PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN

3 days have passed since the Ayodhya verdict .. and the best thing has happened .. i.e. nothing has happened. Citizens like me have shown that we are not interested in this anymore ..gimme a break:) the politicians (cutting across party lines) must be mighty disappointed at this apathy (actually its the maturity of the populace) .. after all the politicians make a living out of strife and mistrust ... but this is today's India babua .. we are not selfish, we are just professional .. a mandir or masjid wud give employment to 100 people at most, a factory wud feed 1000 at least, so we are more interested in the latter. We are still religious mind you .. only we are not fanatics

Everyone was afraid that the verdict's aftermath just before the CWG wud create a negative impact as the world is watching .. instead it has created the best impact possible. The news channels sensed the disinterest and the Verdict was taken off the "BREAKING NEWS" scrollers within 12 hours :). No one is even discussing it, more people are interested in the Zaheer -Ponting spat. and that was a real thumbs up to the new Secular India .. the day after the verdict, a young Muslim from Baroda (which falls in a state where muslims are unfortunately supposed to be extremely unhappy with this country) was priding himself in his Indian colours, bowling his heart out and taking the fight to the Aussie captain ..i am sure 2 brothers from a certain Pathan family of the same city wud have done no less .. verdict or no verdict. Newspapers say youths belonging to a group called Husseini Tigers want to donate 15 lacs toward the construction of the temple. Newspapers also say that priest of the Ram Lala deity does not think there is any problem in the communities praying side by side on the land that has been offered to them. Fine gestures both .. but as I said we are not interested, we have got work on our hands to finish ... take a popular consensus if possible, I doubt how many would prefer wasting the time of the Supreme Court for such a trifle issue when thousands of rape and murder cases are pending for judgement due to lack of court time.

Think again, we are not really self centred .. we took real interest in the verdict of Bhopal Gas tragedy ... but as a matured populace we refuse to insult our intellect by reacting to such concocted issues ... better sense and peace has already prevailed in our country .. let prosperity follow .. PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN

From mundane prices to protection of lives...story of a failed populace

“Enough is Enough” has caught on almost like a catch phrase in the wake of the recent Mumbai terror. Like all catch phrases this would have been a short lived slogan aimed to make attractive headlines for TV media....but ... this time it seems for real. People have actually been growing restless and now the impatience has outlasted their tolerance. The impatience is not just against repeated terror strikes , not just against the loss of innocent lives, not just against the dent in sense of security – the impatience is against BAD GOVERNANCE as a whole. Almost five years of spineless administration coupled with political opportunism leading to multiple unholy nexus (labeled as 'alliance') has left the common Indian angry. It is only the inherent strength of the Democratic fibre in every Indian that will make them vote next year – but one thing is for sure - this time the que outside the polling booth will be more cynical – as if casting votes are more about discharging a duty than a tool to ensure our rights. This government has failed the people. Be it from mundane price rises to tackling terror. Inflation has been a household monster unleashed over the last year and bit more...and all that has been done is to roll back reforms by bringing in more controls, hiking interest rates and asking private sector to cut and hold prices. All this while the global oil prices have fallen to unforeseen lows without the government itself daring to shave a paise off the retail rates of fuel. What stern steps can you expect from such a spineless Government who seems busy only to correct their poll plank? The number of terror attacks have multiplied over the last three years, but one thing to be noted is post Bush's war on terror (with all its evils), the worst brunt has been borne by India. Why? Is it because India is considered as a soft target. Is it because while the west retaliates in kind, India only offers rhetorics. Every time a terror strike happens, the Prime Minister appears on tele addressing the nation with a written speech, a grim face and some Bush like tough words. That these words never materialize into actions is what encourages this malicious groups to bare their fangs again and again. At least America has ensured that there has been no major strikes on her soil post 9/11 – maybe just because of the threat of a brutal reprisal !
What positives will this government take away at the end of the tenure? True it has done charity with tax-payers' money and waived off 71K Crores of farm loans and taken out half page ads in dailies claiming self glory for this generosity. Yet, the obvious premise of this waiver , that to reduce prices of farm products have not been delivered and no retrospection has been done to know the reason. At the end of the exercise it has established what it was always perceived as – a poll oriented gimmick. Only achievement of this government that comes to mind is the Nuclear Treaty with all its supporters and detractors. Considering the best, maybe this treaty will be a landmark which our grandchildren will cherish and Mr.. Manmohan Singh will have his place in posterity, but before that someone should stay alive to write the history. Brings to mind a decade old headline – PRESENT IMPERFECT, FUTURE TENSE – really that is where the present government has landed us in.

