Incredible India

Dwaraka

I am convinced once again that  tourism in India is basically temple tourism. Majority of other attractions are  ill maintained, badly managed, difficult to approach, too  stressful to enjoy. Incredible India is truly incredible on screen. The amount of enthusiasm shown in making films is hardly seen in maintaining them. Our  interest  aroused by  Big B captivating add on Gujarat has been watered down to zero on the very onset. Don't we ever decimate our third world trajectory?  Seems sixty  years have not made much difference. Things are not very different from what they used to be.


Our  long planned trip to Saurashtra took off in the right time as per my common sense. But it did not take us too long time to go crazy. We landed in Jamnagar as it was  close to our very first destination Dwaraka. The airport was 8 or ten kilometers away from the  city  and very few taxis were waiting out side the airport.  With  blink of an eye every taxi vanished in haste even before we made  up our mind  about their pricing. We began to understand that  Once you miss a taxi it is almost standing in the desert alone wating for abatement until the arrival of next flight which could even take a day. Our enthusiasm to see the town of Jamnagar vanished and sole botheration remained how to  reach  Dwaraka. We got into one last available taxi to search for  transportation to Dwaraka. The condition of taxis was bad. We were dropped at the dusty market place  called taxi stand in the town of Jamnagar. We were tempted to enquire about  bus facility  looking at the taxi's condition. The bus stand was in shambles. Air conditioned buses were unheard of. The available buses were very basic and overcrowded Fearing draining of our hard built energies we did not venture into busses. We negotiated a four wheeler called taxi which was precariously smoking from inside. At one moment I got doubt  whether it caught  fire. Understandably the driver was lighting his agarbathi to deodorize the interiors as well to pray. I had no inclination to believe that the taxi was air conditioned. He was kind enough to switch on the small fan hung between front and rear seats. The condition of the roads was far from satisfactory. We reached our destination and checked into government tourist bungalow.

  Dwaraka is  a typical beach town , peaceful, sandy, and elusively charming. The  town reportedly cursed by Durvasa maharshi  had no water. But we had enough to drink and bathe (Thank you, Modi Saab !) We found our way to the temple. It was magnificent. All the western Indian  temples carry some charm with them. The temple domes  are oval in shape and necessarily  carry a flag on the top. The temples  are either built with  marble or  sand stone. Inside Drarakadeesdh temple  few structures were as old as fourteenth century though some parts are no older than 19th century. The idol was small but beautiful. Torans form important part of temple architecture in Gujarat.  Unlike southern temples 'aarti' carries lot of value to the devotees and they  throng to watch  it either by climbing the temple pillars or some body's  shoulders.If  you cannot  wrestle with people  it is impossible to have a glimpse. Bhog offered  to the lord were elaborate . We were back searching for our chappal and conspicuously we don't find any  arrangement for keeping chappal in Gujarat temples baring few.  The reasons might  be either people are rich enough not to eye for mean things like chappal, or they fear some curse from God.  My observation about Brahman community here is that they  commands good respect and they don't live in penury like in some parts of India.  They look radiant and well built.


The food in Saurashtra is  mild and  tasted good for vegetarians like me. Oninons too were taboo in food preparations and by no way it deters the taste. Tourist  Bungalow manager was kind enough to arrange for taxi for our entire  tour. Next day morning when I set out  I was wished by an taxi driver  who wore lots of beads and threads around his neck. He wore a bold tilak on his fore head. I am not sure whether he was  either Dwivedi or Trivedi but certainly "Khaike pan Banaraswala" .  We proceeded to Byte Dwaraka where Lord Krishna's abode was supposed to be. On the way we visited one Jyothirlinga temple Nageswar. I do not think that  not many from other parts of India  would take pains to go to Nageswar but for the reason that it is in close proximity to Dwaraka. The Shiv Ling was truly ancient and carries great vibrations. The surroundings of the temple were least impressionable  and lack sanitation. The road leading to Byte Dwarka from Dwaraka  was difficult to tread. Byte Dwaraka is  actually  an island  and people need to travel in boat to  reach the place.  Numerous boats are  put into service by the private individuals and each    boat carries  hundreds  of pilgrims to the temple island. As a rule each boat carries double or triple  their capacity, and literally you  leave half the hope of survival while travelling in it. The people over there  blissfully  never heard of life jackets and rescue operations.  Who is killing you? and who is being killed ? The  teachings of Gita seemed to be guiding principles prevailing over there. The  spirit of India ? Might be... The  spirit that could possibly can  Cruise one  through devastation and desperation. The Lord Krishna in his abode was cute and adorable. He is not being imprisoned  in temple. You find all around only Prakara (compound wall)  with no roof and he looks like  standing in Gavakha (window)  After all it his house ! The archological escavations done under the sea around Byte Dwaraka give testimony to once a great city of Dwaraka  that flourished and eventually  submerged ! !


We began our journey to Porbandar.. the place which I longed to see. I had Richard Attenborough in my mind. The house which I saw in film " Gandhi" and other documentaries, the  long corridors supported by wooden pillars, the tiled  roof etc..etc... But I don't see any thing there ! The Gujarat government has  improvised his house and renamed as "Kirti Mandir" . The corridors were shining with bright marble. The wooden pillars were replaced by huge marble pillars. I presume that  flooring too was replaced. The rare photos of Bapuji were neatly arranged in wooden Almira. There were hundreds of photographs which were pasted with glue and  preserved . I guess this is not way they should be preserved. To  recreate the past  ambiance is not in our dictionary. We do not know how to respect the past. Past has clinched us for long. We want to unshackle from past and seek new vistas.. We think that the more we spent money on memorials the more respect is being shown  to the departed souls. I was happy to see rare photographs yet .. I could not feel him. I had a feeling that  I  need not go all the way  to Porbandar to see what I have seen. I was left with a hope that  I  could make it in Sabarmati. Next day we had been "Sudhama" (Krishna's friend) temple. We did not dare to seek the blessings of dozing Pandit over there.. We were suggested to visit "Sandeepani". The "Sandeepani" of Porbandar  is being  built  by God men Ojha. While  Sudhama hails from Porbandar, the original Sandeepani Ashram was said to be in Ujjain. The Sandeepani constructed in Porbandar was huge,  clean palace like prayer hall  surrounded by impressive locales. The old Kings and queens  lost their palaces and they were replaced by palaces built and owned by swanky God men. 


 We  travelled along the long coastal corridors  to reach Somnath, the historic temple which was time and again destroyed by invaders. The temple which evokes mixed feelings like and admiration for Indian  resilience and undeserving  abundant patience shown by Indians towards other faiths. The route seemed to be very clear and hassle free. We could hardly see a bus run by the state government during our journey.  Neither we saw  trucks carrying loads. The frequently found mode of the transport was  bullet motorcycle transformed  into a four wheeler carrying not less than ten villagers. We stopped in between to visit few less important  places and temples. The overall prevailing  Sanitary conditions over  there looked  marginally better than southern towns. Rarely we came across agricultural fields. The long coastal belt  neither had many cocnut grooves. The people were better dressed. Hardly we found anybody in rags. Most of the people  find it difficult to speak Hindi, let alone English. They were least  complaining. Contentment in their faces can be felt. People were found  to be  extremely religious and barely  aggressive. They were apparently  law abiding in comparative all India standards. I am  seeing soul of  India which is far away.. and different  from urbane India.  Even temples don't attract  beggars here  !  Commercial activity seem to be very little.  Yet  people  seem to be  living above poverty line ! I need to look into the economics thoroughly to know the reasons. States are separated just by boundaries. People speak different languages. But  the heart of India is the same every where. The same happy innocent faces, the same withdrawn smiles, the the same ignorance, the same basic living, the same loudness.  Town are dusty,  and least attractive. Government has well taken care of their perennial problem.. water !


