This Day, That Year-I

Two years ago, on the 30^th of May, I arrived in Delhi to start a new innings of my life after completing my graduation. I was there to start my preparations for civil services. In my next three posts, I'll relive those initial days by reproducing the diary entries I made on those days.

Here, I reproduce my first diary entry.

May 31, 2007; 12:45 pm

Hello there,
Here I am, finally sitting in my 'own', 'independent' room on a study table(I mean a study chair adjoining the study table), as far as I remember, writing a diary entry for the first time in my life.
This thought of jotting down my feelings just happened to me as I realised that finally I am all alone in this big big city, heart of our nation, New Delhi.
Mummy and Papa left back for Chandigarh a couple of hours ago. We arrived here, at Nirman House, the hostel where I am residing, yesterday evening.
It felt all normal to me but as time proceeded and night fell, I started feeling a bit dull. I didn't let these feelings of my heart to be conveyed to my parents through my facial expressions.
Anyways, now they are gone and we parted with a nice hug. 'I love them'.
The room is nice and spacious. I have a double bed, nice long study table, spacious almirah, dressing table(I know that sounds girlish), a T.V.(where is STAR WORLD???) and an independent toilet cum bath room with a western 'pot' and wash basin.
All in all, good living conditions but there's no A.C. and I don't need one as I am here to struggle. All great men have struggled in their lives and if I want to become one I have to sacrifice at least something. And sacrifice at what 'cost'?
My dad is already paying 8000 bucks per month to provide me with these living conditions and food.
Food, that's something I have to try as yet. Lunch time is approaching and I'll have my first encounter with my diet for the next five months or so.

See you later,
Vipul Grover

Well, the day didn't end just there as I was back to my 'Dear Diary', once again finding myself all alone in my room and in the city of course, after the dinner. So, here I reproduce my second diary entry. Just read on!

May 31, 2007; 10:45 pm

Hello there,
Well I am back writing for the second time today. In these ten hours, I have experienced the 'food' twice and made a couple of friends.
Food is 'O.K.', dal served in both courses. It was just too watery. In lunch there was additional paneer and in dinner, mixed veg. They were nice. Chapatis and rice were also good.
As far as friends are concerned, there is Arun Munde, a Marathi staying in the adjoining room. Age 24, he is a Masters in Biotechnology with same optional as mine,i.e., Public Administration. So we'll be in the same class. Even he has perched out of his home for the first time, so shares my apprehensions and dilemmas.
Then there is this talkative and 'over-friendly' Rajesh from Hyderabad, Pawan(I believe I heard his name right) from Bihar, Narendra from Nainital and others. I also met a Punjabi Surd briefly. His name is Robby, though he did not impress me much in our tete-a-tete.
Sweating is profound in this Delhi heat under a solitary fan. Temperature at this hour is 35.3°C as indicated by the nice gift given to me by my friends before leaving for Delhi.
I have started reading Shashi Tharoor's 'India:From midnight to millennium'. He has quite a balanced opinions and hence the articles have impressed me.
Tomorrow is my first day at Rau's. Class begins at 7:30 a.m. So will have to rise early. Better I go to sleep right now.

See you later,
Vipul Grover

Despite the fact that I were soon-to-be-22 when I went to New Delhi, my apprehensions about leaving my home were same as any 10 year old moving to a boarding school. Those first couple of days, I felt quite miserable. Anyways, so ended that day for me.

Image Courtesy
http://creativewritersden.blogspot.com (original)

The Congress Raaj

Continues...

Today, with swearing in of 59 more ministers into the Union Council of Ministers, its total strength reached 78. This gigantic number which has seen one in every four UPA M.P.'s getting the ministerial berth, is still lower than the constitutional ceiling of 15% of the total Lok Sabha membership(presently 543), set by 91st Constitutional Amendment.
In the era of downsizing of governments such a political maneuvering seems too luxurious but this happens to be a part and a parcel of the representative democracy, we all are fondly proud of.
Since casting my vote on 13th, I've not commented on election results nor have I revealed my choice of candidate. Well, my posts were becoming too politics oriented that I decided to write on some other topics before I return to politics. Hereby, I declare that the candidate I voted for and the party he belonged to, both got vanquished at the constituency level and the national level respectively, by the Congress+. So which party I voted for is not that difficult to guess if you have read my previous post on Elections 2009.
However, in the victory of Congress, I don't see any personal loss as more than grieving over the loss of the party of my choice, I am celebrating the loss of the opportunist regional parties(like RJD, LJP, SP, BSP, TDP, JD(S), AIADMK among others) and more importantly the Left parties. In the above mentioned previous post of mine, I had emphatically favoured a national party's coalition coming to power and that's what has happened thankfully.
Moreover, the number of seats Congress has amassed independently this Lok Sabha election, has given it a chance to form a very strong and decisive Government, relatively less hassled by the pushes and pulls of coalition politics which has effected the Central Governments for quite some time now. With the stability of Government, strength will follow as a necessary corollary and that's what India requires at this hour. However, Congress should handle this positive mandate responsibly and refrain from despotic practices that were so common during the life and times of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi.

One aspect about which I had commented in the previous post and which still disturbs me is with regards to dynastic politics. The Congressmen have the tendency of attributing all their successes to the wisdom and leadership of Sonia'ji' and Rahul 'baba' (Dr.Manmohan Singh hardly finds a mention) while finding scapegoats within the party cadre whenever things go wrong. Such a sycophancy and dynastic politics is not just limited to this party but is deep rooted in the Indian political landscape across the parties of all hues and colours(DMK presenting the best or rather, the worst example of the same in the present context).
One of my fellow blogger as many others, has praised the junta's mandate for electing the youngsters like Sachin Pilot, Milind Deora and Jyotiraditiya Scindia in addition to the 'prince' Rahul Gandhi. In this mandate, they find the victory of youngistan. This is what I had to comment on this particular post of her.

"Queen, prince...????? Are we living in a Democracy or a Kingdom? Indian masses have given Congress the mandate, so I have no right to question it. However, the likes of Rahul Gandhi, Deora, Pilot and Scindia whom you have so emphatically mentioned as future of India are there not just because of their personal 'qualifications' but because of their surnames. These princes may be good at their work, however there are many others who might be better but don't get a chance because they are 'lesser born'. True victory of 'Youngistan' will take place when just any youngster can dream of making it big in politics without the backing of their family names."

