Costly lies

Why do we lie?

Sometimes we do it to save our ourselves from some kind of anticipated embarrassment, sometimes to make us look good and sometimes to help someone else. Well somehow you can't escape the truth. These lies are like that boom-rang which we played with in childhood. It comes back to you sometime in the future and stabs you in your ass and what follows is utter embarrassment. So let me get this straight, we lied to avoid embarrassment but what ultimately happened was even worse.

What I feel is even worse than the embarrassment is the trust that is destroyed. Your words become less credible to people who witnessed your matinee show exposing your lies. Trust is something which might take ages to build up but it just takes a split second of stupidity to hamper everything that we created so far.

Sometimes though we are not even conscious of our lies. But I guess that is just a lame defence. We should have the control over what we speak. Lies might glitter up your grandeur and give instant gratification but surely is the long run, there is no going back. Someday or the other you will have to face it. The truth. And that is when you will realize that there is nothing more insulting and devastating than these costly lies.

MI:Ghost Protocol * * *

Ethan Hunt is on a hunt again. And this time around he is on his own as the Impossible Missions Force i.e. IMF has been abolished by the American Government after the Kremlin is bombed during one of their missions. Some other secret agency piggybacks on their communication frequency and it makes Team Ethan the apparent culprit of Kremlin chaos.

As a response to this, the American government initiates the Ghost Protocol wherein Ethan is supposed to work secretly without any help from IMF and if caught, will be arrested with the allegation of terrorist attack on Kremlin. The cinematography and the action sequences filled with ultra-cool technological innovations take the MI series to a altogether different level. The sequences shot inside the Kremlin and the building act in Dubai is just breath taking.

The Indian connection i.e. Anil Kapoor has been given an ephemeral role of a lustful Indian Billionaire who gets ass-kicked all over. But people seemed to be really happy that at least some Indian actor could make it all the way to a mainstream Hollywood movie with Tom Cruise. So much so that some of them proudly clapped out loud.Way to go Anil Bhai! Although it seemed more like a molestation of his grandeur.


The movie is super-paced and cruises all the way towards the end and eventually turns out to be a one-man show. This one of MI, seemed more like a Bond flick, but the sad part was the absence of bond girls. But who the hell cares for a skin-show when you have Tom Cruise pulling off impossible acts defying the very principles of gravity. If you like action, cool gadgets and of course Cruise, then accept the Mission.

This review will self-destruct in 5 seconds.....   :D

Curse of immortality

Like you and like them,
I also wanted immortality.
Thought it to be the panacea,
for all those fears, and for vulnerability.
Thought it would give omnipotence.

But I was wrong.It's a curse.
Life has meaning in it's dynamism,
and not in the longevity.
And you need no fortune of time,
to pursue your dreams.
One lifetime is ample.

I will be always this.Frozen.
Stagnant, like water of a lake.
But I envy the river.
Her flow and the possibilities.
That's what I miss the most. Possibilities.

Breaking Dawn(Part-1) * * * *

It's that time of year again when we fall in love with the idea of love. Bella and Edward are back and this time around they invite you to the most anticipated and awaited on-screen wedding of all times. And this first part of the grand finale to twilight saga has delivered more than promised.

The cinematography especially of the grand wedding is spectacular. And all the Twilighters will definitely have a hard time managing their tears. It has been filmed with such simplicity and beauty that we fall in love with it. After all, we have waited so long to see them getting married and Edward has been waiting for more than a century to loose his virginity.Better late than never.

The wedding is followed by a honeymoon in Brazil which intrigues you as the vampire libido seems too much for the human Bella. Soon Bella gets pregnant  which is very unusual as the cold ones are apparently all impotent. And the story then revolves around the future of this unborn child and the possibilities therein. This ultimately ruins the treaty between the Cullens and the Quileutes which results in thrilling drama towards the end.The performances of all are commendable and the direction is soothing and streamlined. He even seemed to be generous this time allowing Jacob to fashion some cloths.

Final verdict, if you have loved the previous three of this saga, you are going to love this one like anything and this is the perfect prequel to the grand finale which will be coming next. And for New borns, it's just a romantic drama with a little of wolf thrill. And yeah, guys, you might even end up meeting your Bella at the theater as girls are turning out in huge numbers.

Uma's Agneepath against Walmart

On lines of Advani's Jan Chetna Yatra, Uma Bharti has revealed her upcoming agni-yatra wherein she plans to travel across the world to burn down all the Walmart stores as a reaction to the Government of India's decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail. At first, she only expressed the desire to burn down any store if it opens in India. But looks like she wants to play safe before the upcoming UP elections.

Uma Bharti in a press conference said that she is up for the interest of small traders and burning down all such multi-brand retailer giants is the only solution. She even said that once these huge retailers are thrown out, the kirana walas and local traders from India can fill in for the retail market across the world. She said this would boost Indian Exports. Talking about her yatra, she said she will use the same rath that Advani ji travelled in to have his blessing.

During the press conference when she was told that the government had many riders along so as to protect the interest of the small scale traders and the agriculturists and that this move will be creating around 10 million jobs in the country, she got angry with the press and even threatened to burn down the media houses and called them puppets in the hands of the ruling government.

In her Agni-yatra, she would be accompanied by Karan Johar, who would be promoting his next production 'Agneepath' featuring Hrithik Roshan. Other luminaries like Sushma Swaraj, Rabri Devi and Sharad Pawar( who is in a militant mood after getting slapped) have also expressed their desire to accompany Uma  But she would definitely would not want anyone to steel her thunder and to take political leverage out of this noble cause.

Rockstar * *

Expectations are never good. After the rom-com 'Jab We Met', the standards were floating real high and we couldn't wait any long for Imtiaz Ali's next and apparently it was already a success for his fan following. But cult is rarely followed by another cult. And Rockstar, for the most part of it, has been disappointing.

This so called 'musical' is about that good old saying that music can only come from a broken heart. Janardan Jakhar alias Jordan, has been playing music since childhood but he hasn't got the chords right yet. And for the sake it, he plans to fall in love with the heart breaker from Stephens. But the direction and scripting are so pathetic that you never actually feel that he fell in love or broke his heart.Every thing just seems like a deliberate attempt.

Nargis Fakhri turned out to be a total disaster. When will casting people understand that a hot chick looking like Katrina is not always the right choice. With apparently no acting skills and ridiculously large lips(No they are not at all like Angelina Jolie's), she is total alien to the movie. Also, another problem is unlike the west, people in India do not have a role model for a Rockstar. Here we worship Heroes and not singers.The saving grace for the movie is of course the scintillating music but also the authentic portrayal of an artist who creates music from pain. Ranbir's intense and powerful expressions and his energy levels helps the audience to connect. In fact, that's the only thing you would find worthy of stars in Rockstar.

