. Then, you may imagine the state of human beings !


Truly speaking, the current younger generation (also, oldies striving to become young) are so crazily enticed to the facial creams and whitening formulas, that they would neither encourage 'DARK SPOTS' nor 'DARK COMPANY' around them. They just don't like to hang around with blacks and if had a go, would try to embarrass and put them down to shame. What is just not acceptable and haunts to me always is, even a seemingly fair guy / gal would thrust upon his / her thoughts on the subdued dark-complexioned fellowmen. In other words, they would just employ any kind of influential gimmicks to get their , unmindful of treating them as slaves.



The idea of writing this controversial blog is not to tickle your sensitive membranes, but, to nip in the bud, such cruel thoughts and barbaric actions. I humbly appeal to all, to accept skin-color as it is without much tweaking to deserve attention, and refrain from all such merciless inhuman behavior.

Note: The writer of this blog does not recommend to discontinue use of facial creams and other whitening products. His idea is only to share a social thought to the best of his knowledge and interest.

Why not a weekend to Bangkok ???

                                         Weekends are quite normal, but the one that is really special is an 'extended weekend'. You don't normally rub your brains for enjoying in a regular weekend, but there is always a natural inquisitive flair attached to an extended weekend.The forthcoming weekend, being one such, I began reckoning deeply how to utilize it to the best possible entertaining way (Ouch! hold on! now stop imagining obnoxious things ! refrain from pondering over night parties / pubs or  hang outs, etc etc! ). May be at the end of the blog you would appreciate being innocent like me. Read on,


The day before the extended weekend kicked off in the usual cranky way, funny around, passing jokes, casting pranks on each other, sending weekend mails, and much more except work.No sooner, one of the colleagues barged into his close friend's cabin to discuss weekend plans, the curious but outspoken gentleman around eavesdropped to create the platform for the rest to participate. The 'TP' meeting (as it was called) was so effective and gaudy that the reserved fellowmen turn highly enlivened to thrust their thoughts and ideas on the ideal ones. To put it simply, the brainstorming was so intense that it was perfectly befitting the maxim upheld; "think globally, act locally", of course not for a business decision. But mind you! all this fun is only when the boss is not around. A simple sight of boss's head jutted out from an invisible remote corner can literally disperse the entire crowd with no traces of such a meeting held.

Hey, I have an idea ! as one sneaked out from the middle, aged tall and stout gentlemen, with slightly curly hair circumferencing his head and concave part of it in the middle glossing and shining under LED light bulbs, offering ultra-deceptive looks covered up by his mild captivating grin on his face, said 'Lets go on a visit to Bangkok for this weekend !'. The hi-fi crowd surrounding him neither bothered to negate his idea nor listened to others. They just stayed glued to his conversation as he continued further. ..Shopping malls, restaurants, pubs & dining, sports & other activities, spa & massage, nightlife and much more tourist spots in Bangkok.....also....the most famous ones are the Buddhist temples ('wats') whose architecture is especially awe-inspiring for their glittering decoration....so on..

Well ! the idea made me feel good (about an unseen new place), the very unusual expression on his face shook my skeptical antenna up. The sanctum sanctorum conceived in my mind quaked on the highest point of Richter magnitude scale.The traces of innocence sticking in my brain membranes quivered as I began to understand the robust lesson for youth on Bangkok. Yes ! the little doubt sparks fencing around my mind completely transformed into an 'Enlightenment'. Thy foundeth glory of Bangkok ! And you know ! the best of it all is remember, there is no stage of life beyond youth....hurray all Oldies! <what say>  

A verbatim explanation will not suffice, as people say, the joy must be experienced only by traveling and stay at Bangkok. Hmm! Yeah! may be I could narrate some finest details after my return as well, having watched through my magnifying lens.


Dusk was getting closer, and so leaving the overwhelming weekend plans behind us, we used the left-out energy levels to stay concentrated on dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's for closing the penultimate day peacefully. Because, the fervour is to break in an hour's time. So that ends it all !
 ALL IS SET FOR A GRAND WEEKEND !...........see you now but do not miss the repertoire of events in my next blog.

Freebies or Corruption – ‘Y’- factor on Tamilnadu Politics !

The Politics in Tamilnadu has been running through a roller coaster ride for several decades. The Two most dominant regional parties DMK and ADMK face-off publicly wreaking havoc to regional as well as  national shame. The stinky feud between them is so sublime that it has become easier for niche parties like DMDK to gain public confidence.

The words of Abraham Lincoln is worth recollecting at this juncture,I quote “You may fool all the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time.”  To put it simply, no one can be befooled forever.

Film celebrities reigned on the political throne of Tamilnadu for many years. Public acceptance of this phenomenon has been much stronger and deep-rooted in Tamilnadu, which cannot be seen in any other Indian state. Few of them are still regarded as demi-gods. They entice and ploy charismatic influence both on and off the screen. This idiosyncratic behaviour of state politics led the people bear extreme tolerance towards various malpractices, corruption and red-tapism. So, are the political leaders only to be blamed ? Not at all !

The general public are lured by the freebies, etc offered during election campaigning. This is a major weapon for all the political parties to attract votes apart from their flamboyant speeches. This time around the competition has been fierce especially with ADMK raising like a phoenix from ashes. One would just go nuts seeing at the list of freebies. While the DMK promised a grinder or a mixie and 20 kg free rice for the poor, the AIADMK offered four goats, one cow, a fan, mixie and grinder. It also promised free laptops for plus-one and plus-two students. The DMK promised Rs 4 lakh as loan for each self-help group while the AIADMK upped the offer to Rs 10 lakh. Freebies war rippled across all media channels and soon became the talk of the town throughout India.