We reached Somnath while camping at Veravel.. a stinking fisher town.  The Somnath temple was well protected due to various security reasons. It is being  managed by a thoughtful trust who manage to keep the premises very clean. Each one is  thoroughly checked before one gets  into the temple.  Once you enter you don't see any more crowd conjestion.. Darshan has no hassles what so  ever. All around the temple you find circularly built walls adorned  with  tales of Shiva.  The back drop of temple is  vast expanses of sea, which can be peacefully  watched by sitting on the benches thoughtfully provided by the temple authorities.It  feels like excursion spot.To  our bad luck  the light and sound show shown every day got stuck with problem . After spending some time in the temple, we were out hoping to get a cup of tea or coffee. It was almost like we walked miles to get one cup of  coffee. Surprisingly here the people are not so crazy after tea and coffee. Remember Sourashtra was never under direct British rule ! We seem to be the only people who were spoiled by caffeine addiction probably perpetrated by British. Hardly you find a good restaurant.  Where all these people eat ? 
 Next day after another round of Darshan we left Somnath. Somnath ! A temple which was the target for repeated destruction and looting. A place symbolically closer to Hindu heart! Present day Somnath  has nothing ancient in it. It lacked the vibrations of what  original  temple supposedly dissipated.. The remains of the  17th century temple were kept in museum by the government in most precarious manner. Many of the remains unlabelled, found in the  compound in close proximity of toilets too . The invaluable pieces of archeology were guarded  by a wall not higher than five feet with one unarmed security guard.


 We were proceeding to Diu ! A place that  gets noticed only when Goa is referred to, but no way closer to it.  A place one would never take  trouble of  travelling  from any part India except his being in Sourashtra  to grab a bottle of Whisky or wine. We included in our itinerary since we could never make it to Goa. The road leading to Diu from Veravel was pathetic. How any country can boast it's prosperity with out improving it's  basic infrastructure ? Shamelessly we look at world bank to lay our roads. Cap the ill conceived expenditure and spend money to connect people.  Good roads are sure signs of prosperity.  


The outlook  of Diu was very different.  We can never imagine that  our insensible governments would  plan this kind of  outlay since we are not great believers of  ambiance and decorum.  The past colonial breeze was in the air. It was looking like small European town. It was cool, calm and green and beautiful like a virgin.  Not many vehicles were spotted on the road adding to the serenity of the place.   Liquor was flowing every where. The forbidden non-veg food was very much on the platter. Here  sea is meant for recreation. Sea view is entreated  luxury. The rare Haka trees found only in Diu are  uniquely beautiful. Houses for what so ever reason looked new and freshly painted. Portuguese have not left any thing there except dilapidated fort and four hundred years old church close to extinction. People speak only Gujarati and they look and live like typical Gujaratis. The colonialism was just in the smell and still in the air invisibly. Thank God! Fifty years were not enough to spoil it's  serenity ! The beaches were clean and seductive. The sand was white and silky. Even fishermen live a better life here.


On the way back from Diu we planned for Gir forest, only place where  Asiatic lions live in India. The forest is still preserved and sanctuary office was nice to see. The tours were meticulously planned so that vehicles go in different directions at a particular time. The vehicles provided were leased by the government including the drivers and aged people  definitely will find them difficult to climb. The vehicles provided are  top less and habitually  government being deaf dumb and blind, in exigencies people  were left to their fate. We ended up carrying the loose  plastic sheet on our heads throughout two and half long tour,  half drenched and not a  single lion was interested in making encounter with us as it was heavily raining. The end result of Gir expedition was lasting  cough and cold.


En route  covering Junagadh Fort, and less known  Gondal Navlakh Palace and virpur we reached Rajkot the only place which has an urban appeal in  Sourashtra. All the places we came across in the route were either swampy or filthy. I wonder why no politician makes dharna for good roads and clean water. But we see them making issues for things which don't concern people. How can we invite the world to come to your country? To show them how filthy we are? How bad is our water ? How unhygienic is our food ?  We feel proud of the ancient forts, monuments, temples which  modern India has not built. It is painful  to see cement being smeared on age old structures as part of preservation. Temples flourish on their own. Devotees throng to them to offer their prayers irrespective of the facilities available. So Governments are absolved from  the responsibility of rendering any support  to tourism. 


Rajkot was buzzing with activity and buildings looked contemporary. The grounds where Ranji played his cricket, the school  where Gandhi studied hardly assumed any  importance and Karamchand's house was under  renovation. Locals themselves have  no knowledge of their past. We searched one and half hours to find  an Internet cafe. Internet seemed like an alien word to most and they don't believe in it. Technology ! It is still a not big word in  some parts of the world and people there  efficiently manage without it. In all the probability developed nations suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder.


We took a bus to reach Ahmadabad so that  it should be easier for us to reach Hyderabad. As usual State Government seemingly  was not  interested in developing any transport facilities. The private operators were plying buses every  half an hour to Ahmadabad with ease. We reached Ahmadabad in four hours without much discomfort. As we have no hotel reservation we kept on searching for hotels with the help of two auto rickshaw drivers who were in no hurry to desert us.  We wanted to utilize the remaining four productive hours  time in best possible way . We have decided to utilize it for visiting Akhardham. Sabarmati was stinging in the back of my mind. Kirti Mandir experience was exasperating hence I voted for Akhardham.


The city of Ahmadabad is  clean, organised and did not have traffic logjams. People still live in  undisturbed peace. The  pace at which most  metros are  slowly turning into hell in terms of traffic, pollution, hygiene and crowds, Ahemdabad has not caught up with them in 25 years  as per my sister's observation. Stunted growth too might prove  to be good in specific cases. Akshardham  was brilliantly sculptured and maintained. The way  two hundred year's old clothing and remnants of  Swaminarayan were treated and  preserved  should be an eye opener to the Governments. It should hire the technology if needed to do it's bit  to preserve Gandhi, the father of the nation.

I had a  crazy thought to visit Sabarmati  even before everybody  wakes up. I changed my mind looking at the  hotel receptionist taking slumber in the  lounge  at 7'O clock . By nine we had  to leave for the airport. Our  faithful autowalah is seen in the lounge promptly by nine. Can I think of unknown  autowalah being so promptly present in  door steps  in my town ? As usual coffee was served at  leisure, strange! This dirty caffeine is not so important for these people ! While riding to the airport I remembered my "Banaraswalah" taxi  driver. I may forget his face sooner. But I can never forget the glitter in his eyes when he received Rs.200 tip. He traveled 1200 kilometers with strangers like us. After couple of days he has become part of our group. Can I meet him ever ? In all the probability  never. It feels wonderful to remember people whom we can never meet again.  The innocent  room boy who knows nothing but Gujarati delighted  to serve us no matter what the communication difficulties are. It was  gratifying to watch that innocent young face. Was he really keen about taking my ten rupee tip ? No. Bungalow reservation without payment of advance, painstakingly  arrange for taxi, planning somebody's   tour... why Mr. Joshi, the tourist Bungalow manager should do it for us  ? Did he get any thing out of the service rendered ? The answer is big NO.   Taking an extra effort, walking an extra mile for others  for reasons unknown is the probably the secret of human cognizance. Any part of the world you might surprisingly find this love ! Travel  is not just what you see. It is all about what you obtain. I might not have seen great places. But I assume I earned great perspicacity touring the peninsula Kathiawar on the long  coasts of pretty turquoise hued  Arabian sea. 

Who Got More Pie?

