Did we miss the bus?

It might sound like a U –turn to many, but I think I need to reconsider my strong stand against Raj Thakre's views. And don’t get me wrong here, in no way do I support the vandalism and hooliganism that’s become his norm. No city can be held at ransom because somebody wants his views to be heard.

However yesterday I was viewing the ‘Devils Advocate’ and Shobha De the guest, was being grilled for being sympathetic to Raj Thakre’s views. It was an eye-opener of sorts. Sadly I had no answer to the few questions that she raised in the interview. The questions that were innate yet had a great impact and made me introspect and think.

I know that Raj Thakre’s comments or stand is with political interests, however there is somewhere a discord in the city’s daily mayhem that was being conveniently ignored by us till Raj Thakre’s violent outbursts shook us and made us sit up and take notice.

When Shobha De says, I don’t hear Marathi in Mumbai now, isn’t it sad that the state capital is loosing its local flavour? Mumbai can be the next Shanghai, but should that happen at the cost of our local essence? Maharashtra is known for its intellectual forerunners, but where are they today? Where are the street plays, the responsible journalism, the revolutionary thinkers, the protestors…. Where are the likes of Vijay Tendulkar (Gokhales and Kale’s). This certainly made me sit up and take notice. Isn’t it true that today these words are mere text-book connotations ?

As an industry why is the Marathi theater and cinema suffering? Is it that people don’t enjoy them? That can’t be true, otherwise movies like Saade Maade Teen and De Dhakka, (both with borrowed concepts from Hindi and English movies) couldn’t have been a superhit. Is it that people now don’t want stories with strong message or thought provoking issues? This cant be true either or plays like ‘Kusum Manohar Lele’ or movies like 'Dombivali fast' couldn’t have been running full house. Then what is the issue?

We as Marathi speaking people need to introspect a few things. Is speaking in Marathi demeaning? Or is it that it doesn’t fit in the current definition of an upwardly mobile crowd? Do we need to hide or shy away from simple things like our language or culture so that we could fit in the current genre of hip n happening crowd? And this is same for all metro cities in varying degrees. We are a multi-lingual, multi-cultural, diverse nation. That is our identity. Why shy away from our own identity? Knowing two or three languages is no big deal in our country, then suddenly why have we turned into chauvinists who believe they can only speak in English? Is it necessary to settle in places like California or New York before you start becoming the flag bearers of Marathi and then make special efforts to join the Maharashtra Mandal etc?

The media who have been following this issue of non-marathis have just been fanning the news to sensationalize the issue and spread panic thereby aggrevating the situation. I have witnessed the flimy news covering tactics of these media channels. The Bangalore blasts where low intensity crude bombs exploded around 2 months back were presented in such an unruly manner that I had calls streaming in all day checking our safety when it did not demand such kind of blown up coverage.

I think its not an issue of outsiders settling in Mumbai or any other Metro city but it is upon us as individuals to realise and draw a line between thoughtful change and listless aping. It cant be the issue of outsiders as we have been migrating to different states for a long time, however then it was natural to follow the principal of ' When in Rome do as the Romans do'. I had many so called outsider friends, but when in Pune they all knew and spoke Marathi, respected others sentiments and participated in local festivals. Their culture and tradition was preserved in their homes and we inturn respected their sentiments and their festivals. I dont think there would be many Maharastrians who dont know 'Onam' or the Gujrathi 'Thepla' and 'Khandavi' or the 'Idli' & 'Dosa' and vice- versa.

The media for sensationalizing all news without having a barometer to check the intensity and present facts, the common man for trying to ape the West to the extent of losing their individuality, the politicians for politicizing every issue and the theater and entertainment industry for not doing its bit to create awareness and providing the viewers with thought provoking messages, we all have somewhere missed the bus and need to seriously reconsider our stands.

Its really sad when people make statements like, ‘We are happy to stay here as this area is populated by Maharashtrians (read Marathi speaking)’ while staying in Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra!

Journey of India…. Where to?

The other day I was watching an episode of Story of India on Discovery. An engrossing, informative and very well researched series; it was also enlightening for me, in many aspects.

It attempted to answer questions like ‘How did the Harappan civilization end?’ What made the Indus change its course? And even some seemingly bizarre questions like ‘Did Mahabharata actually happen?’ or What do Rigvedas actually tell you? It was very well researched and logically presented hence engrossing. Though it’s a pity that with a million dollar media industry thriving in India, it took a foreign channel like Discovery to come up with this concept, I must applaud the effort and the novelty with which it was presented.

‘India’ usually brings up images of rustic life, holy rituals, pilgrimage centers, festivities, elephants, population, malnourished children, low per capita income and more recently BPO and IT sectors. Quite frankly, I was bored of seeing the same old concepts redundantly being packaged in a different cover and put forth as authentic Indian story.

Discovery has mastered the art of looking sideways at a seemingly redundant topic and that’s the beauty about this series. The presentation hardly varies with a foreign presenter taking the viewers across the streets of these places and divulging ancient stories while attempting to answer the many myths that surround them.