Today, India got it's youngest minister in Agatha who is just 28 and was sworn in as a Minister of Sate. However, wait for her surname before rejoicing; its Sangma. Yes, she happens to be the daughter of veteran parliamentarian and former Speaker, P.A. Sangma. Along with her many sons, daughters, wives, nephews and grandchildren of politicians took the oath of secrecy today.
I hope with a maturing democracy, this dynastic politics withers away with time. However, looking at one of the oldest democracy in the world, things don't look like moving in that direction. In U.S.A., if Hillary Clinton had managed to get the Democratic ticket and defeated John McCain in the presidential race, that country would have seen two families holding the Presidential post between them for 24(or maybe 28) years. That didn't happen but could happen. So, no one's immune to 'Dynastic Democracy' you see.

Images Courtesy:
1. http://im.rediff.com (original)
2. http://ajexpress.blogspot.com (original)

Indian 'Pataka' League

IPL Season-2 got over about two hours ago. By now even the closing ceremony must have concluded. For a cricket fan, an IPL buff and a blogger at the same time, not writing a single post on this cricket extravaganza seems preposterous. So finally, I thought of wiping off my sins by writing one.

"Cricket is a funny game!"
"In Cricket the unexpected can happen any time!"
"Cricket is a great leveller!"
This year's IPL proved these oft-quoted assertions right. How else would you explain this year's finalists, the two teams that ended the last season at the bottom of the table. And well, the last placed of the two, went on to win the second season yesterday.
The Deccan Chargers had a great start this season though they went a little off-track as the tournament progressed. But those early 4/4 wins always kept them within the sight of a semi-finals spot.
On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore after winning a dream opening game against the defending champions, lost the plot under the newly appointed 'too-expensive' firangi captain. It took the brilliance of our very own, veteran spin-guru to bring the team back into the spotlight, winning 7 of the 9 matches they played under his able leadership up to the finals.
Yesterday, I was rooting for RCB but the day belonged to the DC's. It has been a pleasure to watch the great contributions made by Rudra Pratap Singh, Rohit Sharma and Pragyan Ojha in it's victories this season.
My favourite team Kings XI Punjab got eliminated just before the semi finals. Well, my loyalty towards them come from my roots. Being a Punjabi residing in Chandigarh, my automatic choice is KXIP. One thing about IPL thats really interesting is that you have so many criteria to choose your favourite team. However attaching your loyalties can become a bit difficult when conflicting priorities come up.

Say, for example, Mr. X is a Punjabi who has stayed in Delhi most of his life. Presently, he is working for Reliance in Hyderabad. He is a die hard fan of Shahrukh Khan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Well, lets add some more difficulties for him. He has always fantasized about Shilpa Shetty all his life(OK, I know this one is not convincing enough). Let's swap her with Katrina Kaif(Yeah, now that's a big possibilty;) or maybe he is very fond of Bengaluru because that's the city where he successfully courted his lovely wife. Now which team should this poor guy root for?

Let him make his decision after carrying out a detailed TOWS analysis or just follow his heart. As for me I'll be analysing some HITS and some FLOPS of IPL-2.

HITS:

• South Africans- These people are great cricket enthusiasts who were always there to cheer the teams. The Indian players and franchises must have felt home away from home. This coupled with the state of the art cricketing infrastructure of the country made IPL a great experience.
  
• Lalit Modi- The man who was named one of the most powerful sporting personality recently, proved his mettle again. Snubbed by the Government, he took no time in shifting the venue and executing the plot to perfection.
• Zoozoo- Now this one is not from the cricketing arena but definitely one of the most interesting aspect of watching IPL on our TV sets(and not on the ground as the matches were being played far away across the Indian Ocean). Vodafone came up with another magnificent ad campaign and we all went zoozoo over it!
• Matthew Hayden- The only question everyone was asking on seeing him thrashing the bowlers around the field was- "Why the hell he got retired?" The Orange Cap winner, scored 572 of just 395 balls at an average of 52, this season.
• Fake IPL Player- This blogger had everyone on their toes. With an ever increasing fan following, he kept churning out posts which though loosing their zing with time, were funny and interesting. His final RIP video post kept the mystery behind his true identity alive. (Just realized, that wasn't FIP's final post. I'll read the new ones after posting mine.)
  
• Cricket veterans- T20 is the game for youngsters, they said. However, Kumble, Hayden, Jayasuriya, Sachin, Gilchrist, Warne, Dravid and Ganguly proved them wrong. The two teams playing the finals were led by two of these veterans.
• Delhi Daredevils- This Friday playing the semi-finals, it wasn't their day. Otherwise, this team played like winners throughout the tournament. The Sehwag-Gambhir duo failed to make a mark but others didn't let this hinder their progress. (I hope this duo get their act right before the T20 World Cup)
• Indian Young Brigade- Suresh Raina who could have easily lost in oblivion thanks to his lack lustre performances in international games came back into limelight with his brilliant performance with the bat as well as the ball. While players like Rohit Sharma, R.P. Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Parthiv Patel and Pathan brothers kept impressing, the youngsters like Shadab Jakati, Abhishek Nayar and Manish Pandey will make the lives of the selectors miserable in the coming days.

FLOPS:

• Strategy Breaks- These 7 1/2 minutes break were an unwanted guest this IPL season. They took away a lot from the game. Though beneficial for the bowling side at times as it acted as a distraction for the rampaging batsmen, it made the game longer by quarter of an hour, hence going against the very concept of this new cricket avatar of T20.
• Kolkatta Knightriders- All their games were played off the field. They generated the maximum hype and were always there on the news channels and advertisements. I hope SRK had applied his sponsor's slogan of "Sprite bujhaye only pyaas, baki sab all bakwaas" to his team management too. Had he kept things simple and not venture out on stupid 4-captain formulas et al, things could have been different for them.
• Players' Jerseys- Marketing at its best, I should say. This year the franchises tried to make the maximum out of sponsorships. In return, these sponsors had to be obliged. So no spot was left on the players' jerseys as they became walking hoardings for all kind of products and services from Hajmola to Airlines. Even their helmets were not spared as the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jayawardane carried the stickers(and not embossed logos) of Dabur on them.
  