He stored his astuteness  for the' D'  Day rather ' P'  day that is parliament day. He spoke eloquently, impressively, forcefully, and earned standing ovation. He spoke more or less  as fervently as he did  in his election campaign days. His early years in Asia probably taught him how to read Asians. He struck the right chords. We were happy about references about Pakistan and promised support for our distant United nations permanent seat. He was presented a gold chain by the charmed  M.P from Andhra Pradesh. What an accolade  ! kind  of royal patronage.

Barack Obama, the president  of America landed three days ago in Mumbai. Carefully masking the electoral blues  back home with his signature  broad grin,  he descended the aircraft in a chosen  less traveled  run way bordering tin roofed slums, passing heaps of mud  dug out.The lives of the ceremonious have become dearer with the passage time.  The security concerns were too many. He went on with his carefully scripted schedule despite jet logs.  The couple were appearing like flashes in between  rigid security levels. The speeches,meetings, signatures, dances, all  looked too formal. The short speeches were cautiously worded and sounded  too louder than the content. The day2 teleconference with villagers as in the 'must do' list was ritualistic as though proximity with the people in India is too dangerous. Then came the student's meet. The hand picked students who looked less problematic truly turned problematic posing  embarrassing questions to the President. The answers were long, rhetoric. Till then the interactions were  marked by missing warmth. After all he is no Clinton, the charmer.He is no white to get thrilled by the generous hospitality. In all the probability he is carrying the semblances of his Asian past .

Wide spread  speculations were in the air about America's silence about Pakistan, our UNSC seat. At the end of the second  day people were left with feeling that Obama was  here only to do business.  There is nothing wrong in  clamour about trade in diplomacy  but a bid to grab it without giving  back any thing  was a bit too audacious. Bold claims of shared values like democracy and Gandhi without any tangible benefit to the host nation left many to wonder whether creation of jobs for America by any way was the obligation for India.

Then came third day protocols.  The itinerary perfectly suited the occasion. Things started  looking differently. The dinners hosted night before,various  interactions, familiarity,  appeared to have  change the moods. The air was lighter. Three days intimacy changed things to the better. Apparently Obama is a man who believes in surprises. He refused to talk on  few issues during brief press meet only to  to spell them  louder in Parliament. He shot  what we Indians wanted to hear. He promised what is of little consequence at the moment. He came. He saw. He conquered. He walked away  with 50 thousand jobs dreams (Which his country men could  dismiss as sham )

The things which were unveiled during president's visit  have not fallen from sky overnight. Yet the strong  message which has gone  to the nation is that we are truly emerging, though Obama has preferred to call we have emerged, in modest sense we are emerging into  considerable significance. Our prosperity spoke to the world  than our ideals which we traditionally identify with third world countries. We have grown  befittingly strong enough with our prospering middle class  to ensure  growth in alien nations too. Secondly the balance of power is shifting to Asia where in we need to play a greater role. In  the broader world picture, America might need India one day  to counter China's growing  influence in the region.  Though Obama caressingly preferred to pat  us as  equals,  India should not foster an idea of super power  in it's  wildest dreams  in near future while battling with it's own predicaments. We are far from being truly big. Thirdly  we should not expect Us to denounce Pakistan as  it needs Pakistan  more rather than India at the moment. Finally it is good if we get better with times. Media as well as the public seemed overtly concerned with emotional issues than being pragmatic. From     American point of view  India is a  'market' with  potential for future strategic  partnership. Strong 'shoulder to shoulder' statement was never used before by any American President. Do not get cocky over new found riches. Do get deserved in the first place.    

The hope of building infrastructure and availability of advanced  technology in India  is the significant outcome of this  three day sojourn. It is good for present day India. In the long run the nation's wealth shall keep   transported to the remote lands so long as we believe  in buying than developing.
No doubt The nation is  on the move .  Let not our politicians destroy it.

Thank God ! We Opened !

 Thank God ! We opened ! We Opened Common Wealth Games 2010  without any mishap. Aerostat  was in it's place. No body has stumbled. While hosts and guests delivered  speeches mikes did not fail !

The event could have been truly a   matter of pride to India sans it's  scandals. The contingents' walking  into the stadium with pretty ladies  in beautiful sarees ahead,  amidst  roaring applause and cheers with  our  aerostat  boastfully glowing in the middle, the entire event   would have swollen our hearts  with pride had it not been tainted with scams and mismanagement. Crowds too reflected  that mood with sullen cheering  while speeches went on and on taking  high of our  achievements. No body seemed to have been impressed with talks. But Indian contingent was cheered to the heartfull . Kalmadi though booed too was cheered in intervals which I thought was from 10 thousand  young volunteers. Kalmadi speech was a  cover  up exercise and his   talk about Indian raising status  sounded  tawdry  and ill drafted. Former President  Kalam received ovation,  after all people seemed  to know the worth.

As every body knows the cultural display of India would be unparalleled. Not  many on earth  can boast such antiquity  and diversity. How it has been brought to the platform ? If that is to be examined  it was  fabulous from drummers, Hariharan and school children's   formations  right  up to the traditional dancing gala. It was  well conceived and executed.  The following  yoga session  was good to watch  though short of  precision  The aerostat could have been used  better while explaining the ancient systems and knowledge of India. "Bodhi" the tree of knowledge was not impressive.

The great Indian Railway  journey was clumsy.  It is very familiar to the Indian audience, but  I am not sure how well the message has been carried to the foreign delegates.The concept did not seem great. I could only hear to the commentary by  Doordarshan presenter which was third rate and not a word was carried with good diction and modulation but also the  narrative was poor .If the same was told to the audience  it is a disaster.

The following  folk dances and hungama was good but there were too many people around  and dances lost their distinctiveness due to over crowding.  It was almost like mela and true depiction of crowded Indian polity.

Rahman's entry was just as  normal  as his song and nothing spectacular about it. He missed the follow spot lights and solemnity while performing. Too little  stage place was given to his gang  and he  lacked freedom to enhance the performance value.  As a theme  song  it should have been given the utmost focus. Inclusion of "Jai Ho" was a clever idea.

. For Indians it is very good as we rarely get to see such things. In terms of international standards,  though not a singularly spectacular show on earth,  it might steal all the glory for it's  sheer variety,  unfamiliar beauty and cultural extravaganza.

India has learned a great deal  but yet  not enough. As you grow richer and richer you can buy any thing in the world  by squandering.  I hope the day is not far off when  all the said and seen grandeur is being produced  indigenous.  

The real beuaty lies in how our players get glory to the country.

Formidable Incompetency

                                                                  

 Knowingly or unknowingly I was dragged into the business of construction in recent times certainly not on  a  commercial purpose, but building my  own flat. How come any one can get involved in building his or her own flat?  It is  supposed to be undertaken by a builder while one  submits  one  self  paying all his or her  savings and  also inevitably  indulge  in huge debts, and  yet remain a nagger  for not getting the best of  one's  money. Either you compromise in terms of location,  lay out, or amenities provided. As my  builder  is relatively small and very enthusiastic about satisfying the customers, he  has  allowed me to coordinate with  masons, plumbers,electricians last but not least false ceiling wallah from U.P.to get the best of services offered. 

I had hundred thousand problems in visualizing how bath rooms look, my bed rooms shape, my kitchen accommodates , standing in middle of logged water midst of  half built walls with  blue tarpaulins wrapped all around the place.  While walls looked leaning, rooms looked darker, whole area designated  as  my future dwelling,  looked no more than a narrow patch..Wondering  how my dining table sofas and cots would fit into this small place, persistently I kept on  visiting the place  As the walls grew higher and higher the place looked bigger and bigger. The tarpaulins blown overnight  with the gale made my rooms brighter.Some how either  by  skiing or  crawling,  I could enter my den regularly with  enthusiasm   to supervise the  work done by men.  Many times though I  tried to prove smarter eventually  meekly agreed  for what they decided because I had no idea of the kind of work, where it begins and where it ends. I admire people who can really generate ideas despite surrounding ambiguity.

