The New Year has started with quite a bang. Material acquisitions give us so much joy at times and ironically greed for them can lead to disgrace and shame. All of us desire things that are a little beyond our reach. Does desire lead to greed? Or is it greed that fuels desire?

It is really hard to understand why someone  like Mr."Satyam"Raju would want to fudge records,acquire unimaginable proportions of land,amass enough wealth to feed his next few generations and still want some more.Does the adrenaline rush of hitting bull's eye and tasting success make you so greedy that you forget about morals,ethics and become unanswerable to your own conscience?

Whatever be the motivation,is there no end to our desires and needs.The craving for material possessions keeps increasing no matter how we keep ticking off  items from our "to be acquired possessions"list.Youbuy an ipod,You need a mac;u buy a cycle, you want a bike, a car and so on.

As children, we think," if I had a tricycle I wouldn't need anything else in life."As we grow, the tricycle changes into a car which we would like to change every two years. I wonder when does it all end? This cycle of wanting, acquiring and then wanting to move onto something bigger and better. As long as it is legal and moral it is okay but as soon as the lines between right and wrong start to blur and greed of megalomaniac proportions sets in clouding your vision, morals ,conscience etc is when you know you are on your way to self destruction and you are on a road that's going to end soon.

As I write this, I lie on the sea shore, resting and reminiscing about the days gone by when I used to wonder what my purpose in life was.

I was a miniscule part of the great Sahara desert till I latched onto the shoes of a tourist and traveled across continents and countries. I always used to wonder if this was the life I was supposed to live. Be a worthless grain of sand with no purpose and no identity. Then one day, the tourist decided to get rid of his shoes and I became one with the dust and mud in a garbage dump. I made many friends and we shared stories about our mutual worthlessness and inability to do more in life. We soon got a chance. They cleared the garbage dump and made it a playground for children. We lay down together and watched the children run around, stamp us and play. We were all different colors, grain size, nationalities but we all came together for a purpose, to give joy to little children. I realized I was a small part of the bigger picture. On my own I might just be a worthless grain of sand, but together with my brothers I was worthless no more. I had the power to give joy.

It lasted until the land sharks took over the park and constructed a monstrosity by cutting off all the trees. Mother Nature couldn't bear the destruction and we all rose as one huge storm in revolt and I realized the power within me to destroy, revolt and be evil. We not only destroyed our beloved park, but also the homes of the children who played there. I got blown away by the wind and landed by the beachside where I lie today awaiting to meet my maker, fully aware that he did not create me to be wasted but to be molded and used according to his will. I had the power to give joy or destroy and I had a choice whether to be alone or to act with my brothers. So I say to you, sometimes it is better to have the courage to stand alone and at times it is wise to be one with the crowd. Do good or evil, stand alone or be united, the power to choose is yours and choose you must my dear friend, that too wisely.

A common answer among friends when we ask each other how's life? I say life is certainly a bitch and she sure has a lot of puppies. Each with a color and personality of its own. No one knows which puppy is gonna turn around and nip at you when you least expect it.

Some say life is beautiful. Agreed, for those of you who don't have to deal with the daily grind of trying to make ends meet or who have nothing to worry about but what to wear to the next hi profile page three party, life certainly is beautiful. The ugliness is hidden behind the tinted screen of your car windows which block the view of the child from the slum dying due to hunger.

The myriad hues and colors akin to the reflection of a rainbow in a puddle of water seem meaningful to those freshly in love. Life to 'em lovers is certainly rosy, holding a promise for a tomorrow full of joy and love.

Then there are some of us living on the borderline of sanity and insanity, cynical about most things, trying to portray a façade of all being hunky dory while loneliness and uncertainty gnaws at our soul softly and steadily, just like the winter creeping in leaving one cold and numb. We laugh and smile ensconced in our glass houses, careful not to let our weaknesses seep through the cracks lest someone notices them. We refuse to bend down to what life throws at us knowing fully well it is going to get harder, tougher and lonelier. But that's what keeps all of us going. Our attitude to life n her puppies; love 'em, hate 'em, kick 'em or pet 'em, you get only what you think you don't deserve!