One reason I don’t drink is that I want to know when I am having a good time.

On a balmy Sunday noon, my mobile receives a sms. Its from my cousin.

"Alcohol is not an answer to every question." - Swami Vivekanand

"But it definitely helps you forget the question" - Swami Vijay Mallya

And such jokes are endless... i guess almost all of you must have read 'I read the evils of drinking and i gave up reading' or 'alchohol can cause pregnancy' or 'dont drink and drive or you may hit the bump and spill your drink.' Such jokes galore...

Alcohol -- aahhh.... the thing i hate the most. How it has always caused irritation, frustration, fights, disgust and hatred. Alcohol has always been a thought provoking subject for me. Having seen too many hindi movies, i have been brought up to think that alcohol is for the baddies. The good guys dont even touch alcohol. People who drink are wife-beaters, spend-thrifts, wasted, womanisers. Afterall, never saw Salman, Shahrukh or Aamir drinking. It was only Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher and Gulshan Grover who drank... Isnt it?

The real life samples were even worse. One was a wife-beater and therefore divorced. Another debt ridden because he spent it all on alcohol. He was later divorced. One was suffering from liver cancer. Left his wife in debt and children scarred for the rest of their lives.

And then i met Amul. At 17, Amul not only enjoyed his vodka and whiskey but also had a preference. 'On the rocks, please'. It repelled it me at first. The smell, his body language, his conversations after the drink... everything. And like a good dutiful committed boyfriend, he gave it all up for me. But little did i know then that giving up something for someone you love doesnt last too long. So after series of fights, conversations, discussions, silent snares.... i somewhere down the line accepted that my guy drinks. And somewhere down the line Amul compromised that he wouldnt take too much liberty with the liberty and kept his consumption limited (which by the way completely depends upon the equation we share at that moment. If there's a tiff going on, he drinks away to glory, only to prove a point. And if everything is hunky-dory and fairy tale-ish, his one drink will last him 4 hours)

I do not know why does he drink. I have never asked him. I guess even if i was to ask him, i doubt he did have an answer. He would just gaze at me with a puzzled look on his face, trying to figure out in his mind, 'now where is this coming from'. I seriously doubt he would even give my question a thought. Perhaps, because there isnt a clear answer to it. Maybe Amul drinks because he was brought up in that kind of environment. Where drinking has been a way to network, to beat the stress, to catch up with family or just to show off to friends who live in a dry state. For my father-in-law, a glass of whiskey is actually a friend. He drinks when he is stressed, he drinks when he is celebrating, he drinks to good weather, he drinks to bad weather, he drinks to good health, he drinks when he is tired. A drink perhaps settles him down. For my own dad, drinking is better than facebook or orkut or twitter. A drink gives him an opportunity to be with people with whom he can share his tales and jokes. Sometimes he even uses winter and low temperatures as an excuse to have a peg or two. My friends have their own reasons. While one enjoys her glass of wine or vodka everytime she is with her friends or family, another one enjoys it because it was like a forbidden fruit all her life and now that there's no one to stop her or question her, she doesnt mind getting wasted once in a while. One friend has recently started drinking. I dont know why. Perhaps just to fit in. And now he drinks like he is catching up on the lost time. :)

As for me, I dont drink. Its not like i have never tasted alcohol. I was introduced to beer by my dad. I hated it from the word 'go'. I have never tasted whiskey. I have had vodka on a couple of occasions. I dont remember how many times but the last time i had it was in Ladakh. I used 'its bloody cold' as an excuse. I infact even ordered one mojitos in a Bangkok bar but couldnt drink it. If there's something, i would confess, i like is Bacardi Breezer. 'But thats hardly alcohol', says Amul. I occasionally take Coffee Liquor. But thats more for coffee than for liquor. So maybe you guys will allow me to conclude that i dont drink. Amul anyway prefers that i dont drink. 'You talk too much even without a drink,' is his explanation.