It traces the Journey of India… literally! The last episode had been on the Dravidian culture and this time it was the existence… peek and then extinction of Harappa and Mohenjodaro civilization. It was the largest civilization in existence then with flourishing business in trade, cattle rearing and agriculture. This was surely enlightening. Apart from the fact that they were very advanced and had many sophisticated mechanisms like drainage systems for the whole village in place what’s amazing is that even today in rural India, most of the blue-print is followed exactly the way it was then. They even traced the Aryans origin to Central Asia, near Turkmenistan. They even traced an archeological site with mostly similar layouts and civilization!

By the end of this series I realized one thing strongly. Our ancestors were more democratic and logical thinkers than we are today! I mean they exchanged culture and ideology or thinking easily, learned from each other and helped the other evolve in the process, they were seemingly more tolerant to settlers from far away country and ended up having a rich and vibrant tapestry dotted with amalgamated wisdom.

Today we are either ashamed of claiming the same knowledge that was the root of a prosperous India in the ancient times or are plain ignorant. What is worse is that people who do know a little about it have suddenly assumed the position of flag –bearers of Indian civilization and are vandalizing and resorting to hooliganism in the name of civilization and customs.

There is so much to learn and know in this country - the thought itself leaves me overwhelmed. However series like these restore a faith that probably these mark the beginning of an informed research of that lost knowledge.

Stardom at a cost

I kind of stumbled upon Amitabh Bacchan’s blog today. Well I was searching some stuff for my research and I ended up finding Amitabh’s blog. Now that I was on it, I decided to read a little and move on… However the Grand Opera’s image at the start of the post caught my eye. It was a grand and opulent theater..

You might say, what else would you expect in Paris but this place had an old world charm attached to it which instantly transported you to the world of ballets & musicals. An era when the affluent rich with long silk gowns and hand-held glasses donned the audience section!

Well, coming back to the blog as I read through, Amitji described the theater and all well. He also mentioned about a bunch of ladies who were chattering non-stop with pointed figures towards him. Obviously they recognized him and could not stop boasting about their knowledge of him. These are obviously not Amitabh’s words and if he reads them I am sure he wouldn’t approve of it. He is just too gracious and sophisticated for this.

But reading that made me think. We as audience take star’s privacy for granted. I mean he is an old man working non-stop with a hectic schedule. If he decides to take a short break, enjoy some time to himself or even pursue a hobby or watch a play, ballet or musical like any normal person, who are we to pounce on him and rob him off even that?

I mean imagine you sitting in a theater watching a movie and having a good time with your wife/husband and two rows away there is a person who knows you. That person doesn’t just stop at giving you a pleasant smile and acknowledging glace or sharing a few pleasantries but starts chatting non-stop with others about what an amazing person you are and how good your friendship is etc… Frankly wouldn’t you be irritated?

I agree that these people are in the glamour industry and almost everything they do is news, but is it right on our part to actually rob them off their meager privacy and family time too? After all we are all entitled to our short breaks, vacations with family, pursuing an hobby, taking off and watching a play/ concert that we wanted to see to badly… Why should they be treated any different?

Friends- the best part of life!

So many hands in 1 tiffin box.

So many friends on 1 bench

So many calls on 1 b’day night.

So many tears for 1little fight….

Friends are the best part of your life…

I got this message early morning and it innately brought a smile on my face! This was so true. School and college remain the best part of my life… and I guess for many this holds true. What makes them so memorable are our friends.

Even today while reading the message, end-number of images flashed before my eyes. Though I am not in touch with them on regular basis – except for the social networking sites, it doesn’t matter. They just seem so close.

I still remember the tiffin sharing days. The days when you invariably liked what your friend bought in his tiffin-box. The days when many hands in the tiffin box never bothered you. These small things were an involuntary part of our existence at some point of time.

Even today I can vividly remember the numerous hilarious incidents, our favourite pastimes, incessant chatter, the stupid fights and countless days that we spent together, while I can’t remember a single day from my so-called professional and fast-paced existence to save my life! (apart from promotions and salary hikes, ofcourse!)

School and college life has a fervor and effervescent tapestry that makes it so cherished. Where else could you participate in interschool/collage games & cultural events with your friends. Chatter and spend long hours with each other while doing nothing. Go to competitions, just to cheer your friends while you had no business hanging around there?

Or when else could you gate-crash at a friends place or call them all over to your place and have a blast. Mid-night calls on their b’days or just take off for trips and treks in the monsoon. Party in meager pocket money. When else could you plan things in a giffy and doing anything was no BIG DEAL as long as your friends were along.

Then our life did not revolve around, appraisals, promotions, salary hikes, office grapevine or things life maid’s not coming, husbands busy, kids not well, no money, no holiday etc. Now things are complicated (or we have made them to be) and with fewer friends coming along, its even more difficult to ease out.

All I can say is… “Thank God I collected some amazing and truly wonderful friends on the way. They really make your life much easier in this crazy maze of life”

Babbling away...