Heritage or Just old buildings ??

Recently I visited probably the most impressive fort that the Mughals left behind and which is more than 450 years old. It is one of the most detailed and intelligent piece of art. Every single structure has a purpose and every single purpose has many dimensions to it. One would be amazed to see the principles of water harvesting, modern ventilation and planned drainage, all were there and in most cases better than what we have today.

Amidst the grandeur and vastness of this place, I was intrigued by an opinion."Do we really need them today? There is a land crunch and I guess we can better utilize the huge spread of this monument".

With the growing disinterest of people in such places of historic relevance and the third class maintenance by the government officials, one might find himself/herself leaning towards this opinion. But when you dig deeper to seek the larger picture you find so many other variables that actually matter a lot. In a country like India, tourism industry is one of the largest employers. Although, most of it is in the unorganized sector.

Take for example, the city of Agra. The economy of Agra is solely run on the basis of tourism. There are zillions of hotels and like half of them are named after the 'Taj'. The city also has other monuments like the Red fort, Sikandra and Fatehpur Sikri which make it an attractive tourist location. Everywhere in the city, you only find hotels, restaurants and travel agencies. Every other local is either into hospitality or is a travel guide.

Tourism is something which has a great potential for India and a lot needs to be done to make sure that we fully utilize it. We are fortunate to have so many places with monuments and natural beauty spread all over the country. These can be productively be used to provide employment to the huge labor force of the country. And also various incentives can be provided to promote self employment and small scale industries at such places.

Call it heritage or call it old buildings, the bottom line is we need to preserve such places. If not for the legacy they carry, then for the fact that millions depends on them for their bread and butter.

Respecting your words

Any social psychology expert would tell you that people behave differently in the presence of others.And the deviance from the real 'self' depends upon the level of closeness with the audience.The self, as per sociologist G.H.Mead, has two components namely 'I' & 'Me'. The former represents the incalculable,unpredictable and innovative component and the later is the coercive culmination of value premises imposed by the society. So, the former is the real self.

Mostly, all people are governed by the dominating 'Me' component. And even though we might be having a huge list of criticisms for say a person, we tend to behave normally before that person. We even try to please that person and don't let the grudges to surface in the conversation. But we find ourselves opening up quite frankly to a third person. We like to bitch about others behind their backs to this third person.

But when this third person sees you change colors like a chameleon in front of the person whom you have been insulting all the way, what would that third person conceive of you. You just became a spineless, coward and  degraded person.This phenomenon is not restricted to just this. Sometime we go on blasting off grandeur in our talks and making propositions to impress others without even digging a little on our capabilities to turn them into realities. And even worse, sometimes we keep on fluctuating our opinions like a damn pendulum which makes it difficult for people to trust your words.

You should respect your words if you want others to respect you. You should be bold enough to express yourself freely to others. You should speak of things only when you are sure of your potential to turn them real.  You should be what you are.All the time. A person of few words but with a spine is any day better than a verbose, spineless and coward jackass.

I confess that my past and present would certainly make me a spineless coward. But I am not going to project it to my future.I mean it.

In Time * * * *

Remember that good old saying that people keep on slapping at our faces when we show a little lethargic gesture.Time is Money.This flick written and directed by Andrew Niccol who's track record seems impressive with movies like Lord of War,The Trueman Show and The Terminal, is all about this very saying.And he has done it in style.Yet again.

The movie is set up in an altogether different sort of world where a human is born to live only 25 years and after that he can only live for the time which he earns and to do that there can be many ways.Once you are 25, you stop aging and the in built clock in your arm starts ticking.As salaries and wages people get time, to buy stuff they give time.Time is the universal currency.

But it isn't much different from the world we have today.It is also ruled by the rich who have millions of years on their clocks.They divide the world into time zones so as to keep people with similar leftover time together so as to avoid chaos and anarchy.They keep increasing the prices to pull out the time from the poor."For few to become immortals, many must die"

But Will Salas(Justine Timberlake) believes "No one should be immortal, even if a single person has to die". He wants to break the system controlled by the timekeepers who are no better than slaves to the rich. He teams up with the kingpin's daughter to steal time from the riches and distributes to the poor.Like the good old Robin Hood.But it's the vivid imagination and the wonderful portrayal that will impress you.One can also call it a satirical and sci-fi fantasy mocking the modern capitalistic societies. It's a short,fast and pretty interesting movie which is surely worth your precious 'time'.  

SRK assasinated at his residence

Mumbai. In a bizarre turn of events, the self-proclaimed 'king' khan of Bollywood was shot multiple times using a sniper by an unidentified assassin at his residence Mannat.The king khan was out on his balcony waving to his fans like he did everyday and at least 10 times a day.

According to close friends of SRK, he was getting threats over the phone after he spoke about his plans for a sequel to Ra.One in  a paid interview recently. Ra.One, which got many accolades at the recently held Golden Raspberry awards, is seen as a trend setter movie. Although these calls seem to have further motivated him and he announced that he now wants 'Ra' series to even outnumber the potter flicks.

His son, Aryan Khan,who is in his early teens, said his father was a role model for him. He also dreams of a career in Bollywood(like he has a choice). He also added that the last words of SRK were,"My name is Khan and I have slept with Karan Johar". Well, people do show what they actually are in their dying moments. Aryan, who was high on emotions said that he would fulfill his father's dream of Ra.Two one day.

SRK, who claimed to be the best in business, was also known for his marketing skills which he probably picked up in a bridge course at IIPM under the visionary guidance of Arindam Chaudhury, who btw will be coming up with a biography for SRK. Not everyone is capable of creating shit worth 150 crores and then making a profit out of it.SRK would be remembered for his works in Ra.One,Om Shanti Om,Paheli and many others.

RIP.G.One

Shit happens, mostly in India

Train journeys have certain peculiarities.The slightly shaky and noisy experience is not that bad. When you wake up to a beautiful morning, you look across the window to find meadows.The picturesque display of Indian greenery certainly cheers you up.But every rose comes with thorns.Suddenly the beauty is replaced with multitudes of asses shitting in open and apparently singing in chorus,"Nile gagan ke tale, subah ke panch baje....."

As per UNICEF's findings for the year 2008, India accounted for 58% of those practicing open defecation globally. In simpler terms, almost 6 out of every 10 people in the world shitting in open are doing so on Indian soils. Imagine the rate at which mere desh ki dharti is degrading. A whopping 54% of Indian population practice open defecation i.e. almost 64 crore. It is a matter a shame and disgust that even in more than 60 years of democracy, we have not been able to provide the very basic amenities to people.