 Few ideas  I gave ultimately turned out to be silly suggestions . Few supposedly good suggestions were not carried out properly because they were either misunderstood or forgotten . The forgotten ones noticed on the other day  were  impossible to execute due  cost factor or  the work is at finishing stage.  Small small things where I felt  there is  scope to improve  have gone unattended to  and eventually I had to compromise because rectification might result in wall  breaking.

Then came my ceiling wallah from UP. I did not understand in the first place why ceiling needs to be covered.However as  builder wanted to do it I thought I should allow him to do it.  Electrician comes and drew some  wires from no where and wanted to know how many lights I needed. I was blank as I have no idea  what kind of lighting suits the design. The design catalog was not of much use because my room was  not as big as the room  shown in the catalog and  also since some ill conceived beams have to be  masked the resultant room  would look  odd  in shape. Hence the designs  inspired by the  book  greatly vary  from what they turn out to be. When I inquired  my UP wallah in  my television Hindi how the disaster could be avoided he  says "Jo Aap Kahe". "Jo maine kaha"  was executed differently by the  evening. Either my Hindi was bad or he was dumb. I banged my head to the wall to generate correction  ideas without having to change the supporting frames.

Again electrician showed  up with his usual query  as to  how many lights he should hang  on my head. It was as if  it never occurred to him that I need a fan in  my drawing room. When I  convinced him that I am a human who needs luxury of  air and ventilation  if not always but some times he to  agreed grace me with  one.  He requested  me to tell  him before hand all my electrical requirements in bed rooms  so that he can pull some more wires from some other planet above the concealed roof.

Suddenly some other problem crops in,  as the ceiling is going to be  closed wooden frames are required to be fitted  on the lofts for making  wad robes in future. Call the carpenter. He does not know up to what height he is required  to  make wooden  frames.Call the ceiling wallah again.  Ask him how low he low he wants to lower the roof. Delightfully he told me that he might need one or one and half foot. The varying half foot is left to my wild imagination. Yes done despite.  Next day on inspection  most  frames  looked  crooked  and bent. Wooden   frames gave away as the plywood brought was of inferior quality." I have to change this carpenter" I screamed and  galloped to find a new man.The first one asks for compensation as he worked 'hard'  to make those crooked   frames.  Gleefully I could find a new carpenter for double the money. Till new frames were made ceiling workers drink tea, smoke and play cards.

 I was asked to select the tiles for the bath rooms."Any color would do" I was so much exhausted. " No.. No Madam. Early in the morning it is  better to be in white bath room. It gives you peace... " "I do not know exactly where I'll be.  It all depends on occupancy. However give me that purple one on the bottom which is easy to maintain" "Madam if you select purple tiles  you won't get purple commode " "OK then give me white commode as a contrast.  I'll brush twice a day" I do not know since when we wanted our bathrooms look like bedrooms. Ever since the troubles for a house wife have  been doubled with constant maintenance worry.  Where from we got these construction ideas ? Some times dining tables are situated just next to the toilets due to the place constraint.  I am  not quite sure  whether I can find my way in  my other bathroom when the power fails,  since I have chosen another dark shade for my second bath room with fond hope of easy maintenance.

I was asked to choose vitrified tiles which are sure ways to skid for aged. All the shades are extremely gorgeous but what worries me most is number of times  I have to wipe the floors to make them glitter all the time. One cat paw or dog paw (like games village ) or human foot print can spoil the entire  show. OK Add one more woe to the list. Either pay more to the servant to clean twice or do it your self.  I am sure I have to break my head to ensure that  the worker  lays all the tiles  with proper technique instead of using his intuitive power to measure the ground  level.. The improperly laid tiles look messier than any flooring available on date.

Then comes plumber. Wash basin comes only in the inconvenient corner since water flow there is  good. The geyser doesn't come on the wall  you wanted  because  the pipe line was not laid  there. All was explained to them  before. The problem is,  the  person who understood my concern,  does not turn up and  another plumber was  employed  to finish the job. I was aghast learning that the work done by the previous fellow was found to be  amateurish and faulty. To my disbelief  he looked and talked better. What is the way of finding  his credentials?

Second carpenter promises to get me the plywood of the highest quality on earth which will cost me double the money. Agreed. But do you get the best? God knows.  He promised " Green ply" or "Arrow" But next day "Priyanka"  appears." Both are water proof. They bear the same  No. blah..blah.."  he assured. How  the  hell on earth  I know the number of "Arrow" to compare ? .   Why getting  the work is such an ordeal here? I found an answer. It dawned upon me that I need to learn bit of plumbing, carpentry, flooring work, ceiling work, electrical work and  masonry to ensure that I get best of every body.  

Now I understand what Kalmadi and Co. have faced in games village.We severely fall short of skilled workers. Majority colleges teach maths, science, commerce,   economics or political science to churn out huge number of graduates .Very few institutions exist to teach vocational courses at affordable cost. Even if they exist the infrastructure is pathetic.  Every Indian need not  become an engineer or doctor to make his living. There are thousands who want to pursue what their fathers or fore fathers pursued as an occupation. By training them country will get ample of skilled  work force. It can reduce the burden of creating en number of desk jobs for several thousands who are graduating every year. The majority of  work force in our civil society are unskilled and they profoundly depend on their  intuitive power to execute the work given, which is unscientific and risky in some cases.  All the 75 thousand crores spent for the games and money flowing  like water on correction work should be an eye opener for the country which boasts false  raising status in the world. They cannot build world class  infrastructure with illiterate,  unskilled work force. 

Who carried the marble  stones to build Taj Mahal?  Do you know any body's name?

54 laborers died  building  our stadia. Some body died unsung to make somebody win their medals. What a cruel reality !! 

Unhealthy Games

However I restrain  my self from writing about the Common Wealth Games,  the filth shrouded  around the same compelled me to write few lines.  I was happy to look at the photo  gallery of the stadia completed few days ago.  Kudos ! Our people are competent to "somehow" finish the work at the 11th hour despite  bad planning and disorganization. The only doubt which lurks our mind is how long these hurry bury built  multimillion projects last?Are they not meant to be used by future generations?

 In the sports village out of numerous  residential towers supposed to  host athletes during the games  only 35 to 40 are  completed and out of those completed few,  the felicities appear to be horrific in nature.Unlocked toilets are defecated by workers and water supply seem to be scanty. The rest of the towers might  take months to be completed,  while  Games are going to begin in first week of October. The foot bridge which connects parking lot to the spectators collapsed just few days before the games. The respective investigative report will be given after 15 days i.e exactly the day games commence. Mean while no body knows whether the said bridge will be resurrected or not.

Of course no one has control over the nature. The sports village it self is located in the swamps of Yamuna  which  incidentally  was in spate submerging the all the adjacent localities in recent times. Though the water level has receded now  the slushy  banks housed millions monster mosquitoes. No body can do any thing about rains too in context of  our existing infrastructure. The whole city of Delhi is dug for making it more beautiful for the games, we do not have exact figures of how many people fell into those grave yards during torrential rains. To what extant Delhi was made beautiful  only Delhites can tell us now.

Over and above all,  the entire saga of  games was filled  with scandals amounting to thousands of crores which we listen and read day in and day out and got immune. But we don't see any body being caught and punished so far and I guess all the scams will be hush hushed once  the games get over with stupendous success. "They have eaten all the money. So what? They have done the work",   that seems to be the atmosphere.