I have been feeling bottled up for some time, bored with no enthusiasm to do anything whatsoever. It is frustrating at times to be listlessly doing the routine stuff week after week. Nothing seems to affect you…and then suddenly, late Friday evening, I get a message that I have an off the next day! Imagine getting an off when you were just getting ready for another grueling day at work.

Oh boy, my joy knew no bounds! It was like finding money in your jean pocket when you were totally broke. It was like being invited for a banquet when you felt you would die of hunger! A little over exaggerated, but this very well summarizes my joy! I had no clue of what I would do, but was just blissful.

I still haven’t figured out, what exactly made me so joyous and what did I do with my sudden found time. But whatever it was, the fact that my rant is not about my maid’s sudden disappearance or about the dumb movie that I saw or about the water/electricity bills, costly veggies and groceries or any other general humdrum of managing a house, it sure worked.

The dosage of blissful mirth, untroubled lazing around and living without agenda sure worked for me, having pulled me out of the deep swirling shallows of boredom and plugged existence.

A tragedy long forgotten….

Yesterday I skimmed through a book based on the Bhopal gas tragedy. The images in the book were shot by Raghu Rai and the copy was written by a senior journalist who had covered the Bhopal gas tragedy extensively. Well I must attribute this as one of the perks of working under a famous photographer as otherwise I don’t think I would have been able to lay my hands on it.

The tag line read “ Portrait of a corporate crime”. What followed were tragic images , all black and white… all narrating a tale… a tale of disaster… a tale of never-ending suffering …a tale of annihilation. Leafing through the pages and reading the blurbs made blood churn towards the apathy shown by Union Carbide and the Indian government. Who was to be blamed? The corporate as they did not comply with the safety measures, illegally stored large quantities of highly volatile gases or the corrupt government that gave them the courage to flout all rules? Or our ‘chalta hai’ and fatalist attitude ?

The preface recounted the 1984 tragedy. How the leak was triggered during the routine maintenance check and how it complicated due to absence of safety measures and then quickly manifested due to the callous attitude of the corporate and their inefficiency in informing the police and local administration at the earliest. A dangerous monster was unleashed that night on a town of more than 2 lakh residents that engulfed the city, its people and left in its wake daunting memories. For the survivors this was the beginning of a long struggle. Struggle for compensation, struggle for survival, struggle for a dignified life all which remain elusive till date.

In Raghu Rai’s words "What I saw was to change my life. It was an unprecedented scene of chaos. What startled me most was the silence of death. Thousands of people had already died, thousands more than those who died in the 11 September attack on the World Trade Centre. I vowed then and there to continue my work, to do all I could to show the world what happens to people when corporations are not held liable for their operations, when they are allowed to cut costs and safety standards when they operate abroad."

To date, 20,000 have died from gas exposure and the effects are now extending into the next generation. 1,50,000 of the survivors are chronically ill and communities are drinking contaminated groundwater because Dow has still not cleaned up the dangerous chemicals Union Carbide left behind. After almost 24 years they are still living the nightmare that started on the night of 2/3 Dec 1984.

I could do nothing more than say a silent prayer with tearful eyes and hope they find peace and dignity atleast now.

Ganapati Bappa Morya…

The resounding chants of Ganapati Bappa Morya, the taal, dhol, pataka and the miravnuk… None of this during the Ganapati…

Before anybody launches a huge protest, I am talking about Bangalore. Well needless to say I miss the fun and the exuberance attached to this festival. The joy and the anticipation with which people await Ganapati’s arrival. Its more like welcoming a dear guest home and ensuring his stay is extremely comfortable and happy. When I was a part of all this, sometimes I felt it was too noisy and unnecessary, now devoid of it I cant imagine the festival!

Me and nik decided to celebrate ganapati at home this time. We didn’t actually go to the extent of getting the idol home, but did an elaborate ‘pooja’ complete with aartis and ‘Ganapati Bappa Morya, Mangalmurti morya’ chants. We actually went shopping for the pooja items after office.

Early morning, I realized I had to make the ‘Panchamruth’ and I forgot the ingredients. Well this called for quick action and the obvious was an SOS call to my mom, but she wouldn’t answer! I mean in time of need… what worse can you expect? After some more quick calls, it was my aunt who saved the day! After the elaborate pooja, modaks and lunch…we still felt there was something missing.

And then I realized it was not just the ritual but the joy, the bonding with which people celebrate this festival that made the difference. The 10 days are filled with fun. Small things like singing aarti at the neighbours house, coz they have the ganesha idol at home is looked forward to. Apart from relatives visiting each other, and mouth watering modaks, the bigger attraction is the ‘dekhave’. The various decorations and acts that are set-up by the Ganapati mandals. I vividly remember the excitement with which we awaited going out to see the decorations. Roaming on the streets far into the night, trying to catch a glimpse of all the mandal ganapatis and their acts on the way, with just a quick halt for some mid-night snacks that’s dished out relentlessly at every corner.