It has multidimensional ramifications as well. The economic impact of inadequate sanitation costs India 6.4% of it's GDP. One might wonder how can shit be of so much worth. But the numerous health hazards and epidemics resulting from the open defecation are damaging the health status of the country and surely is expanding the health care expenditure.Moreover, most of the open defecation places are ridiculously close to the cultivated lands.To add, with urbanization, the problem has spread to the urban areas as well. The slums breeding in the urban sprawls pose to great threat to the urban health.

An urgent action plan seeking to provide sanitation everywhere in the country is the burning need of the hour.Is it really unreasonable or unrealistic a demand?  We are not asking for 4G services for every citizen, we are not asking for Broadband connectivity to every rural household, we are not asking for an Indian GP but for the love of god, give the people of India places to shit with dignity.

FDI in sculptor making coming soon

Amidst the recent trends to allow Foreign Direct Investments( FDIs) in all sectors of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs), the union government's next move will see 100% FDI opportunities in the field of sculptor making. According to Dalit think tanks, this move is under pressure from the Mayawati led Uttar Pradesh government.

Even before a final formal announcement by the UPA II government, the UP state government has initiated talks with the sculptor making giants Madame Tussuad's based in London. If sources are to be believed, Mayawati has already placed an order for 1000 statues of herself along with some of Ambedkar and of some other dalit activists.

In the Memorandum of Chutiyaaps(MOC) signed between UP government and Madame Tussuad's, Mayawati has clearly mentioned that all her statues have to be in black as any other color could be detrimental to her massive dalit vote banks.Also, she wants the statues to portray all of her purse-collection, for which she is separately planning a museum as well.Moreover, she is not happy with the use of wax and is adamant for the use of a stronger substance.

Recently Mayawati was in the capital for a meeting with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi asking her to fast track this FDI move. She also promised to erect Rahul's statue(as if she is capable to erect something else) in Bhatta parsual. On allegations that such expenditure of public money was extravagant, she said that statue work creates a lot of employment in the state and she also plans to add this under National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. With more professional statues in the tunnel, the state of UP now plans to claim the 'UN world heritage site' honor.

Bad lexicon

Words. Imagine a world without them. Silent and dull. They are the messengers of our consciousness. But a control over your lexicon is a must.

Sometimes we utter some bad lexicon. May be unconsciously. That creates a butterfly effect. It hurts someone close to you. You might not realize the same then. But then when you do realize, you cannot do anything. Words like bullets cannot be recalled.The best you can do is learn. There is no atonement for everything.

Any amount of tears cannot wash away the stains caused. And the worse part is, how the hell do I apologize to myself. It has hurt me, the most. I am not what I sounded like then. I lost myself for that very moment. Oh hell, I hate myself.

Capital Punishment? To hang or not to?

Capital punishment i.e. the authorized killing of a person by the state as a punishment for the offense committed, has been a matter up for discussion off late in the international arena. Many countries have banned capital punishment and this has created an international consensus against the use of capital punishment or death sentence.

This issue came up for the national debate when some  of the mercy petitions seeking clemency were recently rejected by our honorable President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil. Our constitution provides for a pardoning power only given to President of the country even applicable in death sentences. As of today, around 60 such petitions are tabled in the office of the President. And the unhidden politicization of such matters is the only reason for the unjustified delays caused in such execution cases.

First and foremost, should India do away with capital punishment? This question certainly cannot just be answered out of a feeling of pity and kind. There are numerous aspects to be analyzed before formulating an opinion. Firstly, the state does not provide for a right to life or rather it does not give us life, ergo it should not have the authority to take away one. Secondly, morality does not permit us to take one's life whatsoever may be the circumstances and scenarios.But then, by what right or on what moral ground did the convict commit that heinous crime.This also needs to be kept in mind. Capital punishments can save the expenditure of the over populated jails, can  create deterrence and ensures justice keeping in mind how people innovate ways to get out of imprisonments on grounds of health and other reasons. On the other hand, capital punishment is draconian, not reformative and the delays in execution result in traumatic periods for the guilty and his/her family members.


There have been instances when countries that banned capital punishment witnessed a rise in the crime rates within a couple of decades and today those very countries are trying to re-introduce capital punishment in their system.United Kingdom is one such example.Also, Singapore which was heavily criticized for the colossal number of executions it performed every year and the highly punitive law code it developed in the country.But today Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates of the world.

Having regard to the conditions in India, to the variety of social upbringing, to the disparity in the level of morality and education, to the diversity of the huge population and to the paramount need for maintaining law and order, India cannot risk the abolition of capital punishment. Today, we are no where near a stable society where we would not be needing stringent laws and punishments.May be some day when we see things in control, we should definitely act otherwise.Also, having capital punishment or other stringent punishments would only help if the conviction rate is high. In India, the poor conviction rate stands at 4%.And the long delays add to the misery.

Having agreed to continue with the capital punishment in India, we reach the next part of the dilemma. What form of capital punishment should be preferred? There are many - hanging, lethal injection, gas chamber, shooting, electrocution etc. While deciding, many would advocate an instant death. But would not it lessen the deterrence caused by a painful and slow one? Should not the criminal feel every bit of the crime before death? These are questions , difficult to answer. But we cannot let our morality come in the way to punish those who have violated morality themselves.

I vote to hang.

Police Reforms: Modernising Khakhi

I have come across many views on the degree of corruption in the Police department of India. Some claim that it's the least corrupt among other departments of the government where as some accuse of it being the most corrupt, in fact far ahead of the other ones. What I witnessed today would argue for the later.


A policeman enters and approaches the manager.The manager's face turns pale.He asks the waiter to pack some food for the policeman. After 10 minutes, another policeman. After 10 min, another. When the forth policeman arrives, the manager loses it. 'Look Sir, I am already serving free food to three postings of police personnel near this place. I am spending rupees 1000 every damn day on mother fuckers like you'. Seems like the policeman  had no esteem. He stood there like a beggar claiming that he was just working on orders.Again came a free bag of food. The policeman smiled and marched out.

Corruption is though, only one of the numerous problems of the current day policing in India.The police force of the country is heavily overburdened and has one of the worst policeman-population ratio in the world. Moreover, the arbitrary transfers of senior levels officers in Indian Police is a big hurdle before attainment of efficiency and effectiveness.Though the appointments are facilitated by an panel-system, still they do not reflect the consideration of ability over seniority.Also, there are no mechanisms for grievance redressal to look after the complaints against policeman.Also, the reluctance of registering FIRs by the policeman is a big concern.Untrained policemen equipped with age-old rusted arms cannot fight the super equipped militants.