Maybe i am a hypocrite when it comes to alcohol. :)

But i totally, i repeat, i totally hate the meets where people in ahmedabad catch up and have drinks. Whatte bloody waste of time. But again, if the same set of people were at a beach or in a pub, talking and having a drink, i wouldnt hate it that much. I hate it when Amul is all wasted and reeks of alcohol and then drives back home. It repels me to no extent. But i dont mind it when Amul is having a drink when we are out holidaying and he's sharing a tale with me. I hate it when every occasion in my home is accompanied by a drinking session. But i dont mind it when it gives an opportunity for the entire family to recall the old times and break into old songs. I hate it when men sometimes prefer a glass of whiskey to end their day than have a small, inconsequential and heartfelt chat with their spouses. But then when spouses act all pricey and demanding and can talk nothing except the irregularities of a maid servant or crib about the office, maybe a glass of whiskey is a better choice.

A few people have even conveyed how sorry they feel as i dont drink. Little do they know, that its easier to drink and forget. Maybe I am tougher than those people. I can deal with life without getting intoxicated. But yes - I envy you all who drink. Atleast you guys know whom to blame for everything.

Children of the Taliban

The day i turned 29, the entire world was celebrating. Afterall, the US had gunned down their No. 1 enemy on Pakistani soil. Osama Bin Laden, was found in a mansion in Abottabad in Northern Pakistan and in a swift night operation, was killed, identified and buried at sea.

 OSAMA BIN LADEN

If 9/11 became a watershed in the United States of America's history, Osama Bin Laden's death has become one for the Al-Qaeda. First the terrorist organisation didnt owe up or confirm. Four days later, a statement was issued. Finally Al-Qaeda accepted that Osama Bin Laden, the Al Qaeda leader and military commander was no more. The following days were spent in speculating the operation, the Pakistan-US relations, the blame game... where Al-Qaeda quietly pondered over its future. Who will take the reigns of this world wide empire? Will their fight against the 'kafirs' continue? What will happen to this organisation spread across the world, taking on a new battle everyday?

Maybe Osama's Will contains all those answers. I am sure when Osama was cocooned in that mansion of his for last 5 to 7 years (as per unconfirmed reports), he must have chalked out a plan for the future of Al-Qaeda. The recent reports say that Saif-Al-Adel, an egyptian has been chosen as an interim Al-Qaeda chief.

But even as Al-Qaeda picks up the pieces after Osama's death, the international media is rife with the prospect of Taliban using this opportunity to separate itself from Al-Qaeda. It was afterall Osama Bin Laden who had sworn allegiance to the Taliban leader Mullah Omar in his fight against the soviets. In return, Mullah Omar stood by Osama and helped carry out the 9/11 attacks and later providing him with cover to hide from the forces hunting for him. But now with Osama gone, Taliban is increasingly looking at becoming world's No. 1 terror organisation.

Taliban 

After almost being driven out of Afghanistan, having found refuge in Pakistan's northern SWAT valley, the taliban is slowly but surely emerging as the next big threat for the world. And giving tough competition is Pakistan's own home grown terror organisation - Lashkar-e-Toiba, openly and proudly supported by the Pakistan's ISI and Army. (But we will discuss LeT some other day)

Taliban will be now be the group to look out for. After reading several media reports from the middle east, US, UK and from various organisations, it is clearly becoming evident that Taliban is fully geared to find its ground in Pakistan and is infact spreading its wings across the country.

One of the most compelling documentary that i recently saw was CHILDREN OF THE TALIBAN. It is about how Taliban is now training kids to spread its empire and 'using them to execute allah's will'. For kids who have grown up in last decade in Pakistan's SWAT valley, the North Western Frontier Province, the law-less tribal lands; life has only been about war, playing with real guns, learning about jihad and dreaming of becoming a fidayeen (suicide bomber) one day. Nicknamed as 'weapons of mass destruction' by the Taliban, these young kids aged anywhere between 5 to 15 yrs, have now become a dominant force in the Taliban today. One madrassa teacher in this documentary also goes on to say how in this war, no matter how many muslims die, we will never run out of sacrificial lambs. This documentary is appalling, even terrifying but very very insightful.

Here's a link for those interesting in watching it. A superb watch and i strongly recommend it. 

Its disheartening and shocking to see how kids are being brainwashed in Pakistan. What is more unbelievable is that when a journalist (and if i may add a female journalist) can unearth whats happening to the country, how is it that the Pakistani establishment doesnt know about it? But then, its world famous now that Pakistan has always turned a blind eye and deaf ear... Afterall, they didnt even know Osama was living right alongside them.