• Rains- The untimely rains in the initial stages played a spoilsport. KXIP lost their first two encounters in rain-affected matches on account of Duckworth-Lewis formula. Another two matches had to be abandoned. However as the tournament progressed thankfully, the weather got stable.

This IPL, sixes became DLF Maximums and other achievements on field became Citi Moment of Success. However, I chose not to put them under FLOPS as there are certain compulsions of business. So lets give the management some leeway as long as they provide us with good cricket.
Right now that's all coming to my mind as far as HITS and FLOPS go. Overall, this IPL was a big HIT and now I am looking forward to the ICC T20 World Cup and the T20 Champions League coming up later this year. Hey, I just remember there's another T20 tournament played in India. What was its name..................................... yeah, ICL. The harbinger of T20 championships in India is no where to be seen now. May its soul rest in peace;)

Images Courtesy:
Teams' Logos- http://www.iplt20.com (original)
Tournament's Logo- http://hubpages.com (edited)

The Three Risk-tak(e)ers

Friends
An ode to our friendship

A fictitious non-fiction

This post has been submitted for 'Friends Forever' under Blogadda's Win This Wednesday contest.

This is the story of three friends- Aniket, Vimal and Shashi- who were not content with 'what is' but wanted to test their potential to reach what they believed as 'what ought to be'. With their passion to keep their future at stake, they came to be known far and wide as 'The Three Risk-tak(e)ers'.

The story starts with Aniket. He too planned to become a conventional engineer as had his other two buddies post their matriculation. But fate had something else in store for him. After putting in two years of 'hard work' or at least as others believed he did, his results were not worth landing him anywhere. So he had to be content with a B.A. rather than a B.E. It was here that his interest in theatre and drama started and by the end of three years, our small town boy had packed his bags to try his luck in the tinsel town.

The start was good. He landed at the doors of the man under whom superstars like Retake Roshan and many other star-kids had groomed. He ended the acting course with the sorts of 'first class first pass' distinction. However from here the real struggle started. Hunting for movies he ended up acting in two serials.

In the first one which got telecast on Mony T.V., he had three scenes and well in each scene the poor guy, playing a villainous role had to bear a couple of slaps and a punch from the main protagonists.

In the other one on Moon T.V., he played the role of one of the friends of one of the many lead protagonists of the serial. However, before our poor Aniket could show some of his talent the serial was taken off air as the producers realised the only people watching it were the near and dear ones of the dozen actors and actresses who got to debut in their low-budget venture.

Alongside, Aniket also acted in a movie based on the lives of gay prostitutes in which he played one of the leads but the movie couldn't lead him anywhere as even after a year or so, it was craving to see the lights of a projector room of any multiplex. So Aniket had no reason to be 'gay' after all as the only thing he got post-movie were the snickering and gay jokes of his two buddies.

From here we move to the lives of our other two characters. Well both of them successfully completed their engineering unlike their actor buddy. However, Vimal had the childhood dream of becoming an administrator. To pursue this dream, he decided not to take up any job and get into the preparation mode for undoubtedly, the toughest examinations of India.

He was all pumped up as he left his city and reached the national capital to take some preliminary coaching. New city, new life, new friends were there for just about half a year as then he returned back home to continue further.

Soon he found himself trapped within the four walls with his 'books and books'. Most of the friends had left the city to take up their jobs or pursue post-graduation. Though for some time Vimal got distracted thanks to an ill-timed relationship, he was back to his senses in time to fall back in love with his books. With a couple of years gone by since he completed his B.E., Vimal was still preparing and appearing for the exams though better prepared than before.

Unlike Vimal, Shashi got placed in a highly reputed consultancy McKaunsi and got pay package worth envy. Within a year he also got a chance to visit the country of honeymoons in the laps of the beautiful Alps, on a business assignment. But somehow Shashi was not content despite his stability.

Meanwhile on the global front, stability became a paleolithic word as the markets started tumbling and businesses began closing. Companies were finding pretexts to chop off manpower while the poor executives were having sleepless nights fearing for their future.

Amidst all this, out of no where, Shashi decided to leave his secured job and go in for his own start-up. Starting a new business while others are closing down by dozens, seems a bit vague. However, Shashi wanted to join the league of the other two 'extraordinary not-so-gentle men' and no one could stop him. A couple of months passed since he gave resignation but still his web-based company was nowhere to be seen in the network jungle.

These three friends have their own distict dreams. They can't take things as they come. There are many others like them who dream big. Many perch out to realise them. However others prefer to follow the conventional trends because for them security is above their self-actualisation.

These three and numerous other risk-tak(e)ers may succeed or they may fail but one thing is for sure, decades hence sitting on their arm chair they won't be sulking upon thinking- I wish I had given it a try.

Disclaimer:
This story is not based on anyone (except Ankit, Vipul and Shashaank). Any resemblance to anyone living or dead or kept on ventilator as not yet brain dead is purely coincidental.

Image Courtesy
http://meaninglessguy.files.wordpress.com (edited)

Babysteps to Babudom

Way to go!

As the results of the 15th Lok Sabha elections started trickling out on Saturday, many hearts were bound to beat. However, my heart had a totally different reason to become hyperactive. I had to face my Civil Services Preliminary Examination on Sunday, that is, technically yesterday as right now its already two and half hours since the clock ticked 12 at night.
There were reasons to be nervous as I am already one attempt down, an attempt well wasted thanks to my immaturity. However, this time the preparation for at least the first stage, i.e., the preliminary was better, much much better.
The exam went fine and I hope to get to the next stage this year. I have my fingers crossed but the question is for how long can I keep them in this position, as our UPSC babus take nearly 3 months to compile the results irrespective of the fact that this is an objective type paper done on OMR sheets.
However before this result comes out there's another exam I have to face. That's Mains exam(second stage) for the Haryana Civil Services coming up in late June or early July. Well, ofcourse I took the first successful babystep to babudom by clearing its preliminary stage conducted late last month.
So got to start the preparations as soon as possible. For the time being, just signing off to get a peaceful sleep after some tension filled nights!