It is high time that the recommendations of the Soli Sorabji Committee are manifested and police reforms are taken up very seriously.First and foremost, the investigation part should be bifurcated and given to investigation agencies which will help the overburdened police to maintain law and order efficiently.Secondly, the tenure of higher officials should be fixed for at least 2-3 years.That would check the political interference. Thirdly, an independent commission should be constituted for the appointment of heads of armed forces and higher level appointments in the police. Further, Police Complaint boards need to be established at state and district levels to be headed by retired judges. This would bring accountability and would check the arbitrariness of police working. Lastly, we need to train the policemen in general warfare and provide them with modern arms and ammunition.

It is high time to bring at least some of these recommendations into practice asap and to re-establish people's faith in the sentinels of India.

Animal Welfare Bill 2011: The WTF bill

Recently a new 'Animal Welfare Bill 2011' has been tabled in the Parliament. This will replace the old Prevention of cruelty to Animals Act 1960. Lets look at it's provisions.

(1) Freedom from thirst and hunger. Hmm, what about the million people starving in the country and hundreds of hunger deaths every year.

(2) Freedom from discomfort including access to shelter & place to rest. Well, why don't we first start with those people who are forced to live on the roads.Why don't we rehabilitate the slum people first?

(3) Freedom from pain, injury, sickness including prompt veterinary care. The country faces severe shortage of Primary health centers, medical professionals and services in rural areas and many die everyday due to absence of prompt ambulance services.You got to be kidding me with this.

(4) Freedom to express normal behavior of that species. So next time when you decide to throw a stone on a stray dog barking into the night and being a pain in your ass, think twice, that dog will be capable of suing you for this offense.

(5) Freedom from fear and distress and also provision for adequate space for natural movement and company of animals of their own kind. So while taking your dog on a walk, if your dog wants to indulge in some playful activities with the stray dogs, you have a right to remain silent, even if they indulge in public display of affection.

Well fun apart, the government needs to realize that nothing can be more important than the betterment of living standards for poor people. First ensure the fundamental rights of the people and an equitable society, then we will talk about animal rights. And for those who feel that dogs(read animals) should be treated humanely, i would say, lets first stop treating humans dogly.

Decade of tears

They stood there,at ground zero,
mourning those souls who hadn't erred.
Those were innocent people.
Young and old.Black and white.
They never waged a war.

Is it fair, to take innocent lives,
for inducing terror, or for making a point,
Is it fair, to punish people,
for someone else's greed.
The answer is no.

 Those responsible, should be hanged.
No, that would be far too easy.
Slow poison may be,
or a revengeful beheading.

We need to tell their brothers,
that we can kill too.

An eye for an eye,
would make the world blind.
But at least, that blind world,
would be fair.

Remember, remember, eleventh of September.


RIP

1947, all over again !

Recently when I read Bipin Chandra's India's struggle for independence, I was touched. Deeply. We can not even imagine the magnitude of patriotism which prevailed in those times. There was this fire within every Indian.Desire to sacrifice everything for her independence. The fraternity amongst Indians was unprecedented. And those visionary leaders like Gandhi, Nehru and so many others. Oh, would love to get a glimpse of those times.If only I could go back.

But then, Anna happened.And this desire to witness 1947 came knocking on the door.The gates of Ramlila Maidaan,Delhi are the time machines which will give you a ride of a lifetime.As soon as you enter, you are awestruck by the amount of patriotism which is in the air.The unity and fraternity is unprecedented. The volunteers from across the nation are doing excellent work to maintain order and dignity. I was amazed to see even small children so willing to go to the stage so that they can hug the old man. People came up with their own patriotic poems and songs to electrify the already super charged atmosphere.One could see Anna struggling to keep away the tears drawn by the immense love and trust by the fellow Indians. I hope our representatives realize that our demand is not draconian, but the prevailing corruption surely is.

Initially I didn't object to the school of thought which claims that no law can end corruption in this country.What needs to be changed is the mindset of people. They further claim, that there is a very stringent law against dowry in the country, but did that help.Their points are valid ones. But then we cannot just sit idle criticizing.

Yes, may be this will not eradicate corruption in totality or even considerably for that matter, but surely it is a big step forward as far as the awakening of masses is concerned. Yes, some of the demands may be beyond the line, but given the extreme penetration of corruption in the government machinery, it's justified. Yes, civil society drafting a bill may be unconstitutional , but a constitution enacted in 1950 cannot be held like the word of God.

People are frustrated with corruption and it the anger shows it all. One man, 74 years of age, has mobilized millions and millions of people. Why? Because he struck the right chord in every Indian. We all already feel and know what he is saying out loud. But this collective voice never resonated with a pitch so mindbogglingly high. This is the time to let the anger come out. This is the time to unite. This is the time to be a part of the second freedom struggle of India. In any way possible, make your contribution. Because it's now, or never.

Anna is India \m/

I & Me

I have been running,
don't know since when.
I remember, turning back,
fearing those ubiquitous shadows.
They have been stalking me,
don't know since when.
They manipulated, I became me.
I struggled, all in vain.
I acted cowardly, didn't resist,
allowed them to paint the world, for me.

But you can never run away,
from the real you.
May be you pretend, or hide,
cannot just run away.
So, it came back, all of it.
I could see my original sin.
But no more of that now,
demolishing those strings, me became I !

Article 78, Personified

Article 78 of our constitution talks about the duties of the Prime Minister with respect to furnishing information to the President.In a way this is only article which talks about the relationship between two most important executives of our country.

Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. Rajendra Prassad were the first to portray these two roles in Indian polity.And boy, they did set the standards pretty high so much so that no other pair has attained those levels of understanding and respect for each other. What helped was, they were very good friends and had known each other since long and cooperated in the national freedom struggle. Both maintained a cordial relationship between the two offices and maintained their sanctity.

Then was the era of the charismatic Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who undermined the office of the president.She even went to the extreme of making office of the President a mere rubber stamp by imposing on him the advice of Council of Ministers as binding by the 42th amendment act.Later though, the President was given some discretion. So in her tenure, there was hardly any coordination between the two offices. No retaliation came from the office of the President due to weak incumbents. The relationship worsened in the times of Rajiv Gandhi and Giani Zail Singh.They became almost anti to each other which was very destructive for the smooth functioning of the government.

When P.V.Narasimha Rao came into power, although there were no difference per se with the President but there were hardly any exchanges. He was such a deep thinker and silent personality that he would have taken the whole day to update the President on a single matter. And hence things didn't work out at such low pace. Although then came a time when we can say that the relationship somewhat revived in the times of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam. They it seems used to communicate well and enjoyed working with each other.But the press ridiculed it by saying that it is just because of the fact that both are bachelors and have nothing to do at the end of the working day. Whatever may be the reason, the country did benefit under their leaderships for sure.