And then finally the ‘Visarjan’, when people finally bid adieu to their beloved god, followed by the chants of ‘Pudhchya varshi laukar ya’ i.e come again early, next year. The procession is equally zestful, with varied decorations, rangolis, flowers and mirthful atmosphere everywhere. Oh well, now you know how much I missed all the excitement.

Nevertheless, I am always at peace when this festival arrives. It could be blind-faith, it could be just the exuberance attached to the festival. Whatever it is, it truly heals me, helps me overcome my fears, my sorrows and almost always leaves me with a positive effect…all I can say is ‘Ganapati Bappa Morya, Mangal murti moray!’

Long time no post…

So here goes… Well this is more like a recap on all things that have been happening lately. Every issue could have a post of its own, but I think this is better! Basically there are so many things happening in India and at such fast pace.. Needless to say none to be cheerful about and almost all of them man –made! I guess we just can’t stand peace anymore.

Some of us create a ruckus, some others try to gain mileage out of that ruckus, some more sit and do the usual analysis-paralysis about the issue… If that’s not enough its blown out of proportions by a few others and the net result is that most of us suffer in this debacle that was created by a few. Well too many somebody’s and nobody’s but isn't this the fact of today?

To start with we have the J&K issue i.e the Amarnath land row, then we have the riot like situation in Orissa over killing of VHP leader and conversions. Then we have the Singur Tata Nano plant. We have MNS on other hand threatening to go on a rampage if the shops names are not changed to the regional language i.e Marathi. Then down south we had the bomb-blasts (so-called) and then the farmer’s agitation for want of fertilizers, the Ahmedabad blasts left a fresh scar, and then the random firing from across the border with Pakistan flouting the cease-fire. … I was tired listing the issues, I am surprised how come these people never take a break and think rationally… for heavens sake it’s yours and many others life that you are ruining for want of a new political pot-boiler! And then to top it all the nature played spoilt sport with the Bihar floods.

Isn’t the writing on the wall that apart from natural disaster all others are politically instigated issue to ruin peace in the country? Is it so hard to dream of peace, a happy secure life and a good upbringing for the children so that they could test their wings and follow their heart. Aren’t enough innocent lives lost already? Why go the same path again?

Food for thought...... some random lines

Was reading ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ by Al gore. There is an image in the book. On a black full spread sheet there is a tiny dot in the middle. The description reads “Earth as captured from space”

It made me think - Earth is such a tiny thing in this vast universe and we are a miniscule part of it, yet we have created and manifested so many problems for ourselves even in that tiny space! We have even been successful in wrecking the lives of many innocent animals and plants, who don’t even have a say or an option to retaliate against what we have been doing to this Earth.

Apart from this mess that we are already in, we fight between ourselves over borders, religion, caste, colour etc. Even on an individual front there is a daily battle – battle for survival. We are marred by competition, ego, self-pity, jealousy, greed, hatred etc. All this only to try and create supremacy in this minute space?

Now I am not on a spiritual or self-discovery trip. Nor am I making any attempt to say that I am devoid of all this! Yet some recent experiences just reinstated the feeling of life being unpredictable, unexpected and sometimes cruel. Hence I couldn’t help but laugh when I realized that we spend the whole life conquering something and at the end of if, when you see the big picture you realize it just doesn’t make a difference. Then why harness so much of ill-faith and hatred when at the next moment you could be gone without a trace!

By trying to make our and others life simple and spreading peace and compassion we would have atleast left behind some happy and cherished memories… This need not be at the world level, as an individual this can be practiced at least within family inturn creating a ripple effect!

Something to cheer about apart from cricket….Is Indian sports finally coming to age?

Abhinav Bindra, Sushil Kumar, Vijendra Kumar... names unheard of by and large in India; are today the face of India in Beijing Olympics 2008. The media can’t get enough of them and the layman is aware about the achievements of these guys today.

It couldn’t have come at a better moment too, with injury ridden Indian cricket team finding it hard to get a stronghold in the on-going Sri-Lanka- India match. In a cricket crazy country like ours, its remarkable to see these young guns find an off-beat sport (atleast in India) and excel at it!

After our usual glamour stars poor or dismissive performance in the events, nobody would have expected such fantastic results from these unexpected quarters. Hopefully the Olympic results will infuse new life into the various sports that are played in India but are never promoted or never receive their due.

Many sporting achievements, including our national sport hockey have been pushed in the realms of obliviation and obscurity thanks to the efforts of some lobbyists and our ignorance. As public at large we fail to notice or applaud the efforts and achievements of our sporting heros who have represented India in sports other than cricket.

Cricket today has become a major cash cow for many. The sporting stars there, are earning exorbitant amounts. The brands that these stars endorse lobby in many ways than one to ensure that their star plays the game in turn ensuring better profits and brand associations for them. The sportsmanship and spirit of the game was further crippled by the betting and other associated scandals.