As if to add some flavour to the recipe, some assailants shot few rounds at the foreign visitors with an intention to discourage games tourism, to celebrate second  anniversary of   Batala House encounter. Why not ? Government it self is divided about shootings and victimizes the brave police officer heading the operation. Why should a terrorist be kind  to people?  (We had enough of these dirty  vote bank politics.Dying  People are just numbers in this game).

Let the money go down the drain or straight into the pockets whatever,  people are truly help less to stop this swindling .But what about the honour of this country.? Once again I try to remember 1983 Asiad which was conducted quite efficiently . It gave  confidence and pride to youngsters like us   that India is capable of conducting even Olympics in coming years. To day with sad note I have to make a remark that we are not even  competent to conduct common wealth games leave alone Olympics.  After 27 years of  more wealth and prosperity we miserably fail to conduct one event with  pride. We have scant regard for the honour and prestige of the country. We do not mind letting it down in front of international community. Literally we have sent our Mother India naked on the street where people all over the  world watch. 

This is a country ruled by crooks, managed by inept bureaucrats, unethical business houses, greedy realtors, powerless police,and liquor barons. The country is repeatedly cheated, abused, tormented and raped. Yet we cannot do any thing about it. This is the most desperate reality of living here.    

 

Once Again Rahman !

Has Rahman won another Oscar ? No. Then why again ,  Rahman ? For me it is just because he appeared on a music reality show which was recorded few weeks before it actually got aired. The music legend who appeared in  a formal suit  with ritualistic smile looked like an  uncomfortable school  boy attending  a formal gathering. The ovation and adulation he got from the crowed and fellow musicians was  very special. It was as though musicians them selves felt honored  sitting ext to him . Beyond doubt the  Oscars made him  bigger. It still remains a matter of doubt whether it  really changed his personality. Apparently not much. He looks the same socially awkward guy who feels embarrassed to face a crowd. Regardless of music scores for en-number of Hindi movies he finds it difficult to utter a Hindi syllable. Let alone  Hindi talk, he finds it difficult even  to utter a word. Karan Thapar who irritates and  elicits from every body under the sun confesses  that the  most disgusting  interview of his lifetime was with Mr. Rahman ! One movie flicker musician  too can render few comments on a singer. But we don't see him judging or misjudging anybody . Best mantra on avail. He just doesn't speak.

But does that really make him smaller ?  Big NO. His every  composition sounds  so unique and different. His  genius hits us at least once in the  midst of  whole lot of blaring synthesized acoustics with his bold  signature. Nothing  seem to really drive him  except his inner insatiable hunger and longing  for music. Scores of Bollywood movies, live shows can draw  him millions. Yet the Madras  Mozart is not just simply another  man who ignores his call. His lust,  passion, for sounds is better called devoutness than  compositions.

"He took six months to do this CWG  messy theme . I just need half an hour to do this !" "Five crores to do one song ? I would produce 50 songs with  this kind of  money"  blah.. blah.. blah.. We keep listening to all the stuff. If Rahman has spent six months to make a tune if he is not otherwise busy,  he would have poured his soul into that. It might click  or not. But it is by no means a small job. He is not just another hatch patchy musician who tracks his watch and weighs his valet. Rare artists are born once in a while to lit up the roads they walk. Nothing is paramount in their heart but the excellence in what they touch. Constant exploration, experimentation  and innovation  make them better and better. No wonder if he  bags his second Oscar even before some one  acknowledges his grandiose vision of music . It would be exaggerating to quote  Beethoven,  DaVinci,   Milton  in his context. But greats are not born every day. These gifted seek altogether different plane to express what is churning in their mind.  This musician, Rahman  never stops. Rags or riches should  not really  bother him. Next time do not get surprised if you find him running behind a Shepard  to catch his simple tune in Andes or Alps !!

What .. After Big Brother ?

 It is not about desi version of Big Brother where in scandalous  Rahul Mahajan with his  awful laughter earned  his second wife or Rakhi Sawant rose to fame  to do  big  business on screen at  a later date. It is Big brother of every body on earth, US.

Figures show that it is the end of era of supremacy of West over hitherto the  darkest, forlorn, destitute,over populated  and  underdeveloped parts of the globe. The underprivileged  have come of age and are set to  steal  the show.   Graying European nations grow  wary of things when  their lives turn dearer by Euro with  every passing day. The long enjoyed glory of US  seem to be jeopardized when  their citizens walked  straight into the cheap credit trap  Barely two decades after end of cold war the largest democracy after a  stint of unquestioned dominance over the global politics,  seem to be contracting .  Making head way into the possible double recession the country is  caught up with severe financial crisis. The giant whom every body feared hitherto  appears to be pulling it's tail between the hind legs and it's thunderous roar is increasingly waning away  into vast expanding hollows. The land of promises which hugged every body from every corner of the the world is closing  it's doors to the stranger slowly .. but silently. Optimists hope for it's rise like phoenix from ashes but it's  number Uno spot  is caught in doubt looking at the global trends.

The Europe is crashing  under the pressure of debt. While European nations making beeline for bail outs, the China  is racing fast to displace the glorious. With it's  economy beaming  with over eight hundred billion US treasury securities,  strong world trade and consistent growth rate it has  displaced  Japan from number two ranking. It dares US  with objections to it's naval exercises as show of mark of strength.  It dares India too with it's stapled visas and drawing new maps taking away  Kashmir from India. It rejects Indian General's visit. It secretly pacts with Pakistan  to build projects in occupied Kashmir and woos Nepalese Maoist regime.  It braves it's claim on Arunachal. It befriends Sri Lanka.  Certainly it has different game plan to  "downsize" it's possible contender neighbor India.

Strictly speaking US as a nation has never proved to be a  great friend of India.  Yet young  India received maximum aid from US aid programs  in dire times. US  love for Pakistan was the most irritating factor for India.It's love for America was similar to the troubled  emotional bonding felt by a neglected child.. India  loved America for it's fashion, style and freedom.  US  strategic interests  are very different from what India can put up with.  India works under pressure from different groups within,  which America cannot  come to terms with.  These two large democracies were engaged in consistent love and hate relationship  As a  silver lining of a cloud,   Indian NRIs gained a  lot from American society. American enterprise too reaped huge  profits  from Indian sweat. More than 60 % of our soft ware exports cater to US. Indian IT industry quivers when US stumbles. IT being the major booster for Indian economy in a way India's progress is indirectly linked to US's stability.  It is as though people of the two countries are closer while the governments are  apart. Many urbane  young  Indians  emulate Americanism. Like  for every body in the world , America is a giant performer on platform for an average Indian audience.

The world sans  American influence rather dominance .. how does it go down  to Indian psyche? For over half a century it never had a hero bigger than America despite USSR. It is painful for   Indians to be away from America for reasons what so ever. Kennedy was closer to it's heart. Johnson was tolerated. Nixon was hated  Ford, Carter were ignored. Reagan was glamorized. Senior Bush was feared. Clinton was romanticized. Jr.Bush was ridiculed.  On the whole America as a nation had a steadfast image in India  as friendly nation with unfriendly governments.

China  strategically  moves forward  to overtake traditional super powers.  Definitely the news  is  not very pleasing to Indian ear. It can see foray  of problems ahead in case China triumphs. It's internal security would cause a worry with  it's sizable Maoist presence and  couple of  Communist ruled states. Poor being  present in large numbers,   India suffers from   vulnerability. But is the world prepared for for China's leadership ? None can annul the  success achieved  in China's front. Unmistakably money speaks and sets the rules. Will the  South East Asian block be comfortable  with giant dragon  snuggling in their bedrolls ? Will there be another "Soviet Block" like conglomerations ? Had  Russia  turned it's face to Communism for ever? Is the cold war in store for the world ? Terrorism being the common enemy India imagines a greater support from US.Can it be same with China ?  How Islam coincides with China's dominance? However,  for India  US is a more lovable adversary any time than China trying to spread it's tentacles.
 