At present, we have a Prime Minister who has not spoken since he advocated the liberalization process in the 1990s. And to his misery we have a lady President. Imagine how difficult it is for Manmohan Singh to coordinate with the office of President. What is required today, is the presence of strong, statesman and visionary leaders in both of the offices who can rise above the petty politics and assert a dream to carry India ahead on their strong shoulders.

Judicial Activism: Rise of the Judiciary

Any system is said to be in equilibrium when it's sub systems are performing as expected by the conscience of the parent system. A state hence would be balanced if the organs- legislative, executive and the judiciary, perform as per the state's conscience. But somehow that has not been yet observed when we look into various states in general and Indian State in particular.

Just after independence, we witnessed an era of dominance of the legislative. The strong leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru as our Prime Minister(1947-64) and his statesmanship,his ability to hold all the parliamentarians by a strong bond and of course the visionary steering, all made the legislative omnipotent.Neither the executive not the judiciary ever questioned the methods of the legislative. Jawaharlal Nehru maintained the sanctity of the parliament and gave equal opportunities of all.

Then came the era of the executive.When Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister(1966-75), she dominated the functioning of the parliament and thus the executive gained superiority over the legislative.The dormant secretariat of the Prime Minister i.e the PMO, gained importance. Under the control of P.N.Haksar, the PMO started issuing writs to the ministries and departments. Something which was new for Indian polity.

Post 1977, the era of one-party dominance came crashing down and Congress went out of power for the first time since independence. Coalition politics was slowly on the rise which was bound to make the legislative weak. And in the absence of strong leaders like Nehru, the executive too was bound to collapse. This was the time when the judiciary started attaining power. It fought many battles to widen it's ambit and even though the legislative tried to contain it, but that was all in vain.

Then came a paradigm shift with the concept of PIL(Public Interest Litigation). Article 32 of Indian constitution enables us to directly move to Supreme court in case of violation of any Fundamental Right. But then majority of Indian population had no idea about these provisions and this holds true even today. So the judiciary provided that now anyone can approach the courts on behalf of the victims.This was called public interest litigation.And this was the beginning of judicial activism which resulted from malfunctioning of the legislative and the executive. Also, the courts started taking suo moto cognizance of ill practices and wrong doings and issuing orders to rectify them. The overtake of the work of the executive, is something beyond the purview of legitimate judicial activism and is considered as judicial over-reach.

Judicial activism is a welcome phenomenon only in the short run.If it is carried out for long, it may destroy the concept of separation of power and can destroy the checks that provide the balance among the three organs.Hence the judiciary must employ self-restrain and evolve a code of ethics for judges while indulging in judicial activism and shall only use it as a last resort.

ZNMD * *

ZNMD is all about appreciating the smallest of moments in life and living life as you would want and not according to the whims and fancies of your dominating, manipulative, paranoid and bitching would be better half. I mean that's just one dimension of it.Of course, there is much more in the flick than this.It revolves around a pact of three college friends where they planned to play dare and dare on a mega scale before anyone of them gets married.As per the pact, the guys cannot share the dare till they are at the venue and the other two cannot back out.



Amidst the dares, these guys then realize the art of living.And no, attending the art of living course by Sri Sri Ravi Shanker was not one of the three dares.They realize that beneath and beyond their tall office buildings, there lies a world full of beauty and awe to be explored and cherished. The bottom line is to rise above your fears and irrelevant obligations, to live free and happily.After all, you only live once.



As for the individual performances, Farhan Akhtar seemed to dominate the hunk and DevD both thanks to the larger screen space backed with powerful poetry in his voice. Zoya's bias for Farhan is evident throughout.And the myth about Spain is true.The degree of hotness doubles and is very apparent via Katrina Kaif who has never looked that hot.Except for that aam-sutra commercial.Zoya's direction is very mature and she conveys the message with some powerful scenes having less of words and more of facial expressions.But then, our impatient Indian audience who likes to be spoon fed, might not appreciate her intentions.





You do get a lot of wisdom though from the movie.One- If you feel like kissing somebody, do it, otherwise the regret will make you chase him/her all the way, so why not do it at the first place and avoid all that jazz.Two-Never show a ring to a girl just like that, there can be a disastrous butterfly effect on your life.Three- adventure sports is not the only way to live your life fully, it depends from person to person.So don't feel bad if you haven't done all that and even if you don't plan to.Four- Running ahead of bulls is not an adventure sport, believe you me.Five- The strategy of working your ass off till 40 and then enjoying is bull shit. For such people i have some words - holocausts, tsunami,earthquakes,genocides,Kasab,Brevik 9/11,11/26 and mother of all is 2012. Dudes, kya pata kal ho na ho. Live life king size.Everyday.Every second of it.So go for it, if you like Spain or Katrina or if you have forgotten how to live.



दिलो में तुम अपनी बेताबियाँ लेकर चल रहे हो, तो जिंदा हो |

नज़र में ख्वाबो की बिजलिया लेकर चल रहे हो, तो जिंदा हो ||





P.S. I know its ridiculously late,but couldn't resist.

childish aspirations

I could not take my eyes off that bird. How effortlessly it flew amidst the clouds and over us. As if the winds were made for them alone.Then another one came chasing from behind and teasing with his levels of acrobatics.I love looking at the birds up in the sky.The realization of absolute freedom i can only envisage through their flight.I voiced my feelings.

The other voice teasingly remarked- he is still in his childhood.I would not deny that. In fact, I do not want to part ways with that little child in me. All of us have been through those days. How innocent,pure and noble are the thoughts then. No bias, discrimination and favoritism.That is when we are fair to others.Just and real. Growing up and owning the responsibilities is one thing, but who said you should let go off that innocence and that zest to inquire more and more.And I think not giving up your childhood keeps you sane and cuts down on your rage.

There was another voice which wanted to know which one super power I would ask for. For me, it has always been the desire to embrace the sky. To attain that absolute degree of freedom. Some wanted a note printing machine, some the power to read minds. I just want to play amongst the clouds.

Saplings of corruption

There are couple of places in Delhi which can be called as the most fertile fields of the country as far the crops of civil servants are concerned.Along with the green revolution in the agriculture, there came a coaching revolution in civil services.Green revolution is often criticized for the crop and regional disparities.Similarly, the revolution in civil services preparation was restricted to Delhi, more or less.

Now from such crowd, it is expected that the visionary ones will rise above and ergo will be given the responsibilities to run this country.So one might expect super keen youngsters yearning to dedicate themselves for the service of the nation with unlimited and unbound dedication.Given the scales of responsibilities, one expects strong shoulders immune to corruption.