The paradoxical situation is the BCCI is touted to be the richest cricket association in the world while many other sporting federations can’t afford international standard equipments and support for their players so that they could compete with international players.

With the recent achievements of Abhinav, Sushil and Vijendra, the many state governments rushed forward to announce huge sums of money as awards in recognition to their efforts, some completely unrelated (eg: Maharashtra, Bihar). It is good; however I just hope that instead of just announcing cash prizes these state governments could do something better.

• Why not instate a cash award or scholarship to deserving amateurs in these heros name?
• 
  
• Why not offer them a regular contract of coaching or conducting workshops in the respective state sports academy or federation?
• 
  
• Why not create a fund for your respective sports association and ensure that the sport is given its due?

I am sure these efforts on part of the state government would go a long way in keeping the current momentum high. Finally some other sport apart from cricket is being recognized in India. The media is doing its due now it’s largely upto the public and state government to acknowledge and promote sports other than cricket (and their heroes.)

For want of better reporting – News, the next big flick?

Now this might seem the usual rant to many, but as a journalist I really don’t understand or can quite relate to some of the media clamor that we have come to witness day-in and day-out in the name of media coverage!

Gone are the days, when a formal but simply dressed man/woman read the news with nearly no human expressions and absolutely no emotions. Or when reading newspapers was passé as there was nothing in it apart from dry, plain stories that had unfolded a day before.

I agree that this was absolutely the other end of the spectrum and not something to boast about, however with media and news turning out to be a million dollar industry it certainly deserves better treatment than a B grade movie!

As this is a vast topic with many significant sections under its umbrella, I start with one of the most paradoxical of all, the print media.

The print media were popularized in India mainly for want of a view that challenges the government decisions in pre-independence era, where British managed and pro-colonial newspapers were in vogue. The newspapers and the journalists were looked upon as intellectual and objective people. The respect was tremendous though for a long time there was no dough in it.

Contrast to it is the state of current day newspapers. The Times of India supplement for eg: (i.e the city special, like Bangalore times, pune times etc) seem to find no news worth reporting that is happening in the city. The news there, starts with Bollywood, Hollywood, Kollywood, Sandalwood ( and the many other woods that exist) stars food, wardrobe, vacation or even their wedding plans and ends at some of the pubs, nightlife and party images.

It is sad that the most pressing issues for them that the citizens face is not poor infrastructure, corruption or portable water but non –existence of night life, pubs being closed early and drinks not being served late in the night! A society magazine too has something to give to its readers; I however can’t phantom the reason of this supplement apart from the fact that it provides ample space for advertisers.

I agree that advertisements are a major revenue source and the whole idea of a supplement was also aimed at getting maximum local advertisements. But compromising news and features for want of advertisements beats me!

Now, before I am branded as an anti-Times group let me clarify some points -

It is also true that some of the times supplements like education times, accent, property plus etc are extremely good and informative (they atleast have articles worth reading!) yet there is usually much left to be desired.

I must also mention and applaud their latest effort and initiative Teach India. Launched at the apt moment with brilliant ads and promotion, this one takes the cake. The very simplicity of getting people to sign up for just 2 hours in a week works out well for those who want to do more for the society yet are hard pressed for time to dedicate long hours. I just wish such bursts of brilliance occur regularly and not far in between. It’s only such initiatives that instill hope about this newspaper. You can be a volunteer by signing up here -

http://www.teach.timesofindia.com/login_join.aspx?strvalue=join

some unfulfilled ... and some beautiful dreams

Another wound.... another blow, that would take a long time to heal and even after that would leave some grotesque scars behind. The questions like why this happened? how this happened? Couldnt it have been avoided are all rendered meaningless. What is left behind is tearful eyes, helpless faces, broken hearts and mercy pleading hands! All directed to someone above us, who we call god!

Many dismiss such incidents as fate. Some lose hope and some lose belief. Whatever done and however we react, the basic feeling of loss is similar in all. They might be somebody for the world but for somebody they were the world, thou cliched is the only statement that resonates.

A sudden blow shatters your whole life and by the time you realize it, it is mocking at you reminding you that life is so fragile. It is unpredictable and unexplained. You could be a meticulous planner taking great care in everything you do but eventually it is just a card house that can be blown away at the slightest tremor.

Can there be a silver lining to this you ask, then you are happy that you spent time with them, collecting some beautiful and invaluable memories. Moments that then stay in your heart and pop - out whenever you seem to be missing them. Afterall memories are the only things left behind

A formidable leader under utilized in this politics of power

RESUME

EDUCATION /Qualification:

1950: Stood first in BA (Hons), Economics, Punjab University , Chandigarh ,
1952; Stood first in MA (Economics), Punjab University , Chandigarh ,
1954; Wright's Prize for distinguished performance at St John's College, Cambridge,
1955 and 1957; Wrenbury scholar, University of Cambridge ,
1957; DPhil ( Oxford ), DLitt (Honoris Causa); PhD thesis on India 's export competitiveness

Working Experience/ POSITIONS:

1971-72: Economic advisor, ministry of foreign trade
1972-76: Chief economic advisor, ministry of finance

1976-80: Director, Reserve Bank of India;
Director, Industrial Development Bank of India ;
Alternate governor for India , Board of governors, Asian Development Bank;
Alternate governor for India, Board of governors, IBRD

OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Adam Smith Prize, University of Cambridge , 1956

Padma Vibhushan, 1987

Euro money Award, Finance Minister of the Year, 1993;

Asia money Award, Finance Minister of the Year for Asia , 1993 and 1994

PERSONAL DETAIL:

Name: Dr Manmohan Singh

Browsing through the numerous forwarded mails that I receive everyday, I found this resume. Excerpts of the mail are attached above.