Image Courtesy
http://maximizingmomentum.com (original)

Empowered!!!

Are you?

Today at quarter past four in the evening, when I perched out of my home, I was amongst the last few Indians who were going to use their right to vote in this month long election saga.

It was my first time. Pressing that button and hearing the beep of conformance ended the game for me but the real political game starts now.

Lets see what happens!!!

Image Courtesy
Self-Photographed (edited)

Proud to be a भारतीय !

Blast from the Past

Searching for some stuff in my cove, I actually tripped upon some old treasure. It was a file that contains, as it's label read, 'Original Creations by Vigro'. Well, it's my childhood collection of poems, I(Vipul Grover) wrote more than a decade ago. Here I am going to reproduce two of them, both dedicated to my love, my country India.
The first written in English is more of an anthem. Read it for yourself.

I am proud of my motherland,
I am proud of her holy sands.
Crowned by the Himalayan Ranges,
Garlanded by the pure Ganges.
Three seas washing Her Holy feet,
The Land where various cultures meet.
The true example of unity in diversity,
The land of oneness and integrity.
I am proud to be her citizen,
I am proud to be an Indian.

I know calling India the true example of unity in diversity may not go so well with many of her critics. However, we must salute her resilience and hope for a better future. That's what I am doing in the next poem, written in my mother language, Hindi. Again let me remind you, I wrote it when I was about 10-12 years old. So don't get too judgmental.

मेरे प्यारे भारत का भविष्य है बहुत सुनहेरा,
देखो मेरा प्यारा तिरंगा झूम कर है लहरा !
नाचेंगे यहाँ मोर भी पहिन के सोने के पंख,
पैसा बिखरा होगा जैसे समुद्र में हों शंख !
चोर-चकारी का हो जायेगा संपूर्ण अंत,
देश का उद्धार करेंगे कई महान संत !
नहीं होगा आतंक, न ही शांति होगी भंग,
सब जातियां रहेंगी ख़ुशी-ख़ुशी संग-संग !
सब देशों में होगा इस ही का सर्वोत्तम अंक,
सभी होंगे राजा , यहाँ न होगा कोई रंक !
खुशी की नदियाँ बहेंगी न होगा कोई ग़म,
अनेकों वीर योद्धा लेंगे यहाँ जन्म !
सब सज्जनों का प्रयतन लायेगा एक दिन रंग,
मिल-जुल कर जीना बन जायेगा सबका ढंग !
दुनिया पर होगा एक दिन इस ही का राज,
नहीं करेगा कोई यहाँ बेईमानी का काज !
सब लोगों में प्रेम होगा बहुत ही गहरा,
हीरे-मोती से बनेगा एक दिन इसका सहरा !
मेरे प्यारे भारत का भविष्य है बहुत सुनहेरा,
देखो मेरा प्यारा तिरंगा झूम कर है लहरा !

Well, I realize, I ended up drawing too rosy a picture of our future. You may call it wishful thinking of a kid. However, I'll call it a young mind's audacity of hope.

Image Courtesy
Self-Photographed (edited)

Dilemma of a first time voter-II

The Left, Right and Centre

In a month's time, I would have exercised my voting right for the first time in my life. At an age of 23 years, 9 months and 26 days(as on May 13, 2009 when polling takes place in Chandigarh), I could have exercised it in the last General Elections too. However, I missed it, thanks to my own and my dad's laziness in getting my Voter ID card made in time. Being a resident of a Union Territory, I don't get to vote in any Assembly Election and I happened to skip the Municipal Corporation elections due to the ignorance(I came to know about it when the results came out).
This post is a more practical take on the question I raised some months back that is the Right to Vote really empowering? Here, I don't comprehend, why to vote, rather whom to vote for?
With just a month to go, I am still undecided. It wasn't so a few months back. Since NDA came to power under Atal Bihari Vajpayee for the first time about one and a half decade back, I had been a BJP supporter or you may say my family had been so, as i was quite young at that time to make up my own mind. However, one thing for sure, I was a big fan of Vajpayeeji and his long pauses. Undoubtedly, BJP(as a part of NDA) is the only viable alternative to Congress led Government even today. No Third Front can be in the combined interest of the nation.
For that matter, a Third Front supported by Left is a recipe for disaster. Left has always preferred to just give an outside support for the simple reason that they know, once they are in the Government, they'll have to make compromises keeping in mind the real politik. Hence, its better to stay out, threaten the government and claim to take the higher moral ground when they aren't heard. Running the whole country is a totally different ball game than running individual states.
The above statement also stands true for all other regional parties. However, by saying this, I don't put a question mark on coalition politics. Coalitions are here to stay and the Indian political system has shown resilience in the past decade to make it work twice in a row. However, any Government in the centre must be formed by either a Congress led alliance or a BJP one for in the present scenario, no other national party(BSP, NCP, RJD in addition to leftist CPI and CPI(M)) looks truly national.
However, we may be in for such a situation as most of the strong allies of BJP and Congress(I) have either parted ways or threatening to do so. With a dozen senior politicians across the political spectrum aspiring for the PM post, the alliances can take any shape.
Now coming back to where I started. Why am I undecided? Well, the way BJP has behaved when in the opposition, doesn't really inspire me to vote for them. As it is so common, they were there to just oppose. Opposition to Nuclear Deal with U.S.A. came as the biggest surprise.
Moreover, Godhra and its aftermath which did not have any profound impact on me at the time it took place as I was more concerned about my Engineering Entrance Examinations back then, was revived when Christians were at the receiving end recently in BJP(or it's alliance) led states of Orissa and Karnataka. Gujarat may have developed at an unabated pace in recent years under Narendra Modi but the ghost of pogrom cannot go away.
Till now, I regarded communalism as just a tactic employed by BJP to come to power as opposed to minority appeasement employed by the pseudo-secular parties like Congress(I). However, the above mentioned incidents have made me to rethink as it seems, its becoming impossible for BJP to disassociate with this tactic post-election too. The way they have supported Varun Gandhi and his comments is condemnable.
Now coming from the right to the centre, we have the Grand Old Party of India, Congress(I) recently called 'Budia'(an old lady) by Narendra Modi. I may hate Modi for his communal politics but he is a real entertainer when he starts the Congress bashing. My biggest opposition to this party is that how can we give the reigns of the biggest democracy in the world in the hands of such an undemocratic party. I'll hate to vote for Congress if my vote helps Rahul Gandhi become the PM. What is his credibility?
The present PM, Manmohan Singh may be called a weak PM. The strings may be pulled by Sonia Gandhi and he may be regarded as just doing the ground work for the arrival of the prince Rahul Gandhi. However, this cannot deny the fact that he worked his way up to this coveted post. He spent about half a century working as a university teacher in India and England, RBI Governor, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Finance Minister and the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha. Moreover, as the FM, he was the one who heralded the nation in the new direction of liberalisation and globalisation.
Here, I am not starting a young 'vs' old debate as presently no one inspires me more than Obama. The only thing Rahul can brag about is his lineage. There is every possibility that if Congress(I) led alliance comes to power, in a couple of years, Manmohan Singh may 'develop' some serious medical ailment and the reigns are handed over to another undeserving Gandhi.
In this post, I have only discussed those major issues which are hindering me from voting to power the specific parties. I haven't discussed the positives and the smaller negatives as these big negatives mask every other thing for me. I hope in the coming month, along with the preparations for my upcoming Civil Services Preliminary Examination, I am also able to comprehend the positives to make my final decision. After all, the first time is always special and I must consider my single vote can make the difference.