Unfortunately, this is just idealism at it's best.It is disheartening not to find people with the zeal to play a role in the development of our nation.And at the same time, it is disappointing to see the majority striving only for an ambassador, life long security, unbound power and a license to corruption. With such already infected seeds, only saplings of corruption will rise and someday will grow into a full fledged tree of corruption with deep and thick roots sucking out all the public resources and eventually numerous such trees would spread the already huge bureaucratic jungle.Whats more shocking is the fact that people here are talking outright about there plans to set new horizons of corruption.They even sometimes exchange their ideas on the best and secure ways to facilitate under the table deals.

And you cannot deny the fact that many of them will be there tomorrow feeding on the public money and ridiculing the office of civil servant. With such people given the control of bureaucracy, the old dream of trickle-down effect will remain a dream.And the policies of government to bring equality will be scribblings and nothing more.

Lizard of ooze

When you spend most of your time in a single room whose four walls are very close and there is hardly any room to move, you observe things.Things which normally are not tapped by our consciousness. Lizards have always accompanied us as if inspired from that Hutch commercial- where ever you go our network follows! So that day, I noticed one on the wall defying gravity and brunching on teeny tiny innocent insects.Like many, I hate lizards.They are ugly,spooky and they multiply rapidly.

But then in these rainy days, it's the flies and insects that bother us more, i thought.And that hungry little reptile was doing a great job.So that called for a choice.Either a lizard or zillion flies.Ain't a difficult choice at all. Status-quo maintained.

Sadly, like some humans, lizards too don't understand the rules of status-quo. You respect other's space. You don't interfere. And most importantly, you don't shit around when the other is at point blank range. That little jackass wagged it's tale and i thought it was just a celebration of another catch.But it was something else.Something gross.It shitted on my books.That was the end of cease fire. It violated the treaty.I picked up my broom.No not to play Quidditch stupid , me not Harry.And with a bang, the lizard of ooze was out of my room.Peace.

Gentlemen by choice

We never denied, your just pride.
Never we questioned, abrupt strides.
Sentinel to your vulnerability,
your highness, we oblige.

We didn't commit female foeticide,
neither we sinned infanticide.
Cherished you rather of diverse roles,
of mother,of daughter and of holy souls.

We too want a world,
need not where you strive,but thrive.
And need not where you cry, but fly.
We too dream that day,
of equality of say,
and symbiosis of stay.

So ladies, remember ,
not all boys are dogs.
some do echo your voice,
called Gentlemen by choice !

P.S- Inspired from a belief of a girl who claims that all boys are dogs.

Women empowerment and Peace

The oldest known civilization on our lands was the Indus Valley civilization about 5000 years back. Those people worshiped a female goddess who was seen as a symbol of creation and women in that civilization enjoyed an equal status. Apparently these semi-clad hunters were more fair to women then the contemporary technologically advanced breed i.e us.

Even though a lot has been debated and bought in practice so as to empower women, much more needs to be done. We today proudly exemplify the progress made by us in women empowerment by using couple of cult names like Kiran Bedi, Bachendri Pal, Pratibha Patil and couple of others.But the list is not long given the colossal population we have.Many schemes such as Ujjawala, Priyadarshini and National commission for women have surfaced and proved effective.Though this is just the beginning of a long journey.

For any kind of empowerment, political empowerment is a prerequisite.Ours is a democratic system where the powers are vested into the elected representatives of the people and unless we have an equal share of women in parliament, the overall empowerment can not be achieved.One such bill is long pending to be introduced.Although some states have taken mature decisions in this regard by providing 50% reservation in the local government elections which is a huge stride towards eliminating the gender bias.

Education is another important aspect.As per the 2011 Census preliminary reports, though the overall literacy rate climbed to 74.04% which is a welcome sign for India, the literacy rates for females and males were 65.46% and 82.14%.The gender gap of 16.68% speaks for itself. A lot needs to be done for ensuring participation of women in education with special focus in the rural areas where the situation is worse.While framing the education policies and schemes the makers should keep in mind that-"If you educate a man, you educate an individual but if you educate a woman, you educate a whole family".

Peace comes out of the cordial existence of the two sexes.Conflicts arise only when one dominates.Domination cannot in any way be fair.And the way to bring peace is to bring the women at par with men via their empowerment. And those who claim that special treatment to women is against the equality of law should revisit the pages of history where she has been confined between the four walls and enslaved for generations.Women empowerment brings them to the center stage where they can actually realize the wide spectrum of opportunities waiting for them. Women should endeavor and men should encourage.So that the road to liberation becomes a reality.

Jawaharlal Nehru once famously remarked-" You can tell the condition of the nation by looking at the status of the women." And I believe a day will come when that statement would loose it's grandeur as on that day, women would outclass men in every sphere of consideration.

Bureaucratic alienation

Alienation as a concept was given by Karl Marx in relation to his theory of dialectical materialism that explains the origin of class and class struggle. He basically highlighted the increasing isolation the worker class was being subjected to.The proletariat i.e the worker class had no say in the production process and were thus distanced from the product, the process, the community of workers and eventually from themselves. Thus, they got alienated from all spheres of society.

In contemporary times, we can find this phenomenon across all economic activities. The leadership everywhere is dominated by the elite and the execution is left for the majority who as a result of this face alienation. This alienation has unfortunately also crippled our bureaucracy. The permanent executives of our country are selected via a very detailed and unbelievably tough process and only the learned and knowledgeable go through.But ironically those who control them are not even graduates.Such people only due to popularity or rather a political blood line become the representatives and control the bureaucrats.

With such a system in place, alienation had to creep in.Even if the bureaucrat understands the populist action or the genuine action required, he would have to dance to the whims and fancies of the ministry.That is bound to isolate him from his responsibilities and ultimately from the system.One such incident which happened in a district in the Chambal region is of relevance. As a solution to the problem of dacoits in this region the government announced a scheme which provided a rehabilitation package to all the dreaded dacoits if they surrender to the Police.The policy actually worked and lot many surrendered.But there was a peculiar case where that dacoit had not killed a single civilian.He told the Police that he had become a dacoit to take wealth from the rich and give it to the poor.But he had never killed anyone in those 10 years of dacoity. Interestingly, the concerned D.G of Police could not accept his surrender and he wasn't given the rehabilitation package.The reason- that package was specially for dreaded dacoits i.e those who have killed at least 10 persons. The D.G said " Though I understand the flawed policy, but my hands are tied". So was that dacoit supposed to go back and kill 10 persons to entitle himself the rehabilitation package?

The bottom line is, if you are so willing to have the best of the lot at the bureaucratic positions, you should at least give them some freedom. They should be given some discretion which they can utilize to shape up the public policies keeping in mind the realities of grass root level and the flaws enclosed in the present system. Why to give U.P.S.C a hard time if the government only wants puppets?