Not going into lengths of verifying if every detail mentioned is true or not, overall I can certainly assume that Mr. Manmohan Singh has been one of the most qualified leaders that India has projected till date. A man unmatched in qualification and expertise in his elected field.

Yet it is a pity that our country’s political leaders cannot stand united and extend their full support to this leader in propelling our country to new heights. The vicious lust for power was brought to fore by the recent vote of confidence.

It was a shame that everybody was jostling to gain power in some way or the other while the common man was provided with lip-service. Some played their cards in the name of inflation, some poverty, some saying the nuclear deal was bad for the country while some even said they were betrayed while all the drama unfolded on the 24*7 news channels.

Parties opposed the deal by saying it was not in the national interests.

- I would certainly want to know how are these people/parties are qualified to make this statement when the nuclear research expert Abdul Kalam felt it was good for the country?

- What interests are they actually talking about as none of their claims were vetted by an expert in that field!

Some said they were betrayed and hence are opposing the deal!

- Since when did individual/parties ego become larger than the country?

- If you had problems with internal communications how can a country be held at ransom for that?

- If you opposed the deal on the basis of your ideology then what was the need to be a part of a coalition government in the first place. A coalition government certainly does not mean 5 individuals running in 5 different directions.

Some opposed plainly because they wanted to be in power (Atleast their intention was clear)

- These were the people with absolutely no educational qualification, no expertise/experience and absolutely no credibility even in India.

- It would be a sad day for India when it would project such kind of a person as its leader. An ambassador for India in front of the world!

Finally some opposed only because they were not offered required remuneration for their vote!

Why can’t the political parties and their leaders for once grow above individual interest and work in the interests of this country? Aren’t they the elected members who represent various states of this country first than any party/leader or self! Can’t they respect a man of that stature and instead of making baseless comments against him understand his rationale and fight based on intellect rather than irrational mud-slinging.

Do they not realize that even today nearly 25 percent of India’s population is below poverty line and 7.2% is unemployed? Even today we need to run campaigns against illiteracy and female infanticide. We have a long way to be a developed nation. This country needs highly qualified leaders who can fight India’s case in front of the world rather than be a mere follower of world leaders.

Our adventure hiking

Our latest trip was a hike, close to Bangalore. The area was close to Muthadi village and we were supposed to hike along the Cauvery river bank to Doddamakali fishing camp. This was going to be exciting as we were 11 people and all of us had come to know each other just recently.

After a discussion of 4-5 days all the details were fixed, a special mention to the efforts put in by some of the enthusiast who had chalked out every single detail that might be needed and done the necessary arrangements. Finally the D-day arrived and we were ready by 6 to leave. The vehicle after picking up all the members headed for Mutadi by 7. The journey was enjoyable as we started playing the usual antakshari and stuff. It vaporized the journey fatigue.

As we neared the forest base, a deer suddenly appeared and it crossed the road in just one swift leap as we were coming close by! The agileness with which the deer leaped, its beautiful skin, the long antelope, the slender legs… this is one incident I would never forget. Nature’s beauty in action

Once we reached the starting point our real adventure started. To start with, the forest official there said the area had been cordoned off and we could not go till the Doddamakali fishing camp. To top it, he dampened our spirits by saying there was a rough elephant on loose! Hearing this we were petrified- imagine encountering a wild elephant with just a stick to defend yourself!

However looking at the kind of discussions these officials were having between them, some of the people in the group decided to go ahead as it was evident they were expecting some bribe or trying to extort money under the name of guide charges!

All of us decided to go ahead with our plan, however stay parallel to the road as much as possible - so no venturing into the deep! The moment we made a dash into the forest, the first things that greeted us were huge thorny creepers. All of us were tangled in some branch or the other and by the time we freed ourselves all of us were left with small bruises or scratches! We did have a tangled entry into the forest!

Next task was identifying the river flow, this was not too difficult. We could actually hear the river from far off. As we reached close to the bank, we found the river bank dotted with ‘Jamun trees’ and being true to the Panchatantra story of ‘Jamun tree monkey and the crocodile’ the monkeys and the crocs were not too far off. Two crocs were sun bathing on a small island in the middle of the river. Our first experience with wild life while in the forest- unaided! The waters were shallow and after an encounter with crocs at such a close distance nobody dared to step in the water- well atleast for the next 1hr....... continued*

* Click on the title for the remaining post

Our adventure hiking... continued

As we continued along the bank we were moving upstream and hence the water was gushing at an increased pace. Using the scientific knowledge that crocs don’t dwell in running water, many of the members in the group decided to take a dip. However they kept a watchful eye and ensured to remain close to the bank.