Image Courtesy
Self-Sketched and Photographed (edited)

Beyond Words

A leaf-less, yet not life-less tree

The Parrot Leaves
An evening view from my balcony

Image Courtesy
Self-Photographed (edited)

Going back to the masses

A new democratic experiment in U.K.

It was Mahatma Gandhi who realized the importance of masses and engaged them in the fight against discrimination in South Africa. On returning to his homeland, he successfully replicated the model on a much larger scale, which played a decisive role in helping India attain freedom. However, once the job was done, the masses chose to disengage with the politics and allow their representatives do the dirty work. It was quarter a century hence, when Jayaprakash Narayan decided to bring the masses back to the center stage from the wilderness. JP must have succeeded for that made those in power act irresponsibly and plunge the country into the darkest years of Indian democracy, the Emergency.
The politicians still need the masses to get into power but they have learnt all the tricks to deceive and exploit them for their own good. So while the poorer lot still oblige these men by attending their rallies and turning up at the polling booths to vote for them, the not-so-poorer lot prefer voting for reality shows and television surveys, rather than at the general, assembly or local elections.
A new model of engaging the masses has been developed in U.S. by Barack Obama. He made the best use of information technology and communication to form a decisive democratic force of masses which heralded him to the post of the most powerful man in the world.
Taking a cue from all this, a new democratic exercise is being experimented in U.K. I read about it just now in an article by Hasan Suroor in 'The Hindu' and I could not wait but share it with others. If you remember the recent 'Lead India' Campaign of Times of India, then this new experiment in U.K. is just taking such an initiative to its logical conclusion.
A campaign has been launched in the name of 'The Jury Team', which according to its website is a political movement created with the goal of making politics more accessible, politicians more accountable and political institutions more transparent. According to their mission statement, this campaign is against the current political parties that have turned the Government into an Oligarchic institution, a small and increasingly distant group.
This is how the campaign operates- Anyone interested in a political career can put themselves forward through The Jury Team’s website but they must agree not to support any policies that discriminate on the basis of race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, disability or religious or other belief. The general public will be able to vote for their favourite candidate by texting the code of that person to a “unique” text number. The selected candidates will then be fielded as Independents. Moreover, these candidates once elected, would be free of the party whip, i.e., they won't be obliged to follow the dictats of their party but will be independent to vote for the proposals for legislations as they wish to.
This campaign has been launched and funded by millionaire Sir Paul Judge, however as mentioned on their website, they rely on donations to keep running.
The question is for how long can such a non-party party, a term devised by Sir Paul, can remain a non-party. Isn't there every chance of egoism of such people coming in way of high principles set initially. On the first thought, such an experiment will have a chance to survive only if such an individual distants himself from it with time, to allow the masses take it forward, but on a second thought, wont this campaign just wither away if it doesnt get the support and direction of a strong personality.
Moreover, in a country like India which finds itself divided on the lines of religion, caste, region and ethnicity, where the so-called National Parties are being dictated terms by the regional ones, where still the majority doesnt vote for an ideology but for a bottle of country made liquor, where still only a small minority find access to modern technologies, can such an experiment even survive one election. These are the questions that spring once the reality dawns. However, they can be answered only when the experiment has been conducted.
As for the initiative, the best source seems the Indian media. They were so active post-Mumbai carnage, driving their individual campaigns against politicians. It will be interesting to see if they have it in them to do what they preach. As for the initial funding, the media houses can oblige their 'high class' chatterati to donate some bucks, who love to come on the discussion shows and spank the Indian politics and the politicians and then share a glass of wine with the same politicos at their evening parties.
Recently, in India new initiatives are being taken as we see a number of unconventional political parties springing up. There was a technocrats based Lok Paritran and recently an IIM-IIT graduates based political outfit. In a Punjab district recently, the members of the Market Association decided to field their own candidates as they felt, the political parties always forget them after taking donations for their election campaigns. However, rather than coming together to obtain a critical mass, such parties prefer to do it alone. Maybe, with time they realize the importance of united action.
India which has adopted the parliamentary democracy and many of its conventions from U.K. might also give a try to this latest experiment though its still to be seen if it makes any mark in the country of its origin itself being in nascent stages there too.