How We are Different ?

On few accounts I find India very different from rest of the world.

First but not the best are  it's films. Let "Benhur" "Avatar" or  "Inception" rock the world, Indian viewership base is not shaken even by one inch. Indian films have their own huge  audience base which only expands with every passing year. Filmy  idiosyncrasies, nuances, comedy, glamor, dance, and songs have no parallel in the hearts of it's crazy fans. High technology,  perfect taking, make believe action  has no great relevance in Indian context. The dreams sold by Indian movies are perfectly received by it's audience while they refuse to come down to earth.  Sharukh Khan can gather more masses around him than Stallone, Harrison Ford, or George Clooney while  they are on Indian soil.

Despite  music directors' naive bids to westernize their numbers in bits and pieces of borrowed  (plagiarized)  notes ,Indian music reigns high.Eventually it is indigenous music that catches the imagination of public .  Indians do regard their music as profound and unintelligible by an untrained vocalist. Regardless of it's popularity classical music is always placed in high pedestal.  Lady Gaga can rock the world but it is still Sunidhi Chowhan or Shreya Ghoshal  who can steal billion Indian  hearts.

F TV might have had big  viewership much before our starlets began shedding  their cloths, but our masses are not very exited about bony  models painted faces and feathery crowns with  walking on the ramps.  Miss Universe with her  headgear  too  needs a role in Bollywood to assume glamor. Karina Kapoor with her captivating smile is more identifiable than  Angelina Jolie.

Despite presence of  multinational apparel  brands in the market, Indian  ethnic wear paired  with tights or jeans hugely  attracts Indian girls. Despite the upmarket fashion trends  they have a distinct  fashion sense, often a cool  blend of ornamentation with colorful  outfit.

For the rest of the world yellow metal might have lost it' sheen but in  no way it is going to shun the Indian bazaar. The shops brim with  numbers despite it's obnoxious 20 k per 10 grams price tag. Not many young girls are ready to discard their neck pieces and ear drops just because their counter parts in west or some other part of the world  have not pierced their ear lobes. Many get enticed by the beauty and grandeur of gold  jewelery adorning their brides. Gold is part of Indian culture. It is not easy to take away Indian's  interest from gold.

Parent deserting still intrigues  Indian psyche, and not many youngsters hate their parents for not buying a soft toy or for not reading them a bed time story. Surprisingly many young men and women love their parents immensely despite their short comings.Many want to see them happy in their last days. 

Education is deeply regarded in Indian society and unlettered feel let down in their life. If education is  affordable  people from lower rung too like to send their children  to schools.For Indians roads to  success  are laid through books.

Spirituality  still reigns high in India. It is extremely difficult to dissociate an Indian from his God. Funds  flows like water  in the name of God. Charity as defined in scriptures carries more weight than  a distress call.  Recent changes in the mindset made  many youngsters more generous to  human suffering than their elders.

 Though Indians are known for their hard work in abroad, bad work culture prevails in Indian society. Salaries are generally considered  as entitlements rather than remunerations. An enthusiastic beginner will end up as frustrated soul in no time. Laxity, red tape,  irresponsibility,lack of commitment,  attitudes,  spoil the working environments of most Indian offices.

Indians are loud and messy and disorganized in groups and have no hint of inconvenience caused to others on account of their tawdry outward. They are hard learners to the manners imposed by outward cultures.

Indians in general are miserly and would like  to get most things without having to pay for it. Normally he will be reluctant to  loosen his purse strings, and even if he does,  he does it with a grumpy face !!.     

Where Are You Going ?

The  more it rains the more I feel sad. The sky is full of gray clouds as if the world is heading for it's end.  Never a gloom can bring so much joy.  Big droplets to sharp needle like showers occasionally accompanied with thunders and lightning a rain is a treat to watch from window. Not to speak of the roads in rural areas the cities too speak worst of the rains. Water swirls on the roads as in rivulet speeding towards unknown places.The much walked and known road appears strange.We do not know where to stamp our foot. The dug hole can pull you down to it's bottom, or uncovered drainage manhole can suck you to the city outskirt rarely floating with life.After a down pour  the vehicles stranded push ahead with honking above  polluting decibels.Pedestrians taking shelter at the roadside shop start maneuvering at once like creatures moving out of their hideouts.  The roads get jammed with pandemonium fell out from the sky.

  It is not a rare experience in a monsoon country where rain is part of life during  one third  of an year. Despite all the hardships it creates we love rains. We  eagerly wait and rejoice  rains. It is hard to guess a  life without a  rain here. Fate of  the farmer is   written with rain drops on his fore head. Skeletons, either human or cattle,   scattered over parched fields during drought  match the total bodies that float in flood waters during rainy season  in this rain fed nation. I guess no other country  in the world  gets so much rain. Water, water every where not a drop to sink !

Not a day passes without a power cut. Ridiculously the line man promptly switches off for the scheduled power cut even during heavy down pour. In a month or two most of the bore wells go dry. The lakes which swell during rainy day make dwelling for many people  subsequently. The villages cut off from the rest of the world a while ago are on  drought radar after few months. Heaps of sand accumulates in the midst of  life giving rivers. You walk miles even to leave ashes of a dead man  into the water.

Rain ! Rain ! Where are you going ?  You drench me generously with all your kindness . But my pockets are too small to hold you for long. .

Congratulations !!

Congratulations Sree Ram !!  for winning the title "Indian Idol". You deserve it. The  victory does not belong to you alone.  It is victory for people of India who proved that they can rise above divisive commerce and cross boundaries  when it comes to the talent.

India is 63. One more year of celebration. No body thought that it  survives this long. Never in our dreams we saw  India becoming fourth largest economy in the world during  our life time.  .India prospers when government sleeps. Thanks to the well thought over private enterprise. With the growth not inclusive we still stand at the rock bottom levels of human development.index not very different from my childhood. Yet  I hope to see things differently before I kick the bucket.

Kashmir ! At What Cost ?

I have never been to that place. Ever since I stood on my own feet to think of  holidaying in this snowy heaven  it was troubled.. I was told that  it was an exquisite piece of work by the almighty. Hindi movies with breath taking view of Kashmir valley  added  my passion towards it's  pristine beauty. I fancied to see the most beautiful people of the place.  I dreamed  of Apple  Trees heavily flowing to the gentle breeze. I wanted to feel  the streams noisily gliding over the pebbles. I wanted to sway in those beautiful boat houses. I thought of owning few wooden  filigree tables in my drawing room. I could even  move out of the country for my dream holiday in some places. Yet  I could never materialize my dream of visiting Kashmir.Now I think it is never  possible.

In my child hood I over heard my father talking about "plebiscite" and Shaik Abdulla though I did not really  understand them. After watching a movie about  Lord Mountbatten I guess I formed some idea about the origins of Kashmir problem. I read. Tied to understand at the skeletal level. Yet there is some thing which goes beyond my grasp. The turn of events, mishandling,  bad policies, continued military presence,  corruption, every thing put together we created a monster in the valley of pristine beauty. We could never take  a place in the hearts of those poverty ridden beautiful people. Millions spent on guns could have created scores of industries up there  much to the deviant of growing frustration among the disgruntled locals. With habitual apathy we messed up the whole issue. Millions poured with  no return in literal terms.   We created LeT, and in a way paved way for universal terrorism. We fold like 'touch me not plant' whenever the Kashmir issue is put on the universal platform. We are scared of the solutions.