Curse of Seniority

In our country, a donkey born earlier is considered better than a horse born later. This is ubiquitous in the Indian bureaucratic machinery and mostly in all social systems.Experience is given the utmost priority.Now here the word 'experience' does not guarantee a sound knowledge in the concerned field of work. It simply means, that person has spent more time playing in this ground. It's quantitative, not qualitative.It is not concerned with efficiency or effectiveness.And the sad part is that it is highly acceptable and unquestionable in our society.

Take the case of promotion in offices in general and government offices in particular. Your accent in the hierarchy is more a function of time than of performance,productivity,innovation and so many other eligible criteria. So irrespective of the value you are adding to the system or your commitment for the firm's objective, some day anyway you will be promoted. It's more of a problem in the public sector where the employees feel totally secured. They have no incentive to be innovative or proactive.

Even in our extended families, the eldest male is considered to be the decision maker. And a genuine innocent argument given by a younger member to support his action is seen as a revolt against the family norms and a mark of disrespect of the elders. Now with fast changing social behavior of the society, changes are inevitable.Both in values and in culture. So, the young generation will think and act differently. To elders , it may seem amoral is some respects. They should in such cases, come out from the chambers of orthodoxy and have an open mind.

Experience is important.But only that one which has been dynamic in it's evolution. The one which has modified itself in the purview of modernity.And not that one which has orthodoxy as it's soul.

Signs

What happens after death? Where does the spirit go ? Is it just energy or far beyond that? And are memories carried upon or lost in translation?

It was almost a year that day since he left us.Rather his spirit left his body.We all had assembled for the rituals to be performed on his first death anniversary.It was late in the night that suddenly the peaceful silence was transformed to fearful anxiety.Everyone woke up to the sound of the door bell.Now it's not abnormal to hear the sound of the door bell at such unearthly hour.But if that door bell had never ever made a sound before since we moved to this place, then it's kind of weird.There was something wrong with the inner wiring and we never bothered to get it fixed.So, that button outside with a door-bell sign was redundant and dormant. But that night, it made sounds.Multiple times.May be it was the mischievous rain that evening though it was hours before the occurrence of this event.But our hearts felt something else.They felt his presence.I opened the door and went outside.No one was there.Rather no one was visible to us.Some part of us though wanted to deny what we saw.I don't know why I stood there for a while expecting him to surface so that we could embrace him.Then I went inside, and stared at his picture on the wall.I tell you, his eyes never felt so lively.

Later that day, while the rituals were going on, an old man came to our doors looking for food.That's again normal.But my mother told us that it was very rare in this locality.Coincidences do happen. But I am more than sure that those who witness, can draw a line between coincidences and signs.

We all miss you. And we know that it was you who belled us that night.Rest in peace, dad.

Patriarchy and Honour killings

Sixteen-year-old Mujahedeh was murdered by her own father ostensibly to redeem her family's "honor."Her offense? Her family had accused her of bringing shame upon them by escaping a home in which she was subjected to daily beatings."She had enough," says Homa, a deputy director of a women's rights group called the Center for the Growth of the Talents of Afghan Women who got to know Mujahedeh. "She escaped home and went to the Ministry of Women's Affairs. Then she spent some time in a ministry shelter. She liked to go to school and was busy studying. She was enjoying [better] conditions and she didn't want to return to her family, but her mother insisted they'd let her go to school -- her mother said, 'Your father has forgiven your sin.' And she was finally forced to return to her relatives Later it was heard from a neighbor or someone else that her father had murdered her when she returned."

Human Rights Watch defines "honor killings" as 'Honor killings are acts of vengeance, usually death, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including: refusing to enter into an arranged marriage , being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce—even from an abusive husband—or (allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that "dishonors" her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life'. Although we do see some cases where the men are also killed along with the women but that's a very small number relatively.So in general these killings target the innocent women.

Amidst a lot of research on finding the root causes of this evil, the social scientists have narrowed down their approach focusing on the greatest contributor.Patriarchy.This phenomenon of male dominance in the family goes way back to the times of inception of kinship and family structures.The oldest male member is seen as the head of the family and the protector of family's pride and honor. His is the supreme authority and his discretion is the final verdict.That was the era of male domination where women were just seen as subjects.Rather an instrument of man's lust.

And today, after a long drawn struggle by the women force, they have successfully broken the four walls of those abusive homes and made a foray into the mainstream proving there capabilities in all sectors and getting accolades for the discipline and innovation they have inculcated in the system.Her success frustrates the clans of orthodox men who still see patriarchy as a moral arrangement.They do not want to see her walking shoulder to shoulder. They are scared to be left behind by women.They want there place back.They want her back beneath their shoes.And 'honor killings' is the tool they have found.In the name of redeeming the family 'honor', they slaughter their own daughters,sisters and mothers so ruthlessly that even the Satan would not want a glance.And the most disgusting is the fact that these brutal and evil actions are seen as understandable and excusable by some people.It's a shame on the part of the educated masses who indulge and also on the part of the government who is not able to curb this ugly mean of vengeance.

The need of the hour is to stop the glorification of these killing, to take stringent actions against the culprits and to promote the NGOs and institutions which are working to help the victims in regaining normalcy. And those men with patriarchal hangover, need to be told that men are physically stronger to protect women.And not to profess.

Anger Management

What is anger? Why does sometimes our head acts like a radiator ? Why do we feel offended ? What makes us red hot ? Answers to all these may be different for each of us.But one thing is universal.That if allowed, this monster can ruin it all. Doesn't matter how long you have been slogging for something. Doesn't matter how much you love the other person. That small eruption of rude,harsh,loud and senseless words will screw you so bad that you won't even realize what actually hit you.And worse, words and actions are irreversible.

Most of the times it is the ego. We all think very high of ourselves.Irrespective of what we do or have been up to, we feel that no one can achieve what we can.We feel that we are different.We feel that we are the one.And how come someone object or contradict my verdict.What does he think of himself? That jackass. Sad but true. Seldom we open ourselves to criticism. Moreover, courtesy the modernity, the collective conscience of this generation takes judgement by others as an insult.Rather an offense on his part. There are some who have anger running down their veins.They claim it to be in built. They just cannot tolerate non-compliance.That's even sadder.

Whatever may be the reason, but the ugliest part of it is to face the repercussions.You may end up losing a dear friend, ruining a lovely relationship, sabotaging your career and the list does not end here. These peculiar acts or outbursts are never forgotten. Even if the other claims to have forgiven you.That clot of dirt is immortal.It might even be there after you are gone.The only viable outcome is the one where you repent. Sometimes we might get lucky enough to get an act for atonement.But that's just sometimes. Not for all sins, the lord gives atonement.