Image Courtesy
http://www.trekearth.com by Ramesh Lalwani (edited)

The Hamilton Holi

and a note on Pakistan politics

As we celebrated Holi in India, the Men in (the new shade of) Blue had their own plans for celebrations in Hamilton. While the Rain Gods in New Zealand continued to play Holi on and off, the Delhi-Daredevils drenched the Kiwis with the shower of fours and sixes.
Earlier the Indian bowlers did a good job in restricting the Kiwis just under run a ball but the way Sehwag-Gambhir duo approached the target, it seemed any score would have been indefensible for the black-caps.
Man of the moment, Sehwag's blitzkrieg earned India its first ODI series win in New Zeland and for him in person, the record of the fastest century by any Indian in ODI's. His partner supported him well throughout the innings.
Gautam Gambhir had a humble beginning in the international arena. I remember my cousin from Noida, who had played Inter-College tournaments against his team, telling me about Gambhir's exotic strokeplay and shear power. My cousin, himself a wicket-keeper used to watch Gambhir in awe as he sent the balls hurling out of the stadium. However, having seen his earlier international performances this was difficult to comprehend. But then came IPL. And so came IPL for his opening partner Sehwag, in dire need to resurrect his career. After the tournament there was no looking back. Be it Tests, ODI's, T20's, IPL or Domestic cricket, the two are made for each other.
With due respect to the master-blaster, I believe its time that he recedes to a lower slot in ODI's to allow this dynamic duo play more and more cricket together at the top. It is in the best interest of the Indian cricket team.
_________________________________________________________________

We've heard that history repeats itself but when it comes to Pakistan, it seems to repeat just too frequently. The scenes which were a common place just a year ago are back to haunt democracy in Pakistan.


This cartoon by Keshav in 'The Hindu' portrays it aptly. Ironically, the situation in our neighboring country acts as a balm to heal our woes against our domestic politics. The treacherous credentials of our politicians pale in front of those from Pakistan. It makes us realise how despite its shortcomings, the Indian polity has allowed democracy to survive despite some hiccups in mid-70's.
As for Pakistan, in the words of Nawaz Sharif, within a year, the ghost of Musharraf has resurrected itself in the form of Zardari. Today speaking at a rally, Sharif, in a bid to underscore his concern for constitutional reforms to restore the balance of power back in the favour of Prime Minister as in pre-Musharraf times, did not indulge in any mud-slinging against the present PM Yousuf Raza Gilani, rather supported him, keeping his own political ambitions at bay as of now. As noted by 'Times Now', Prime Minister Gilani too looked defiant later in the evening as he spoke of democracy, 1973 Constitution and early withdrawal of President's rule from Punjab, not in sync with President Zardari's assertions. However, it will be interesting to see if it indeed is defiance to Zardari or just a 'good cop/bad cop' ploy of PPP to soothe the increasing unrest among the masses ignited by PML(N).
My heart goes out to the common man in Pakistan who so emphatically voted for change and democracy last year but got nothing but dirty politics in return. However, in the present context too, I believe, as noted in my previous post, that the polity of any nation is just a reflection of its society. Its high time that Asif Ali 'Bhutto' Zardari backtracks and yields, or his future too seems to be going the same way as that of Musharraf.

Images Courtesy
Cricket- http://im.rediff.com (original)
Cartoon- http://www.hinduonnet.com by Keshav (original)

Upon each shoulder lies the weight!

It can't be shirked, it can't be swayed..

Before reading this post, please read the previous, 'Aren't you just one of them?' because this is just an extension to what I 'penned' last time.
There was a reason why I asked you to introspect. The day I wrote this poem, I was having a discussion with a cousin. The topic was a common one; the falling standards of Indian polity and administration. On a fault-finding spree, he kept rattling one example after the other, all the time cursing the netas and the babus. Once he was done or rather when I was done(listening), I just asked him some simple questions. These (and some others) are the ones which I included in my poem later in the day.
Its very convenient for us to find scapegoats. Our polity and administration are the easiest ones, for the simple reason that they have hand in everything and that they deserve the backlash for anything going wrong. Just see how even I've turned critical. Its true that as citizens, we have the right to demand sincerity from our elected representatives and their executives. However, we should not forget that our polity and administration is just a reflection of our society and 'we' are the society.
When the 'Mumbai carnage' happened, we all were up against the polity. We were frustrated, we were agitated and we wanted accountability. The 'system' again failed us. Those who had been sent to represent us, again let us down.
We want tighter security. We want all the pores to be sealed but are we ready for it. Remember the last time you visited a multiplex and were frisked at the gate With time running out for the movie, how you asked the guard, "C'mon bhaiya! Do I look like a terrorist to you?" This is the very attitude of 'chalta hai' that we see so often in our bureaucracy. So you see from where it comes.
This may sound cliche, but who is being corrupt when on breaking a traffic rule, you prefer giving 50 bucks to the traffic hawaldar than accepting your mistake, letting him cut your challan and paying the due amount to the concerned authority.
I realize how easy it is for us to approach turpitude from virtuousness than the other way round. In New Delhi, where I stayed for half an year or so, I had to travel daily in the metro. Initially, I was in a habit of offering my seat to the aged and the ladies standing in the aisle. However, as time passed and I saw the depravity of my fellow passengers, I started hesitating in doing so. Though, I still had the courtesy to stand up for say, a pregnant lady or a frail looking elderly; but for each time doing so, I had to run a program in my mind to assess if the person fulfilled all the criteria to be showered with my chivalry. So from being a 'good boy', I became 'not so good boy'.
We have to learn to hold on to our virtues to ask others to do so. Here, I remember a story, one of my teacher in primary school told us. I am not sure if its true or not but definitely its quite effective. It goes something like this.
Once a person brought his son to Mahatma Gandhi and complained that he eats a lot of sugar. However, as he has a lot of regard for Mahatma, he might start resisting his temptation if Mahatma asks him to do so. However, Gandhiji asked them to come back after a couple of days. Even the next time they were returned to come back later. On the next visit, Gandhiji apologized to the person saying that he can't fulfill his simple wish as he himself has a sweet tooth. All these days he had been trying to resist but failed. So he has no moral right to ask the young one to do so.
So do we have the right to ask for accountability from our elected representatives? Yes, we do have the constitutional and legal right. However, we lose our moral right to do so by a fraction, every time we indulge in depravity and corruption. My questionnaire in the previous post must have helped you to gauge where you stand in this respect.
'Slumdog millionaire' might have disturbed us by showcasing our dirt and filth but remember we all have made a 'worthy' contribution in keeping our cities unclean. So only Government cannot be blamed for not providing enough safai-karamcharis, we all have to take the blame for it.
So next time you throw an empty wrapper out of the car window, you are also throwing a fraction of your moral right out with it. I have thrown out such fractions so many times that I've lost the count.
Moreover, now with the elections just round the corner, if you decide not to visit the polling booth, then you'll also be foregoing a big chunk of your constitutional and legal right.
So rather than being this monkey pointing fingers at others, it's better to be wholesome in ourselves. An effort can be made for sure.
These parting lines might strike a chord or two.

