The Vivekean Times

         -   by Vivek Pereira So many humans But so little humanity Amidst the great rally For one man’s vanity. So much passion, But so little empathy; No expression of remorse Not even thru’ telepathy. Such a lot of promises, But most remain unfulfilled; All they want is power No matter who gets killed. So large a nation, But so few citizens, Daring to take on evil, And preventing all these sins. Such a small mindset, But an even narrower vision That’s taking us all backwards Thru’ the politics of religion So little time, But still a lot to do; Let’s work even harder And make our dreams come true.

                   - By Vivek Pereira India is my nation As much as it’s yours; Should a difference in ideologies Lead to rioting and wars? Having opposing views Is certainly not sedition; Too much of brainwashing Has led to this condition. All should come together: The left and the right; For the glory of India We must all fight. For our enemies desire To see our country divided; And this is being accomplished By citizens who are misguided. Never fear or envy Folks different from you; All colours are wonderful, especially saffron, green and blue. Don’t fall for political rhetoric That’s intolerant and cheap; Just for the sake of power, A divisive agenda they’ll keep. So let’s take a pledge to counter such seeds of hate; And strive for peace and unity; That’ll make India ever so great.

Watching the heavy rains and soccer world cup matches this year often reminded me of great soccer moments of my wonder years – some excellent goals and some near misses – especially a powerful header that hit a coconut tree less than a meter from the goal. But my favourite memories are from the Eight Standard Inter-Class Football Tournament in which I was lucky to have participated in, all thanks to my dear friend and a truly wonderful sportsperson, Rayboy Fernandes who left our world at a very young age. Rest in peace, dear friend. In fact, our batch must have been jinxed as we were unfortunate to have lost many of our classmates soon after we left school. RIP. St. Stanislaus High School, our Alma Mater, boasted of some of India’s greatest sportsmen including some Olympic greats in hockey. We were brilliant in soccer too and that’s why even interclass matches were highly competitive and fascinating. I was hoping to be a forward in the team, but Rayboy, our captain, insisted tha...

- Written by Yours Truly many years ago Juliet: (to herself) Which one of my boyfriends could it be knocking at my bedroom window at this unearthly hour? Oh, it’s Romeo!!! Juliet: (To Romeo) Romeo, you bledy bugger – What are you up to, men? Get down from the tree before you fall and break your b…...” Romeo: I climbest this tree to express my love for thou – a love that can survive tempests and tsunamis. Juliet: Romeo, dearest, dost thou havest – a car, a flat, or an ipad? Romeo: I haveth none of the above. Juliet: Then how dost thou dare to love? Thou livest in a fool’s paradise. I cannot love thee. Romeo: I just inherited a cool million from an uncle who passed away. He was quite a rich dude. The cash is in the bank. Juliet: I truly love thee now, my Romeo. Romeo: Why dost thou not respond to my SMSes, my darling? Thou knowest how much I love thee especially after thou went under the plastic surgeon’s scalpel. Juliet: A Daniel, still say I, a second Daniel! Ro...

The charges and counter charges between Kapil Mishra, Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP only reveal that there are no honest politicians in India today – only two-faced hypocrites. It is extremely foolish of the BJP and Congress to take a ‘holier than thou’ stance since they do not practice cleanliness in their electoral politics either. Yes, you're guilty even if you accept dirty money for your kin or party. If some politicians are still considered clean, it's usually due to the takeover of media houses, lack of evidence, U-turns of eye witnesses (with money changing hands), bungling or complicity of investigating agencies, or the existence of labyrinths (such as a network of shell companies) created to conceal the scams. Have you ever stopped to think why no political party is now asking for the full implementation of the Lokpal Act? Because it suits them all. Aam Aadmi fought for the Lokpal Act. The Congress and BJP promised to deliver on TV debates, but now all of t...

The war on the Islamic State/D aesh has nearly ended. The ruthless terrorists have been decimated in Mosul , their erstwhile stronghold in Iraq . In Syria , the brave Kurdish Peshmerga units have surrounded Raqqa and defeat for the Daesh is almost certain. There was a tame surrender at Al Bab, and the rest of the Levant will soon be freed from their evil clutches. As Terrorists around the globe face the heat, an action-packed novel dissects the anatomy of this evil menace with awe-inspiring content. Indians in Pakistan is an exciting novel that will surely entertain and enlighten you, revealing bitter truths, warped perceptions and diabolical designs, which together make the Indian subcontinent one of the most dangerous regions of the world. Check out the amazing book trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mUcLD-pe9Y Enjoy your spring break by browsing through some of the best books of our times available only on smashwords.com and grab ...

 (A Parody on X'mas written at the start of the Millennium) 'Twas the night after Christmas, when partying was done, The world had got drained of all the laughter and fun, Empty booze bottles lay scattered around, Ambitious Christmas dreams had crashed on the ground . The feelings of peace, love and goodwill had gone, Men fought and quarrelled till the break of the dawn, Sorrow and depression were replacing happiness and cheer, This would be the trend until Christmas next year. The shopping spree was over, the money had vanished, The spirit of Christmas had been altogether banished, The decorations so beautiful, no one admired them any more, This joyous, merry season had become a bore. I sat on the sofa, a frown on my face, My world was in tatters, I was losing the race, My wife had been crying, her eyes were quite red, She cursed me so fiercely, I wished I was dead. The children were sad, no smile did they give, ...