DMK had the last laugh ! Alas ! You either run over thorn or it pricks you, in both cases, you will be hurt.

No doubt people’s verdict is tough to analyze. Was that in favour of party offering more freebies (or) to a party less dented with corruptive practices ? Your best bet to find any other reason !

As I ponder over it again and again, I only feel that the ‘Y’ factor, whatever it may be, that has influenced the current political outome for Tamilnadu is not completely legitimate. The people of Tamilnadu have dug the grave still deeper without reckoning ways to come out of it. Whoever feels the DMK’s dust has settled, before you take a sigh of relief, let me say, do not forget the past at the dawn of ADMK’s new innings.

A glass half-filled with water may be half-full or half-empty depending upon how you perceive; however what if the glass has holes all-over or cracks beneath it. Well ! this is exactly the state of affairs of tamilnadu politics. We know about our elected leaders yet we simply think we don’t have a choice but to mask ourselves from the surrounding holes and cracks.

India vs Pakistan – the bubble or the cricket mania that matters !

Ever heard of a 'Cricket bubble' ?

Well ! Not a sportive version of 'Credit bubble' though on a lighter note ! It's the events surrounding a cricket match like India vs Pakistan (a day to go) that can create a bubble mania much bigger than the match itself.

Be it political rivalry, national security threat, game of cricket, or just an amateur sport of rural youth like the gilli-danda; India facing off Pakistan kindles the interest of massive spectators. That’s not all ! the mass media hypes vociferously about the incident in most dramatic form. Eventually, the news spreads by latitude and longitude, whether good or bad. All over the world, people tirelessly speculate on this subject and spill the beans in vivid forms. As always, the interested parties who are willing to take advantage of the situation enter into bets and odds to book profits. Mind you ! this is just a capsule of my observation.

You don't need a magnifying lens to see the spurt of events encompasing India face-off Pakistan in Cricket World cup 2011. Undoubtedly, it would have circumvented all the boundaries of political, economic or national tolerance. At the start of World cup 2011, this cricket fever was dormant in the minds of cricket fans which consequently erupted into a jubilant volcano after the quarter-final round. To catch of glimpse of this mind-boggling craze is just incredible and unimaginable !

Ouch ! can you believe it? Patients have postponed operation; houses turn hotels ahead of the clash; match tickets sold in black for a whopping INR 125,000; no fly zone over Mohali stadium; tight national security as never before; and much more drama in store yet unraveled. Sachin’s 100th century (against this Pakistan clash) estimated INR 6,000 crore to change hands on big bets. Not only is the match slated to be a firecracker; the odds set by the bookies are no less volatile. India is slated as favourites at 62 paise, while the Pakistanis are set at Rs. 1.58.

Ironically, people have liked to watch India-Pakistan as rivals more than wishing an amicable bilateral relationship. God forbid! an eternal curse to Indo-Pak ties.

To me, as an ardent cricket fan, it’s a break from my routine work, bunk my office, give lame excuse to my boss, restore my eatables provision before match-day, and watch it on television along with my cricket loving friends. Doesn’t matter what the outcome will be, (though ! I couldn’t refrain from supporting my national team INDIA) I will sure have fun !

Will India’s players succumb to the pressure ? Can Captain cool cleverly whisk away the tension factor and gel the team for a superb contest? Will the bookies benefit from the bubble surpassing the match outcome ? Else, Would the match be abandoned due to unexpected turn of events ?.....let the future decide!

So, don’t give an ear to the bubble mania and just join me to freak out at this stupendous cricket mania !

O ! MAN I am still alive in OMAN

A month passed as I stepped out of my nation ‘India’.

Leaving things to destiny, I landed in Muscat international airport, Oman on an employment visa on 29-Jan, 2011. Flying time was just 3 ½ hours, my heart-beat grew faster as I reached the terminal inter-twined with happiness and anxiety. Unfortunately, stranded for two hours for lack of proper visa clearance. Nevertheless, things went on well and found my way back home with the support of near and dear ones here.

One day passed ! A week ! A fortnight ! and a month now !

An incident that kicked off minuscule in Egypt cracked ripples across Middle-East. Egyptian rights groups protested for stepping down of their president Mubarak. Thereafter, the forces and anti-social elements working in near-by states Libya, Armenia, Tunisia staged mass protests and demonstrations against their governments. Economic activity came to a standstill. And, inspired this footage, the Omanis here initially launched soft disapproval for want of salary hikes and removal of ex-pats in certain industries. All of a sudden, they became outrageous and set ablaze some shopping mall in a city named Sohar.

People here believe in the ruling power and supremacy of ‘His Majesty’ who has transpired Oman over 40 years and led to its development. Yet, this turnaround of events would not stop disturbing the peace of mind for expats in Oman. The fact that 15-20 years ago a similar kind of protest had happened and did not blew up further may have pacified a few expats. In the meanwhile, the Indian embassy made the right move to advertise and call for requisite information (passport and civil resident card details) of Indians living here for updating in their central database for use in case of exigencies.

I never panicked and was too optimistic that Muscat will not be hit by any bad angels. Spoke to some Omanis in my office, they were sharing the same opinion as mine. Few were sarcastic, trying to frighten, albeit I kept my cool as always (All is well !). Never ever in this months’ time I grudged of living in this part of the continent, as it was truly great and worth relishing.

(dropped my eye-brows, put down my glasses, deeply took off meditating into next month events !)