We on the other hand had a hearty snack while others had a splash. I was not too keen to jump in the water and then complete the trek in those drenched clothes! As it is walking after getting wet is too tough – walking while donning the wet clothes was out of question for me! :D

After this short break we continued on our path for the next 1 hr. Again we encountered some men- two or three of them forest officials, having a hearty meal close to the river. Some of them had come in a coracle. Seeing us one of them came and said, the area beyond this point is cordoned off. There have been some poacher sightings and there could be blasts in some time.

We were quite puzzled by these statements. Blasts to catch a poacher? Didn’t make sense! What was even more suspicious was that when we went to the place where they had been having food we found some carcass of a wild animal. Wonder who the poachers were? However seeing the officials and this being the second warning we decided not to test our luck beyond this and decided to have a quick bite before planning the next course of action. Some enthusiast in the group decided to take a detour and trek the hillock close by while we had the ‘Bhel’!

Now we had the ingredients and it was just a matter of mixing the stuff. As we laid out our unusual meal we had some uninvited guests too- the monkeys! Lots of them. Left with just 6 people we had to fend for ourselves. Basically, eat and keep the monkeys at bay at the same time!

The monkeys on their part acted as if this was ‘WAR’. They actually had their group divided into two parts and tried to attack the food from both ends! We wielded our sticks at them, but it didn’t make a difference to them. The smallest of monkeys shrieked at us – as if to say, ‘You guys come on our turf and assume you could have all the food while we stared!’ But we were not to be bogged down by this. The war for food began and we were actually protecting our food like we were a bunch of tribals! :P

Finally, we were victorious and hence we decided to leave some food for the monkeys to feast on! As it is, it was unlikely that they had ‘Bhel’ before! Also while we were lunching we did hear two blasts. Poachers or no poachers the blasts were enough to rattle us up and we decided to take the safe trip back! Fighting with monkeys is one thing, but imagine having to thread some dynamite field- no way, this was not even some reality show that expects participants to do such dumb things!

As we walked back the cherry on the icing happened. It rained cats and dogs while we huddled three in an umbrella! The weather was beautiful and the forest was suddenly in its full bloom. It was a treat to watch… just being there at that moment!

Is it 'childhood lost' for them...

It’s rainy season in India. Though it has not been raining enough to suffice that it’s a rainy season, it feels good!

The other day as I got ready to leave from office it started raining heavily. The first reaction while looking out of the window was - the drive back home is going to be messy and wet… as I waited in the lobby for the rains to subdued, I could see small water streams forming around and nostalgia hit me.

At various ages in life the rains had been responsible for bringing joy in my life. As a child I loved creating paper boats and derived great joy in seeing them stay afloat. We waited eagerly for the first rains and when they came … we friends got wet, splashed water and enjoyed to our hearts content.

In school, we found ways to miss (forget) the raincoat, cycled in the rains, drove through the puddles, splashing water every time we did that, ate hot bhajis and played football… Nothing changed in college, only the cycles were replaced by bikes and snack became a little more elaborate. And rainy season picnics became the hot pick!

Still cuddling my good old days - I drove through the various residential areas and I was surprised to see not a single child enjoying the rains. No children frolicking in the rains- no paper boats, no bhajis, no football and no laughter!

Is it that the children today are so busy competing at every level that they have no time to relish these simple joys? Is it that the society has made it mandatory that everybody should belong to a cult that thinks complex, thinks prosperity and thinks knowledge… there is no place for such simple and naive feelings?

I am amazed to see small children well versed in computers but not able to remember when was the last time they got their hands dirty in the mud. Now this can be argued that soiling hands in the mud does not help them be more learned but computers would help them get an edge over other children. But come to think of it, if children start doing what we as elders do all the time- compete in this rat-race, when do they ever enjoy being children? ... the joy that most of us have had – naturally as a part of growing up.

Back after my short break!

After my short but hectic break I am back. This time it was more to do with family commitment than office. Now that I have resumed work and run around doing my chores I wonder am I too being mechanical or robotic?

There are so many things that I want to do, there are so many causes that I want to fight for… but where’s the time? Or is it just a convenient alibi? Thanks to blogging I try to accomplish a few of my ideas though partially or in a very small way. But there are so many things I wish I could do

In my student life I participated in social activities or causes and always felt once I start earning I would be able to further these causes in a bigger way, but the sad part is now apart from giving donations I hardly do anything much!

Same goes with my traveling! Either I am too busy or on a leave crunch! My father-in-law started going round the world since he was 30 and today after 3 decades he still has to cover almost half the world! When and how would I do that?

I would love to spend more time with my family. Share the joys and sorrow. But I can hardly make it to meet them once in a while!