Protecting the weaker sections ???

People of Bengal have recently undergone a phenomenon that politicians of different hues have termed as "Protecting the Interests of the weaker sections". What the common middle class have felt is being held hostage by a motley crowd of political leaders of varying credentials on the pre-text of protection of human rights. What they have felt to understand is whether this violation of human rights was an actual threat or a perception being force fed by these issue hungry politicians. There have been largely five parties to this circus (if I may be excused for my choice of word) - The suddenly investor friendly Government, opposition (which has sometimes come from within the ruling coalition) from some parties struggling to maintain a credible existence, the local people directly affected, the investor (who maintains a safe distance and prefers to wait and watch), and the rest of Bengal (fed by a not so credible media). Results have varied and so has the public perception. In Nandigram, the ruling party won the battle, lost the war and some face. Result was an withdrawal from Nandigram and shifting the proposed project to Nayachar. In the end public sympathy sided with the opposition, espcially due to the crude methods used by th ruling party. However, opposition had not bargained for one thing i.e. the early timing of the end to the crisis. By the time of the polls next year, Nandigram would hardly reamin fresh in the proverbial shortlived memory of the electorate, atleast the ones who had juxt remotely kept an eye on proceding thru TV and print. Hence, the ghost of Singur was exhorted to rise once more. In Singur, opposition leader Mamata Banerjee managed to put her credentials on the altar in a desperate bid to hold the state ransom. She succeeded in her guerilla tactics, managing to both drive out the Tata project and to lose whatever sympathy she had garnered, post Nadigram, from the neutral electorate. Now, she would pray that the same electorate memory would live upto its reputation of being short lived before the imminent polls.

A more amusing string of incidents unfolded in connection to the renewal of licence of Metro Cash & Carry. The Forward Bloc, which wields the baton in AgriMarketing in Bengal, by virtue of its ministry, suddenly (on a technical ground- flimsy or not) refused to renew the licence of the German company for carrying on business in Kolkata. There was suddenly a voice of conscience from within the party and others that asked the German wholesalers to be driven out to protect the interests of the "weaker sections". Only question was which was the 'weaker section' they were worrying about? As per party claims it was the small farmers, whose bargaining capacity would be severely hampered by the wholeselling behemoth. Common sense raised the question that do these farmers really have a bargaining power in today's middlemen driven supply chain? Whatever one could gather about Metro's business pattern, it seemed to atleast favour the smaller traders (grocers and vendors) in the unequal battle of scale with retail giants. If anyone's intersts were really under threat, it was the LARGE retail chains setting up shop and the midlemen community. What role does this latter play in today's supply chain - value addition to either the product or the reach, is dis-proportionately low compared to the increase in prices which is mainly driven up due to profiteering & trading. It is often this layer whihc has been found guilty of hoarding, giving rise to artificial shortages. Protecting their interests could hardly be protection of any weaker section. Fortunately, with a show of authority from the CM, the issue was resolved in favourof Metro, and Forward Bloc inspite of its bravado, managed to stay on in the ruling coalition as an active partner - with just a loss of face maybe.