To day with women and children on the streets pelting stones on the security forces, India is never seen before as unfriendly as of now.  What is Indian in Kashmir? Only  Indian  security  forces with their tents and bunkers. The sense of alienation is total and strong in the minds of the residents.  Billions gone  down the drain  for decades just to control the  population unwilling to collaborate. The suppression is too harsh to the extant of human rights violation. When are we going to negotiate peace? We are too late. Our late  nine stitches are not worth one stitch in right time. We messed up with many issues in our new  experimenting democracy. Now  after decades of bad governance and institutionalized corruption and over play by the  hyper vested interests in public life,  peace in the valley is a too distant a  dream. 

I might in all probabilities visit Switzerland, but however I wish,  never to  Kashmir which was said  to be an integral part of India.!!  It took me five decades to realize the fact. 

Walk 'n' Talk Animals

Stray dogs themselves make my heart pound. Not that I hate every thing untamed. But I am bewildered by their unpredictability. Until I watched "Dog Whisper" I never knew that  staring  at dogs could mean a  menace to you. . Unintentionally I  happened to connect  with few stray dogs while I was set for my  morning walk  some time ago.  I thought I was warning few curious looking dogs on my way by looking straight into their eyes. That was the beginning of my perils with stray dog. They showed loads of affection and shook me to my foot by pouncing on me wagging their tails and scratching with their nail  and I began screaming.  Pitifully no one was available  to  rescue me in those  wee hours, until I found a milk vendor on  his bicycle who cared  to drive them away.

 It brought back the memories of a puppy I reared  long long ago, so long ago  until it was six months old. But  I have spent those  span of  six months  in clearing his excreta,and deodorizing my house than  emotionally connecting  with it. I had no time yet  I admit I was  a bad trainer.Till that fateful  morning wherein I had my morning blues with street dogs I never cared what was walking next to me when set on foot. From that moment I turned  very conscious of every dog on the street and took all the care to avoid them to the extant possible. Some dogs are  very cunning. They follow you, but the moment you stop to check  they too stop and  look sideways. And when  You revert to  walking with a sigh of relief  all again  you find them following your foot steps. Some dogs try to give you false impression that they are not following you. But in fact they are leading you.They run ahead of you  as if they care a heck  and after a while  turn back to check  whether you are following them or not. Some dogs  stop and bark at you  to grab your attention  and in a split  second  change their mind and  proceed  with sudden  detachment.You have no clue why it tried scare you in the first place and decides to take u turn at once .However  I found myself  more attractive to   lame, weak, diseased, dogs who show special kind of  affinity towards  me. Probably I look like  a natural harbor of lame ducks. Again in  few years I gathered my courage to be on my own on streets despite dogs. 

 Other day I was on my own until I found some living thing  in  brown pulling itself  next to me. It is a  normal dog  I thought,  and in few moments I was terrified to discover it to be a  monkey. How come I landed with an animal which is supposed  to live on  trees ? When  I stopped to figure  out where exactly I was going,  many monkeys were spotted  all around. They no more appear to be interested in trees.   They were just, squatting,  walking, grooming and playing   on the street at all the peace in the world.. I thought I should stop and take an  about turn. But to my amazement I began  noticing  people hopping me ignoring monkeys on their way.  Some cared to  walk along with them.  After a while I saw one monkey pouncing on one man without provocation of any kind  and he shook him  off and continued to walk on his mission. Bravo! We Indians  can survive anywhere. No body ever stopped. They continued to walk. The small  by lane  is the only patch available for morning  walk in that area.  Next few days monkeys did not go any where. Every day we found them either  sitting on the road or crossing it.. One day they disappear only to appear on a  following day. Each day  I found sweepers with their large brooms chatting standing next to them. Fruit vendor with his push cart hardly appeared to have been frightened. He did not change his place. Walkers raced with monkeys on the roads as if they were just dogs. It is as if there is no differentiation between dog and monkey. Every body look bolder than me. They continue to walk on streets crowded with monkeys. The man  with scratches was sighted on the next day with a bandage on his forearm, yet determined to continue with his mission. . He has  no where to go. Rest of  others have no where to go. The monkeys too have no where to go !!

Television showed  a cheetah beaten  to death by villagers for preying on their sheep. We find bears with their furn burned for trespassing  into fields. Many  elephants create  havoc in villages bordering forests with their habitat shrunk day by day. Leopards attack humans while on their walk to shrine. It looks like a war between human and wild life.  Humans have needs and fears. Yes.Agreed.In this war for survival undoubtedly man wins over beasts using his brains and ammunition. Poor animals have not learned making guns and yet greatly rely on their natural primitive sense of survival and danger.Man makes nonessential overreaching presence in every available space. A streak  of  hegemony, overpowering,  dreadfulness, avidity ,rage surfacing in human actions can wipe out scores of life from this planet. I pose a straight question to myself. Does this planet belong to me alone?

Prides Crisscrossed

All the states in my  country ( sometimes I fail to count  them because  BJP  added one new state every year  to the list) seem to have loads of  mega pride which is attributed with  cancerous growth  in recent years. In 1983 NTR miraculously assumed power on "Telugu Pride" plank. As Indira Gandhi popularised the term " Conscience" he popularised the term "Atmagauravam". Since then every shrewed politician is toying with the idea of  coining  a catchy slogan to capture the imagination of the public like "Ram", "Atankavad" " Under  Development".

MNS went a step ahead to show pride of Maratha Manoos. Karuna Nidhi demands Tamil an official status.Narendra  Modi often wears  his "Bhai" badge along with saffron flag  . Imagine what Mamta Didi is up to ! Kashmir is felt to be part of India only on maps. It sails on  a seperate plank corresponding to   ethnic sensibility.  Punjabi Thadka  sometimes suspiciously moves  pointing to forgotten "Khalistan"". The whole of North Eastern councils feel closer to Burma and China  than to India. ULFA is a thorn in the bed. No wonder all Adivasis want a state of their own. If  materialised,  all adivasis from various hills  have to move to one chunk of land,  probably reminding us partition days.   Mini Taliban growing within Kerala has specific Malayali brand. Amazingly few youngsters from southern most  tip of the subcontinent drown and float in Kashmir or Pakistan. There are no boundaries for loyalties ! BIMARU states are only hesitant to declare their own waiting for their day. Nitish Kumar with his eleven plus growth rate is not far away from Bihari pride.

Mr. Naidu once  equated with Tony Blair and Clinton (equally for achievements and mistakes) is struggling to survive in his own  state, forget about his global image. While crossing boundaries evincing new interest in doubtful projects on other side of  the border,he  was battling with self doubt until  stupendous succeess favoured him  in creating ruckus among the neighbours. His gainful past time  has produced good amount of venom in hearts, heads and bellies of people on both sides.. People on both sides of the border die death of fear.  His followers, admirers and few afflicted by  anxiety syndrome die out of shock and  tension. India is not Australia to engage few  helicopters to rescue a puppy trapped in wild. Here life comes cheap. We live and die in  swarms. Isn't it? Petrol, pesticides, are handy for anxiety prone and heart attacks are  ready for the weak . Tens of them die for simple reason that Naidu has been jailed for a day eating his breakfast and  reading his news paper. Either for a good or bad leader we die in equal numbers,  as if we are there only to die.  

In a place where life with a pride is a rare sight , perhaps death for an ambiguous pride is the most perceivable way. 

