"Subah subah ik khwab ki dastak par darwaza khola,
dekha ........................................"

This nazm by Gulzaar sahab has always evoked strong emotions within me. However with due respects to him, today that first line acted as an expression of an altogether different reaction. I opened the daily newspaper and as is my usual wont was going through the usual items and paused to glance at my horoscope when i read this

" Romance takes a beating today". and i kinda jumped. first reaction " subah subah akhbaar ki dastak pe panna palta to dekha, us paar se ek dhamki aayee hai mujhe".

Now someone please tell me, for some poor soul, all time member of the FOSLA ( Frustrated One Side Lover's Association if you please), where will something take a beating when when it does not exist. I assumed it was a warning for myself to behave or else risk being beaten up with sandals, or shoes or what have you.

The icing on the cake was when i shared this apprehension with a freind of mine and she very sweetly replied "Agar ek sandal pade, to ask for the second one, mere kaam aayegi". :((. Yeah buddy if you are reading this, well, i am just looking for the right requirements as of now.

Anyways, so this was the beginning of a glorious day for me. Now as i was again browsing through this harbringer of doom for me ( newspaper if you please), i come across this article which says that the I&B ministry has decided to ask all tv channels to apologise in public for airing all those oh so very offensive advertisements.

Now i have stopped having any political leanings for sometime now ( my mother has been after my life, because i lean a lot while walking), but somehow this great government or rather all the present governments in different parts of the country never fail to amuse me. They seem to have all the time in the world for moral policing of all kinds. And some times i just sit up thinking, how come a stupid advertisement on a stupid pair of pink polka dotted "chaddis", really offend my moral sentiments. Or how will banning an advertisement on Mc Dowell's somehow stop me from drinking my guts out, if i were one of them ( for the record i am a total teetotaller).

Ok i am all for decencies being maintained and all, but arent our mummys and daddys there to do make sure we see the right things. ( i happen to be one of the lucky souls, who has a couple of good angelic freinds who also make me shut my eyes when watching MTV at a McDonald's restaurant at Mumbai Central). why does the uncle at I&B want to become my dad. In fact my dad stopped doing it himself long time back.

anyways, its been a long tirade on this topic. and i do know one more guy writing on this issue, that too with a language handicap as mine, will not tilt the scales in favor of like minded people. But i seriously would like to believe all our nations troubles are over, what with the govts having nothing to do except to tell me what to see, what to eat, what to drink, how best to frown when my lady freinds visit this temple somewhere ( man, this is something i could write reams on, it is so gross in its idea) and so on and so forth.

meanwhile i think i shall now go back to sleep soon, and this time wait for a real dastak on a real khwaab and no not one with sandals, .......sigh..........

ciaos