What really needs to be addressed is this politicisation of issues to and attempts to win over sympathy by infusing the "Weaker Section" in every so called movement. Hopefully the electorate will be intelligent enough to understand this play act that cuts across all party lines. That is the only way we can put a stop to this.

Beauty in Simplicity....thats poetry (for me) !

How I like my poetry….

Poetry in its forms has remained mostly elusive to my attempts to comprehend and pro-create. However, as a medium it appeals to my soul like few. Verse, simply by its form and rhythm, seems that much more powerful as a tool to communicate one’s innermost feelings to an otherwise disinterested public. Not to justify my naievity, I always found poems communicating simple human feelings in an aesthetic but straight forward manner more appealing than a comparatively abstract verse elaborating on the intricacies of a complex relationship or ideology. I know, contemporary true blue poets would bay for my blood at this, but I always found abstract form more suitable to the visual arts like painting while as per me grave discussions merit less imaginative practical prose rather than rhyme, just so that the matter at hand is dealt with practically without the distraction of the beauty that poetry carries. Poetry is the beautiful medium meant to convey significant yet simple manifestations like love, protest and grief. Its more a matter of heart than of the brain. A poem too cerebral in content tends to wean away from the simple pleasure of reading through. I would prefer a poem to be more like a highway – wide of scope, bridging diverse audiences and offering a cruise to the willing reader. I have been told that the form of poetry praised by me is immature. Well, I never found anything immature about a hearty laugh, a warm smile, a heartwrenching sob or a resounding slogan and all these qualify as potential poetry only waiting to be expressed in form. "ful futuk, na futuk, aj bosonto" (an excerpt from a bengali poem, crudely translated to - 'whether flowers bloom or not, its spring today') - this favourite line of mine carries thru the message of how simplicity adds to the beauty of poetry. Poetry lends aesthetic value to protest, which in itself is a distinguishing quality. However, again poetry should convey the message in a way that it is delivered to the inner most of the reader and makes the reader contemplate on the message itself rather than on the medium. All this talk of simple beauty does not in any way imply the non-application of imagination. Imagination in creating imagery is a poetic skill that makes poetry a beautiful medium of expression. For me, though I am no expert, all the above would make a poetry meaningful yet beautiful and this would extend its appeal to the most diverse of minds.

Why I blog....a critique of the blogger in me

When you reach a stage where u have already faced a lot and yet u know that there is plenty more to face, there is a feeling of helplessness that starts breeding. This helplessness in turn breeds some degree of carefree-ness. It is at this juncture of carefree and helpless existence that I stand. My ambitions are not completely mine - they are entwined with those of my family and organization. My perspectives are not free from encumbrances either. It is like running. The distance I run and the pace at which to run it depends on me...but the track on which I run is set. Whatever I do, I do it within these track unless I transform into a radical..which I doubt I ever will in this lifespan. This realization has also led me to search hard for anything that I may still claim to be original. After groping and grasping, I was left with only my "Musings". These were entirely mine. This discovery led to the urge of sharing my Musings ( and a bit more). Hence you have this blog space where I intend to bare my occasional soul without really expecting anyone to undergo the ordeal of going through the same. It is just that it re-inforces my individualism.

Tricolor, Sania...and irresponsible journalism

the photo came at a corner of the first page on The Telegraph during the Hopman Cup. It bore an innocent caption ...something like - SANIA MIRZA WATCHING A MATCH AT THE HOPMAN CUP..yet one sighed at this seemingly harmless bit of journalism...the photograph showed Sania's feet put up next to a national flag.

Sure enough the controversy evolved and sure enough a court case is now brewing...and loop has been closed.

Question is...did the frontal photo show the distance between Sania's feet and the flag? Question is...did Sania deliberately insult the TRICOLOR? Question is... even if we make the absurd assumption that she intends to disregard the nation, is Sania so foolish that she will do so in full glare and damage her own credos, risk her own career, even her financial prospects? Question is... was there no other photograph available of Sania watching a match at the Hopman cup?