Upon each shoulder lies the weight!
It can’t be shirked, it can’t be swayed.
You’ll try that someone else falls prey,
For yourself, you'll search an easy way.
Today you might shut your eyes and say,
“Hey, let’s keep it for some other day!”
But how long will you keep it at bay?
For upon each shoulder lies the weight!
Those who realize it well in time,
Won't lose a penny or a single dime.
They’ll do it while others pretend and mime.
With shoulders feeling light and sublime,
They’ll hear the eternal satisfaction chime.
Don’t bother that next line doesn’t rhyme ;)
For upon each shoulder lies the weight!

Image Courtesy
http://superpowersthatbe.blogspot.com (original)

Aren't you just 'one of them'?

Let's see!

When was the first time, you told yourself

"No, no, no... not me! I am not one of them."

When was the last time you cautiously reaffirmed

"No, no... not me! I can not be one of them."

Can you stop snickering when a fat fella falls?

Don't you run to the bushes when in urgency nature calls?

Can you stop an eve teaser from making an obscene note?

Don't you prefer a drive when there's a day off to vote?

Can you stop jumping the queue when the time seems short?

Don't you love poking others but yourself easily get out of sorts?

Can you stop your bike to help a blind man cross?

Don't you use the roadside as a bin to throw your dross?

Can you stop gazing till the maid finally passes an angry glance?

Don't you keep sitting while the aged in the aisle changes her stance?

Can you stop breaking others' windows while playing evening cricket?

Don't you pay the cop some bucks to avoid an overspeeding ticket?

Can you stop scratching your back while standing for the anthem?

Don't you just need a lame pretext to create ruckus and mayhem?

If you have answered these sequentially, in yesses and nays,

Then congrats my friend! You indeed aren't one of them.

As for me, I realise 'O Lord', still some gap remains.

Till I fill this lacuna, I am doomed to be just one of them!

Image Courtesy
http://blog.lib.umn.edu and http://photography.nationalgeographic.com (edited)

"I chose love and I'm here"

Jai Ho!

I may have used the title of this Oscar winning song as the sub-title of my post but frankly speaking, I do not believe that it actually deserved any award. In our Mumbai film industry this song would have lost in oblivion. However, the man behind it definitely deserves a lot. Even he might agree that this is not even close to his best work but then who cares. He has won the Oscar for it and the fact to rejoice is that our very own Rahman, humming to whose tunes we have grown up is now a world acclaimed composer.


I happened to switch on the television in the morning, just in time to see A.R. Rahman receive his first Academy award. On receiving his second Oscar, Allah Rakha Rahman made a beautiful statement to end his acceptance speech. He, in his ever-soft spoken tone remarked, "..[A]ll my life I had a choice of hate and love. I chose love and I'm here."
What was his context, only he knows the best. However, I could not help but see this statement in a much larger context. Rahman, a Muslim by faith(though not by birth) and Tamil by ethnicity has seen his brethren choosing the other path, that of hatred.
So, while the world bleeds to Islamic terror, Sri Lanka has been bleeding to Tamil terror. I must note here that by making this statement, I do not intend to stereotype any community and question their genuine grievances.
However, the message given out by Rahman could not have been more apt for the occasion. We all, irrespective of our ethnicity or religious faith can learn a lot out of this simple statement.
Kudos is due him for his achievement against all odds. Jai ho!

Image Courtesy
http://www.oscar.com (original)

My 'de-reservations' about the Reservation

An ELian view

The memories of anti-reservation protests haven't faded yet. We might have stopped talking about it as there are other issues to discuss about but to think the matter is over is too naive a view. Say, one fine morning Government decides to introduce reservation for religious minorities or any other disadvantaged group for that matter, the agenda will be back in limelight. There will be angry protests by the sections being negatively affected by this policy of positive discrimination, then there will be protests against the aforesaid protests by the sections being covered in the ambit of the new policy and there will be every possibility of these antagonist protests taking an ugly turn.

Meanwhile the media will have a field day. Everyone from a rickshaw-wala to a business tycoon will be seen pouring out their staggered and half baked views on the tube. Some looser might decide to light himself on fire to show his devotion to either cause. The scenes will be bad, the time will be bad. However, as it always happens, the present will become the past and the past is best forgotten to prepare for the future. We tend to make this mistake believing that future will bring something new, never realizing that clues of the future lie in the past itself.

I remember taking part in an anti-reservation rally back in 2006. How angry I was, how cheated I felt and now I realise how narrow my view was. It's not that now I am in perfect consonance with this variant of Affirmative Action but certainly now, I am able to see it as an essential tactic in the larger national strategy of achieving redistributive justice. However, the problem arises when it becomes 'an end in itself'. The policy makers at the high echelons forget the other tactical policy initiatives and hence everything gets eclipsed by the reservation policy.

Talking of reservation in educational institutes, it may be a strong pillar of affirmative action but foundation of such an affirmative action lies in universal reach of effective primary and secondary education. However, as the latter reaps fruits only in a long term, its sincere implementation gets neglected by the political class for whom quick returns matter the most to maintain their parliamentary strength. What can be a better option for them than the reservation policy! Hence, 'displacement of goals' takes place as reservation policy becomes a means to satisfy a different end altogether, i.e., amassing votes at the elections. Vote-bank politics leads to innovations to include more and more sections of the society within the reservation ambit rather than clipping down the list.

If we look into our caste history, we witness a phenomena known as Sanskritization wherein the so called lower castes strive to move up the caste hierarchy by adopting 'cleaner' habits, to achieve a higher status in the society. However, in present scenario, we see people fighting to move down the hierarchy, the recent Gujjar agitation its apt example. So some sort of 'de-sanskritization' is taking place in contemporary Hindu society. The reason behind it is not far-fetched. With lower status comes better reservation provisions. Better the provisions, better the chance to rise the class and political hierarchy. The money and power provide a parallel means to attain a higher status in the society. Hence, diminution in the import of the caste based hierarchy as a means to attain the same takes place.