Is it the modern life, career aspirations, MONEY that is pulling me away from fulfilling my desires or is it something else… something like I am too lazy to get going and do all this :P

I really envy an ex-colleague of mine who had the guts to actually get up one fine morning and call it all quits. She then went ahead on a long travel plan and followed her heart! How many of us in this modern world can actually muster the courage to do this?

I was tagged... I was tagged

Well this was a surprise for me and as I was out vacationing had no clue about anything till yesterday!

To start off with I need to mention 6 quirky things about myself!

1. Love to play my music and dance while I cook. you know using the spoons and the pans as my partner!

2. Make faces while standing in front of the mirror.

3. Enact some movie dialogues when least expected. Like someone says sorry and I respond wioth some dramatic dialogue - drives people nuts!

4. Use a straw to drink a cold drink and blow air into it rather than sip the drink.

5. Read any historic/ancient stories or myths associated with a place and try solving those mysteries when there :P

6. I can never end a story. My stories go in circles and hence 'short story' is not my cup of tea (writing I must say!)

This was fun and I need to thank Maria for it! :D

Is politics entering the blogging arena?

We had just about managed to get over the celebrity blog fanfare, when the media zeroed in on another blog… and this time it was Lalu Yadav. The blog too, on its part started on a fiery note. Commenting on the Gujjar agitation, where he squarely blamed Vasundhara Raje for the loss that railways suffered. The papers and all other news channel carried the story as if it was the biggest event in the world.

After the matter subsided, I was curious to see how Lalu’s blog was faring and hence I hit the road on mission ‘Lalu blog hunting’ –going obviously the google way! To start off with, it was a little difficult to hunt the blog. Next, when I hit the hyperlink to my dismay I was greeted with a ‘down for updation’ page. This had nothing to do with Lalu I believe. I think he should have picked a better platform for blogging or if getting Lalu to create a blog was a marketing gimmick on the part of www.popcorn.com, they should have atleast had some state of art technology that need not be updated in such a crude manner.

However I stumbled upon an article in the economic times with insights on the state of Lalus blog and I must say it was hilarious! People had actually turned his blog into a railway complaint box. Well, what can I say? Had he stuck to the topic he knows best, handling railways, probably his blog would have served a better purpose and would have been much more meaningful than ending up as a sloppy political tool used to strike back at opponents.

This made me realize the effects if all our politicians go the blogging way -


The politicians would publish individual videos or vlogs, that address the nation

The morning ‘Parliament session’ would be off air. Instead it would be converted into podcats and distributed across internet.

Their comments section would be filled with blame and retaliation against each other.

The common man on the other hand would be able to post complaints on the blogs.

These piling complaints would then be aired on the news channel that would make a story on how inefficient our politicians are even in this internet age.

The NSO rankings on search engine would be aired on channels the way stock prices are shown. This would determine the popularity of the politicians

In the election season, online polls would be run on individual blogs to gauge the politicians popularity and check what people want in terms of roti, kapada makan so that politicians can continue to podcast their address with those promises.

The public at large would still be at the same point – viewing the blog story on news channel and wondering how does it help them ! :)

The morning philosophy…

The moment I stepped out of the house, I was struck by the wonderful weather! Rushing off to office in my usual way I had no time to ponder about the lovely weather and as I drove and became a part of the maddening Bangalore prime time traffic I cursed myself for not stopping and enjoying the little joys bestowed by life!

Well if you are living in a city and have a boring routine of office- home-office, you would immediately second my thoughts about enjoying lovely weather! Coming back to the point, as I was busy cursing myself and veering myself away from taking off on a long drive, I was engulfed by swarming herds of people who were driving to office.

It stuck me as very strange - all dressed in almost similar attire, including me. I was reminded of Star wars- war of the clones or something similar. I am actually not a big fan of Star wars. We were all geared up in jackets with laptop bags or sacks, helmets and some of us even carried lunch boxes. Most of them were couples who went to office together.

All were busy thinking just one thing- ‘How can I overtake the guy before me?’ All were struggling to ensure that not even an inch of road remains empty. Many were even multi-tasking, talking on the mobile, while riding the two- wheeler and overtaking the one before- all at the same time. All of them were in a hurry and wanted to be the first to get out of this traffic bottleneck!

I found it ridiculous that people enjoyed doing this senseless thing day in and day out but didn’t have a moment to enjoy the lovely weather, be pleasant and have a peaceful ride to office. Everybody looked as if they were being driven by an invisible remote control that seemed to be efficiently managing their time.

All said and done, I can’t deny the fact that after brief rumination on this matter, I had no better alternative but to join the party! Be a part of this maddening traffic and fight to be the first one as I inch forward through the traffic maze!

It saddened me that I was being a part of this robotic world where pennies seem to shine brighter than the stars and stress seems to be synonymous with a happy life! Just awaiting my long break that would carry me away from all this- to a bliss that allowed me to experience the little things that create nature! Nature- a theater where magic is created every moment!