So here I am finally! After yrs of planning to blog and hundreds of new year’s resolutions later, the newest denizen of Blogosphere is here at last! Mubaarak ho! Mubaarak ho!! Twannu sab nu nave blogger diaan lakh lakh vadhaaiyan hon! (Many congratulations to one and all on the advent of this new blogger!) Sound the bugles! Let loose the drumroll! Let the world rejoice!

To all my potential friends in Blogoland, I extend my warmest greetings and hugs. Many of you may have been blogging since ancient times so you are called upon to guide your new friend along until he finds his feet. There is a lot that bedevils this world even as I post my first blog and we are indeed living in dangerous times. As if the scourges of war and terror were not enough, we now have the new spectres of global warming and widespread famine and drought and large scale hunger staring us in the face. But the human spirit has been and will always be indomitable, and there is no problem we cannot solve if we put our heads and minds to it. May we all contribute in our own individual ways as well as collectively to making this world a better place and may we all have fun while doing so....

Me is proud to be an Indian, proud of my Punjabi roots, proud to be from the greatest city on Earth: Bombay in Maharashtra (never liked calling it Mumbai), and proud to be living in Vancouver (Canada), one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

As for the name of my iland: Ghaasphoos. Dried grass and undergrowth. Animal fodder. Now what explains this self-deprecating, humble title? Are my thoughts and musings to be dismissed as being as trivial and inconsequential as ghaasphoos? Can my philosophies and ideologies be no more significant than the wild shrubs living in obscurity in the shadow of the mighty Oak? The more I think about it, the more it baffles me. Because whenever I have spoken to audiences all over the world, I found them paying rapt attention. Totally serious. Not one ever walked away before I finished speaking. I usually speak to groups of children aged 2-5. (And the cute thing about them is that they never forget to claim the little ‘Made in China’ toy I promise every kid at the end of my talk.) So then? Why this humble title? Now we do know that all great men and born leaders of humanity have always believed in assuming humble titles. They never hesitated to make fun of themselves or to admit to being so chhota, so adna, such a nacheez really! But me??? Why did I choose such a title??? Hang on! Wait a minute!! Omigosh!!! Could it be… could it be that… I am also one of the… No, No! Forget it. It’s too embarrassing to even admit the thought! I am too humble to say it. Forget it, forget it plzzz… Seriously….

Alright folks! I guess this self-introduction will suffice for the moment. Hope we shall meet again soon and keep running into each other every so often. Here's to our many soon-to-be-forged friendships!

Until next time, take care....