Value of life?

On the 16th of April, 2007, a young man named Cho Seung-Hui, of South Korean origin decided to kill 32 innocent people at Virginia Tech and then killed himself, in an act which he compared that to the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ. In the aftermath of the massacre , as the nation mourned a fresh springtime crop of young lives cut short by a psychopath's bullets, President George Bush and those vying for his job offered their prayers and condolences. The World, stuck to CNN and NBC, keenly follows developments on the worst shootout ever to hit Uncle Sam.

A couple of days later, on the 18th of April, 2007, on a completely different time zone, Five bombs exploded in and around Iraq's capital yesterday, killing at least 187 people and injuring more than 220. Many of the victims included construction workers repairing buildings damaged in the previous bombing and rush-hour commuters lining up at a bus depot, waiting for rides home. Unfortunately for these victims, the World was too busy following the Virginia Tech Massacre.

The past week, has indeed gripped the World with shock and grief. Not too many can relate to what the victim´s families are going through. May God give them the strength to recover from their tragic loss and hopefully, in time, life would come back to normal.

However, the question I am trying to find an answer to is that, ¨Does life have more value in the West, than in under developed and developing nations? And if so, Why? ¨ Great leaders of the World have offered humble words of condolence and shock for the families of those killed at Virginia Tech, but what about the 6 times more number of families in Baghdad? More than half the content on media channels and websites this week have been dedicated to the story of the massacre created by a young teenager and the advertising campaign he sent to a new channel. To get information on the Baghdad blasts, i literally had to Google it earlier today. The events in the past week or so makes it almost as easy to say that Society in general has different parameters for the value of life, and that the value is determined by the land or economic background you come from. When people say all human beings are alike and there shall be no discrimination, do they actually follow it?

Is this the society you want to grow up in? And if yes, then what is the Value of Your Life?

May God Bless the Souls of all the innocent people killed at Virginia Tech and in Baghdad.

Pasta al Pesto Soup

1 Cup Pasta, 2 Tomatoes, 1/2 Jar Pesto Sauce, Parmesan Cheese, 5 Table Spoons of Olive Oil, Freshly ground black pepper and One Inept Chef is what it takes to create Pasta Al Pesto Soup, served with freshly baked garlic bread and accompanied with the finest Cava (spanish champagne). The mellow music of Corrine Baile Rae complimeniting the sensual aroma of fake Diptyque candles bought from the chinese store set the mood for a perfect evening. However, destiny had a different story to tell, and there I was, standing in my kitchen, wondering what went wrong, and why my originally planned Pasta with Pesto Sauce looked more like Pasta in Pesto Soup. Without exaggerating, I had pasta sunk to the bottom of a vessel filled with thick soup, which had to be served in bowls rather than on a plate. I hereby rest my case and gladly accept my role as only an appreciator of fine dining.

Greetings from a rainy and very cold day in Madrid. The weather over the past week hasnt been too kind. Lets just say that nature decided to send a cold wave through Western Europe and here we are, facing the coldest day of the winter, with temperatures falling to 2ºC. Oh boy, you put a little child born in Africa and brought up in India on the middle of the streets at 5 in the morning in such weather and you have alot of body parts freezing. Without getting into too many details, am sure you can imagine how cold it is here, and for those who know me well enough, should know that its not my favouratest weather! Speaking of which, did you know that the hot topic of discussion in every board room right now is tackling Global Warming. Not only that, but companies are using the global phenomena as a strategic branding initiative. Anyways, I just think all these companies should move to madrid, its freaking cold here! the words ¨Global Warming¨ are unheard of.

Before you start thinking that i have changed jobs, and now work as the weatherman on a local news channel, I shall swiftly move on to telling you more interesting things. Madrid is no longer a city to me, but an experience. an experience which keeps you on your feet continuously and never fails to take you by suprise. Something which has caught my eye whilst all the tourist activity ive been doing, is the Invasion of the Americans. When your walking down Gran Via (The Main Street of Madrid), whiter than normal, weird spanish accented young Americans are a not to miss. Its like they have invaded the city. Every night club you go to, atleast one third of the place is filled with people from the Sweet land of Liberty. Most of them students doing a college term in Madrid, they add an interesting flavour to the ¨Potpourri¨ we call Madrid.

I now have flat mates. 2 as a matter of fact. Innes and Daniel. Innes is a girl (read lady) from Argentina and Daniel, whos been to every continent in the World besides Africa and Australia, is originally from Upsalla, Sweden. He works at Price too. Hes a good friend and his cooking skills make him a life-saver! Daniel, like ever other Swedish, uses beer as a substitute to water, and can get quite hilarious at the end of a long saturday night in town. Innes on the other hand is more subdude and not so social. Trust me, you will be hearing more on them in the future.

Last week saw happier times. A trip back home for the weekend, a digital camera, a pair of cufflinks, 4 ties and loads of cake! I must say this moving away from home thing has direct and positive benefits to the entire receiving birthday gifts system. Just coz the family hasnt seen you for so long, they tend to get a little generous with your gifts. Though my favourate one of them all, my all new Black Leather, 180º incling Lazy Boy! Trust me, i spent the better half of my weekend at home on it watching alot of Indian TV and eating my fav Daal Chawal! Ok enough of me bragging, but you get the picture right? I love it how parents love expressing their love on birthdays.

Before i end, i must say that the nightlife in Spain is second to none. Ive seen alot of it back on the Islands, but the global flavour here just makes it an amazing environment. If your ever in the area (anywhere in europe), you should come to Madrid and trust me, your view on partying will completely change.

I hope everythings well with you. Do drop in a line to let me know how things are goin.