New Age Mahatmas

Hundreds, may be thousands are up to proving why Mahatma is not Mahatma, for the reasons  quite ambiguous  quoting  partition, nonviolence,  palling with British,  civil disobedience,  Gram Swaraj,  even for his  costly simplicity. Yet  none could convince me for his smallness. Every thing  he did look  very expedient  and thoughtful for the times he lived in. His  Ideological intensity appeal more to my intellect than to my earthen bearing. His life was an example. When the whole world started  looking towards  Mahatma why we Indians elude great son of India? The only reason I find is that the entire West is becoming more inwardly  while we Indians are into turning  more  profane.


 People of India see more of distorted personalities in public life than they were doing decades ago. With few babies born out of every second, and growing every year, we are adding millions to the mainstream. We are  also adding  millions of  improperly groomed and greed grunt thought streams to the national thought process. Often we stumble in our judgement with "Good" and "Bad". Rarely we find a chance  to adjudicate what we are up to. Offenders  flee. Conscious suffer. Strait is never a way of life.  People are forced to pass through crooked lanes than Howard but not certainly as clean as it is. Our Gods have been treated as mere vehicles to transport us  good luck  than being  moral inducers. There is hardly any effort to set the things right. No wonder millions grow in the sordid environ with " Go, Grab what ever you can, no body is watching you" learning.


Millions gather to cheer even  a jerk. Bad memories easily fade from our minds. A rapist, a grabber,a drug addict, or  even a murderer can be overwhelmed with admiration. What he needs is a convoy of SVUs, few psychophants, bundle of garlands, two folded hands , a modern version of "Bhasmasurahasta".  Easily people can be bought. There no dearth for curious onlookers. All put together we get to see a stream of people waving, and cheering  to an obvious manipulator, as he  is the lone saviour of  these 1.2 billion people.  Their road shows disrupt traffic. Common man's life turns hell with this kind of  over doings. Who cares  these dare devil acts of transgression ? Scores of uniformed men struggle to control these mobs as if they have no other useful issue to attend to. What a waste of public money !

Some one's (alive or dead) birth day should be celebrated as a state function not on the strength of his nobility, but to avoid nuisance from few. Sarees and dhotis are  distributed free and we find  many hands stretched in anticipation. Many who go to collect these cheap clothing  forgot how  to claim their right. They have been deliberately  turned into beggars. No wonder few die in stampede. 


 A person with multiple land rows and treacherous politicking, nepotism, vendetta is present day Mahatma.We get to see hundreds of statues erected with a fortune big enough to eradicate fluorosis  at one go. We do not fail to garland him/ her. We don't fail to celebrate his/her  birth or death day. We do not hesitate to pass on the power to his/her  siblings as property of inheritance. Millions of lives can be  transferred into unworthy  hands without their consent or willingness. But we can afford to  ignore true Mahatmas or their birth days. We are in a hurry to disown them.  We needed  some one under  "TADA" to define Gandhigiri. Till such time young ones are in a fix whether Gandhi is father of Indira Gandhi or or Jawahar Lal Nehru and what he lived upto. Cinemas remain  the sole source of our inspiration. People are queuing  up to make their children choreographers or singers with no hint of making a good citizen.   What are we teaching to our posterior generations? Do parents need coaching ?

Beware ! Comrades are on their way !

There was hardly any youth left uninfluenced by Naxal ideology in late sixties.The country was still struggling with it's poverty with new found freedom seemingly functioning far from expectations. China was making waves with it's socialism while millions of their countrymen languishing in utter poverty hitherto were making their both ends meet. Soviet Union was shining like a dream packed land of promises. Our Cambridge educated leadership for good eighteen years proved to be too idealistic to be real. Country was crumbling under the weight of war defeat, inadequate food grains, neck deep debt, constant provocation from their drifted brother, and struggling with difficulty in breathing idea of National integration into north eastern council and erstwhile princely states.

Routinely poverty stricken Bengal with it's past famine records sowed a seed to the Naxal movement. Strangely it was not utterly poor who were attracted to it. Rather highly lettered men jumped into the movement. Many universities became breeding grounds for these socially motivated. Forests provided the best locations for gorilla warfare and hideouts, while traditionally under privileged tribal population lend support and sympathy for the moment. The Naxalite moment founded on a principle of social justice. They were fighting against exploitation. Their disbelief in justice delivery system in our democracy led them to take the law into their hands. Exploiters were punished in their people's court. They had many sympathizers among the general public. For years their success remained qualitative but not quantitative.

Years of struggle expanded to to new territories. Old forts were either abandoned or less frequented. Most old mentors and activists were either tired or retired. New leadership as well as ideology acquired new face which is far from being clean. The fight which was limited to the jungles expanded to semi urban. Fake Naxals collected money from the traders and public. The naxal mask was worn to settle family feuds and personal vengeance. Their fight against the administration led to the destruction of the public property creating a menace. The public routine is grievously hurt by their unlawful activities. Leader ship seriously lacking in moral conduct abused women activists. Unhesitating urge for success prompted them to forge alliance with anti national forces.Their terror links are under the scanner.. Few districts under the total grip of naxals began posing security threat to the nation. Parallel governments run in these districts question the authority of the state on it's subjects. Tens of police and CRPF jawans frequently dyiing during the combat operations bring a serious question to our minds . Whom are we fighting loosing our security personal? Should we loose money and people to fight an internal enemy ? Did our apathy and sympathy made them strong ? After all what are they are fighting for ?

Obviously they want to hurl a red flag on the soil.The flag became less and less attractive in emerging India in the backdrop of left ruled states not making any significant betterment in the lives of people of the state. Resultant chaos and low production proved suicidal to the industry and the state. Should the people be sold to this ideology? The strict regimen which hampers every investment, every business move, every developmental activity, economic wisdom ..is it worth perusing? The ideology more and more started looking like stumbling block to any kind of productive ideas .Blind anti Americanism and inability to see beyond Marxist paraphrasing makes all the rationale futile.One wonders whether these activists are blind to the capitalistic tendencies that crept into Mao's China.What kind of dreams they want to sell to the people when evidently Communism has failed every where creating huge corruption and absolutism with iron curtains. Are present day people willing to make sacrifices to the ideology which has no proven results. Is Indian Maoism which has not yet gained ratification from it's Chinese counterparts forcing these believers to be traitor? Any time should they try

to trade our national interests to our hostile neighbor ? These are the questions that pester an ordinary citizen.

Successive failures on the part of Governments to provide health,education and alternative livelihood to the tribals, and continued neglect of the peasants and  utterly poor  prepared a fertile ground for the Naxalism. Political parties unethical conduct in forging alliance with the Naxal groups, going soft on terror for political mileage are few examples of cheap and dangerous politicking. Growing corruption in Defense and paramilitary forces felicitates providing armory to the disruptive and anti national forces.Poor governance and apathy is the root cause for these systemic maladies. It is high time that they open their eyes and defend the country against these forces. Restoring the people's missing trust is the major task now . Importantly is the Government up to the job now?

Great Olympic inaugural function by China is much beyond protocol. It is to be read as masqueraded display of power and strength. Spectacular inaugural function of "International Expo" at the expense of 40 billions is seemingly a repeat act of muscle strength. (It reminds me of Mayawati repeated note mala saga) No wonder,if such acts would repeat many times. Billions spent on power display cast a shadow of doubt on correctness of spending when all the Chinese are not in pink health. Their growing territorial interests on Arunachal Pradesh after decades of lull, their hide and seek games at Indian nuclear deal with US, their issuing paper visas to Kashmiris in lieu of Visa on Indian passports, softer tones towards Pakistan, foster our doubts about their genuine intentions. It is not just a race among two Asian giants. It looks, smells and sounds more than that. Democracies always lag behind autocracies in terms of strict governance. But this parallel is not a clean chit for democracies to fail their countrymen.

"Oh ! Limping stumbling Indian administration ! Beware ! Comrades are on their way!!"