Alive !!!

I was watching the movie "The Doors" yesterday. There's a scene where Val Kilmer (who portrays Jim Morrisson), drunk and high on Acid, stands on top of the car in the middle of a traffic jam and shouts, "All those out there who are alive raise their hands". Maybe JIM had a rare lucid moment in his madness.
Now, a drunken poetic baffoon delivering his line backed by Ray Manzarek's piano in the background takes you deep into yourself.
What kind of life do you want? Do you want it to be one on which a movie can be based, or a regular one. Do you want to change the world, or be a regular part of the changing world? Have you decided?Don't know? Judge by this. A real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken a new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided.
The state of our lives is nothing more than a reflection of the state of our mind. There's this cliche line I've read/heard so many times: Living is not the same as not dying.
Is there something missing? Emptiness is a symptom implying you are not living creatively. Do you have a goal? You either have no goal that is important enough to you, or you are not using your talents and efforts in a striving toward an important goal, or you are wasting your effort by striving in the wrong direction.
What we love we shall grow to resemble.
All we need to be clear about is what we want. How will we get it, when will we get it, what price will we have to pay for that? Will the thing really matter to us as and when we get it?If we bind ourselves with these doubts, we have no hope.

And that is one thing nobody can afford to loose... HOPE.

A CRUDE Reality...

Oil Prices at 135$ per Barrel. BPLC ready to ration fuel supply to it's retail outlets. Others likely to follow suit.
So dear fellow citizens, it's a distinct possibility now that you may drive your car to a nearby Gas station and see a signboard saying "Sorry, out of Gas".
That's precisely what happens to economies when crude prices surge... They run out of Gas.
Is it temporary? Nooooooooo...
Of course, maybe Nigerian trouble will get sorted; maybe Venezuela’s socialist liberator, Hugo Chávez will let Oil flow freely from the nationalized fields; maybe Putin's Gas Cartel materializes and Gas will take some burden off Gasoline; maybe "Evil Iran" will let pipelies to be laid; Maybe we'll all give up eating "Bhuttas" and "American Corns" and burn the ethanol produced by them instead; maybe Jatropha plant will rescue us; maybe KG basin...
Maybe, maybe, maybe...
Common, whom are we kidding? There are these two rising nations that are hogging oil just like anything, u know India and China.And 10 years from now, we'll have quite a lot of Africa and Latin America demanding their pound of flesh as well..
Saudi Reserves are headed downhill... So are from Mexican Gulf. So are from Texas.. The more is extracted now, the lesser overall recovery becomes. And African reserves are always bound to be affected by Geo-Politic; that translates to Uncertainity, irrespictive of prospective supply potential.
In short, nothing will keep oil prices down. Neither newer technologies, nor billions of dollars of investments, nor new geopolitical equations. Goldman Sacchs said oil can touch $200 per barrel. And worse, it'll stay there.
Then there's the hope of alternate technologies. Solar, Wind, Tidal, BioGas, BioFuel. Yeah, they're there, but realistically speaking, they demand too much time and resources and ROI is spread over a long long period of time. Also, they'll become sitting ducks withot government subsidies.
So what's the way out?
A PARADIGM SHIFT IN OUR LIFESTYLES.
That is the only way out. The only way out.
I read about some marketing survey long time back, probably done in UK. It said that people use vehicles and go out for four primary reasons:
1. to work

2. to Eat Out

3. to get entertained

4. to socialize

Future towns to be developed should have units consisting of these four parts, so that by default the distances reduce. Another option is clean, comfortable mass transport system.Further, India would do well to have bullet trains that run on electricity and cruise at 400+ kmph. They'll make air travel irrelevant in most cases .... Just think, overnight journey from Jammu to Kanyakumari... And with these crude prices, Low cost carriers will become history.

But these are all long term... what can be done now? I guess these options below look feasible:

1. Better roads:

According to the CIA World Factbook, India has 3.3 million kilometers of roads; the largest road network in the world (both paved and unpaved roads). Investment to make all these roads world class hovers around 3.5 lakh crores. India’s oil Pool deficit is Rs 80,000 crore annually. 3.5 lakh crores will be recovered in absolute terms in 6 years time, just because of better vehicle efficiency. This, keeping aside other abstract gains, like the spurt in demand for industries which supply raw material for road making, better purchasing power of millions because of the huge employment generation and the boost in economic activity owing to better connectivity.
2. Encourage use of waterways:

Transport through water has only one drawback. TIME. But fuel consumption in water transport is so miniscule compared to Surface / Air, that this has to be an option. Cost involved includes making and maintaining docks, and increased vigilance across water routes to check. This is less investment, and again, lots of job creation for unskilled sector.
The results of above two will be felt within 5 years. All that is needed is Political will. India is NOT short of funds. India is NOT short of Talent.

Let's face it. We cannot do without oil, it's just not possible. Oil does not mean only Diesel and Petrol. Crude gives soooo many petroleum products that are vital for industries like automobile, personal care products, construction material, petrochemical products, crucial medicine ingrediants... even the KG Basin Gas and a potential 1-2-3 agreement cannot help us stem this crisis.
Let us keep oil for the vital needs, and personal vehicles for infrequent use...
We have a collective responsibility of 1.1 billion people as a Nation. Nobody can shrug it off. NOBODY.