The answers are so obvious that stating them would be a blemish on my judgement of the reader's intellect. Fact is SANIA HAS BEEN CARELESS... being careless in serious matters is not commendable and dignity of the Tricolor is serious matter. But, wouldn't it have been enough to point this incident out to some person in authority, who could have conveyed the message privately, strongly worded of course, to Sania. Or maybe it would have been enough to point it out quietly to Sania herself and let her absorb the magnitude of her carelessness.

Instead, by publishing the photo, the media has shown an absolutely commercial and profit driven interest in fanning controversies. It doesn't reflect of responsibility... a trait, without which, media in a free country like ours can become a Monster. A country where murder and rape cases are held up for years for lack of court time, can we afford to keep our courts busy on these issues?

Sania's carelessness stands condemned but so does this tendency of ours to fan controversies and bask in them. Our present growth in stature as a Nation demands greater maturity from us.
Questions needs to be asked and answered, because more we linger on as gossip mongers...more the world leaves us behind...

the NANO...redefined smallness

NANO...the tiniest of tiny...always so small...always so insignificant.......until one man differed. Yes, a man who was not small at all...he was BIG man..in stature...physical, social, professional...a man who had worn the crown so easy...who had done more than justice to a legacy...a man who dreamt BIG...and his BIG dreams were all about smallness.........."HOW SMALL" - did you ask? Well as small as it can be, yes his big dreams were NANO ... that small.

SO, a big man with big dreams on smallness...how does it interest anyone...well it doesnt..actually it interests almost everyone.

THE gentleman who really started this is of course MR.RATAN TATA. That captain of industry, who inherited an empire and turned it into a worldwide hierarchy. Many acquisitions, mergers and takeovers later, the symbol of goodwill in India was transformed into a symbol of power for the world. Yet there was something missing...something that set the FORDs, the IBMs, the MOTOROLAs apart. That something was the revolution on a worldwide stage. Yes, the TATAs did almost everything, that they set their hands on, better than most - but was there anything that they had done FIRST, had they ever been able to usher in a revolution. The doubts were cast firm but the Captain of the ship had ideas...rather he had a vision. When he announced the ONE LAKH CAR, it was gimmick to many. People alien to his conviction, people like us, sniggered, and fresh doubts were cast...would it be three wheeled...of course no doors...just enough for two and a half passengers maybe... the price would be adjusted for inflation from the announcement and hence it would be costlier than the 800.......

TO their credit, the company never spoke...not even to contradict. They just waited for their day...and what a day it was. 10.01.08 would be forever etched in the annals of automobile history. The NANO was shown to its future owners, the common man, for the first time....the message that was not written nor told..yet that percolated everywhere was ..."HERE IS YOUR DREAM..GRAB IT" - it was a loud and clear message.

In the process, Mr.Tata pssibly overtook JRD in the list of TATA visionaries and stands second only to the founder. Outside the chaebol, as far as visions go, I would put him just ahead of Dhirubhai, the man who dreamt of making STD calls cheaper than postcards. True Dhirubhai revolutionised Telecom with this never before dream, but the tools used, the technology was imported. It was only modified by his heirs to suit the great man's dream. Tata has gone a step further by creating everything. The world dis-believed what he attained. Today the world watches wide-eyed. The world had heard of American cars, Japanese cars and recently the Koreans maybe- but now we hear of an Indian car everywhere.

The cynics will not hang up - and its true that the commecial viability, the feasibility of the Nano has not yet been tested through the rigours of mass production - but today the optimists outnumber the pessimists - and there lies the credit of the achievement.

Nano, the small car for the small wallet that is meant for a far bigger part of humanity. Its really the thought that is making the difference.

Take a bow Mr.Tata as the world applauds ....for you are not going to SELL a CAR ... you are going to REALIZE millions of ASPIRATIONS... yes with this one stroke, you have risen from a marvelous businessman to a DREAM MERCHANT.