With this background to ponder over, I'll now be addressing those anti-reservationists who discard this policy in totality, i.e., in both letter and spirit. I must say they are making a grave mistake. By doing so, they are alienating the marginal sections of the society. The need is to accept the reservation policy in principle but oppose its misuse vehemently. India has a long history of caste system. To uproot all the associated ills, affirmative action is a must. As mentioned earlier, reservation is a strong pillar of the same. However, it should only be used if its right implementation is guaranteed or at least sincere efforts are made by the administration for the same.

Those opposing the misuse, should foremost take the marginal sections into confidence. These sections must be shown, how those in power want to keep them marginal to reap their votes by making false promises year after year. In a number of cases, the real enemies of the marginalized sections tend to be those from amongst their own ranks only, who have successfully attained power over the years. Till yesterday the two were equals but today one is the 'mai-baap' of the other. Hence, they will try their best to keep this equation in their own favour by perpetuating the miseries of their brethren. They'll make promises but tactfully keep them unfulfilled and put the blame on the 'others'.

Hence, the breed of anti-reservationists, I am addressing here, help such manipulators by distinguishing themselves as a pool of 'others' against whom the wrath of the marginal sections can be directed by the dominant ones amongst them.

Things are not always black or white. Its important to identify the different shades of grey that lie within. Think about it.

Image Courtesy
Not traceable. Kindly Intimate me for due credits.

Of wars and awards

In brief..
In the last couple of weeks, busy with the preparations for my upcoming examination, I have being craving for some time to blog. Here 'some' can mean anywhere between 2-4 hours for a single posting. The previous post on Satyam took below half an hour as it had a very narrow scope. But the ideas which were coming in my mind these days needed more elaborate analysis and hence more time.
For example, my incongruent views on Palestine, Tamil Eelam and Kashmir issue. War has been raging in Sri Lanka and ceasefire was recently declared in Gaza but humanitarian crisis in both the regions are abundant. In the crossfire between the warring armies and the militant outfits, the price is paid by the innocent civilians. However, while I find myself sympathizing with the Palestinian cause, I am at least agreement with ‘L.T.T.E.'s struggle for Tamilian cause’ in Sri Lanka or for that matter coming back to India, Jihadist's call for azaadi in 'our' Kashmir.
At a first look these three issues seem very similar but on a closer look at the causes of origin, related ideology, methodology employed, overall organization and the leadership, one may unearth the differences. Even when such a deep analysis is undertaken by various persons, views bound to differ. On my behalf, with a caveat that neither my analysis is amateurish nor highly professional, I stand by my views that while the Jewish state of Israel is the real culprit in the Middle East crisis for last half a century, neither the present Sri Lankan establishment nor the Indian can be indicted on the remaining two issues respectively. However, my case is not that the Tamilian grievances or the Kashmiri grievances don't hold any weight but it is that those who claim to represent these grievances are only aggravating them.
Moreover, in the case of Middle East, Israel is being very adamant and with the backing of U.S. has chosen the path of belligerence instead of attending to the Palestinian grievances in an honest way. On the other hand, while Indian Government has been making democratic strides in Kashmir despite all the hurdles being placed by those from across the border, even the present Sri Lankan Government is waging the war to uproot the LTTE which has been fighting a loosing agenda having no connection to the genuine Tamilian grievances in the emerald island. Any work of reform is only possible when LTTE is wiped out of the the Northern and Eastern provinces.
What makes me say this needs a long explanation, a journey through the history of these three intriguing issues, for which I presently don’t have the time. So let’s keep it for sometime in future.
Now coming to another very hotly debated topic these days. What is it about India that the Westerners want to see? If the Bookers or Oscars are any indication to this, then definitely they love to see, read and thence award the wretchedness of India. Of course, I am pointing towards the two pieces of art, one literary which goes by the title 'The White Tiger' penned by Arvind Adiga and the other from the world of cinema which goes by the title 'Slumdog Millionaire' adapted from Vikas Swarup's 'Q&A' and directed by British director Danny Boyle.
People may accuse me of being too critical and ultra-nationalist, but believe me, I liked both the novel and the movie. The best thing about both is the way they have been woven. While the former is in the form of letters written by a 'rags to riches' Indian entrepreneur to Chinese premiere telling him the story of his journey from 'Darkness' to light, the latter shows the journey of a 'slumdog' from 'rags to riches' through a quiz game show. Both show the different shades of Indian reality like the caste system, communalism, shining metropolitans but ‘dark’ slums and villages, brothels, beggars, dirty politics, mafia, booming call centers, etc. in a unique fashion. Both are praiseworthy indeed.
However, my only question is why the Westerners only like to award the wretchedness of India. Again, I am not saying that they have no right to portray these realities. Danny Boyle as a British or Adiga as an Indian, both have the freedom to create whatever they want. Moreover what they have created portrays the truth. So my case is not against them. They are being awarded for their pieces of art and they do deserve it. However, I just get this feeling that Westerners tend to get very narrow about their view of East when it comes to appreciating its realities.
So they award a 'Blood Diamond' and 'The Last King of Scotland' when it comes to Africa, and 'The White Tiger' and 'Slumdog Millionaire' when it comes to India. They tend to have this impression that real cinema needs to be awarded, which is a good criteria indeed but why does the reality have to be wretched when the subject is India or Africa.
Again, I agree 'Slumdog Millionaire' is more about hopes and destiny of a young child and Boyle tried to capture that feeling through this portrayal. However, still I am apprehensive about the criteria used by the Westerners. Is it simply the quality of the art or the particular quantity, i.e., content that they like to see. Anyways keeping my apprehensions on hold, I must congratulate those behind the movie and wish them luck for Oscars.
It’s time to get back to some serious studies. I hope the next time I blog, I have ample time to treat my post in a better way. Adieu.

Images Courtesy
1. http://www.au.af.mil (original)
2. http://www.apha.org (edited)