So in those times when you start to feel the heat, when you start to loose yourself to anger, to that moment of madness, remember this one thing.Anger will only harm.And not only you.Take a deep breadth.Think something which makes you happy.And happiness shall prevail.

Cooperation without Coordination

I like hearing stories.Many people do.But I enjoy them most when they teach us something.So there is this teacher who was trying to make a point.Cooperation without coordination is disastrous.He came up with a story.Thought would share with all of you.

'There is this guy who lives with his family.Parents and a sister.Poor family.Somehow he manages his graduation and thereafter dives deep in the pool of job hunt.Finally one day he gets an interview call which is scheduled a week later.He prepares well for his golden hour .But he had only one formal trouser. And that two an inch longer than what would fit him.But he wanted everything to be perfect that day.So asks his sister to fix it for him.She denies giver her busy schedule.He then asks his mother.Even she denies all tired with household work.He then goes to his father who was preoccupied with his mustache says doing that would be a big step down for him.Disappointed he himself fixes the trouser.

Next day his sister feels bad for denying his only brother.She reduces the length further, of course unwary of the fact that it had already been taken care of.Then his mother too feels the same and further reduces the length.Even dad swings into action.On the day of the interview when he puts of the trouser, it puzzles him that how come it turned into a 3/4th.'

Bhag DK Bose

Bhag DK Bose is the revelation of 2011. And in record time this has become the national anthem of the Indian youth. No doubt that it's the perfect combination of rhythm,pace,music and most importantly, the lyrics. Finally we guys have a socially acceptable substitute for BC sutta. And the supplement 'Paincher' is not far behind. After all the shit we go through all day long, this song takes away all the heat.Respect.

There is something about expletives which probably will never be understood.They generate in you these immense impulses of energy which any amount of glucose would not.They are the best stress busters ever.Although I feel sorry for all the D K Boses in India whose name has been brought to mud here.But you know what, screw you guys ! The song is too good ! And for the complaining parents I would say that stop associating guilt with expletives. These are just words.That does not mean that I support their use openly and everywhere.But lets just make an exception for this song.

It's amazing that everyone can relate to this song somehow. Specially in our Bharat. In the era of this cut-throat competition, 100 % cutoffs, rampant corruption, overwhelming inflation, disgusting politics, shit is happening everywhere which is the basic theme of the song.I bet many people would love to dedicate this song to others who have been a pain in their asses.Like UPA government to Team Anna, again UPA to Ramdev, USA to Taliban , NATO to Qaddafi and so on. I bet Sushma Swaraj's next dance performance will be on this song come 2014 general elections.

:D

Uniform Civil Code

India, according to the preamble of it's constitution is a secular state.The term 'secular' has different meanings in different nation-states. In United States of America, it means the dichotomy of religion and politics.It separates the two. While in India, it means that no discrimination will be done based on religion. In the eyes of the constitution, all religions are the same.That is the secular India we dream of.

India has majority of Hindus(84%). Then there are Muslims(11%),Christians(2.4%),Sikhs(2%) and so on.The remaining portion consists of Buddhists, Jains,Jews and Zoroastrians in that order. We are probably the most diverse state in terms of religion.Our constitution provides equality for all and the freedom of religion.But any minority is always bound to be exploited and deprived of certain rights.For that we do have a National Commission on Minorities which is very much needed.We can see how beautifully balanced the constitution is.

Some idealists though have been craving for a uniform civil code in India and lately these cravings have intensified and resulted in lobbying to pressurize the government of India to legislate for the same. Now, uniform civil code is an excellent idea.But we need to understand here that for that to happen first we have to get all the religious communities on the same page.Both in economic and social scales.To add to that, there are issues like separatism and communal violence that need to checked.It's quite obvious that such a move would attract harsh opposition from the minorities. With the 'minority' tag, they are entitled to various benefits and a sense of security which they would not want to give away for a uniform civil code.Some fractions of minorities who are well off might agree to it.But their numbers are infinitesimally small.They are the minority within the minorities.

Those who are pushing for an uniform civil code thus should wait for the right time.There is nothing wrong with it but the timing is always very crucial in such sensitive cases.

Since 1930

Gandhi taught us to break rules, screw the government and observe complete civil disobedience in 1930. Somehow the Gandhian legacy of civil disobedience has stayed with Indians even after 64 years of independence.People still break rules, damage public property, devise new means of tax evasion and observe complete civil disobedience.

Bhai log, when Gandhi asked people to do this that was meant as a protest against the imperial government of the Britishers who were screwing us day-night and on top of it sucking money out of us.We were worse than prostitutes then. Getting raped and having to pay for it. But those days are over now.They left and we have a democratic system in place.Why the hell you still want to continue the civil disobedience.Have faith in the system.Make yourself aware of the various policies of the government.Government alone can not satisfy 1.2 billion people.Your support is absolutely essential. Be a responsible citizen and for the love of Gandhi, give up civil disobedience.

Shaitan

In this world every equation is balanced, every action has a reaction, every motion has friction and every good entity has evil in situ. We all have it inside.Sometimes it is lust or sometimes greed.Envy.Wrath.So many. And sometimes it is just a moment of madness.But it does come out often. And we all try to hide it behind our skins and don't allow it to surface.Not because we hate it. We do it to save ourselves from being hated.We fear an outcast.

But is it right to fake? And why are we so obsessed to please the society ? Will we ever attain salvation being what we are not ?

If we have faith in universal equilibrium and the principles of checks and balances, we can not deny the possibility of a Devil for a given God. As per beliefs, God is the good cop. He cares and nurtures the universe. And blesses people who accept his supremacy and become his devotees.Rather followers.And God as the dictator.Devil on the other hand demands nothing for himself. He would rather want you to let yourself go free.He would rejoice a world without any rules.He would stand for absolute freedom.He would liberate your soul. Still he is called the bad cop. Sometimes I feel this good cop bad cop routine is an ambush. Isn't there a tiny possibility that the reality is this routine with role reversal ? What if the devil's path is the road to nirvana ? Weird though interesting.

All the time we talk about morals and ethics.All the time we flaunt our good deeds.But haven't you heard what the joker said.People are only as good as the world allows them to be.When the chips are down, these so called civilized people will eat other.We do have animal instincts. And this world order will soon only obey jungle law.Survival of the fittest. The question is how long you can hold it in? How long will it be before you unleash the Shaitan within.

Confessions of an Atheist

People often visit temples and other sacred places.Some believe in the powers of the almighty,some look for peace, some for architectural brilliance and some just accompany theirs kins.But we all do visit temples.And most of us do not know anything about the temple we go to.We just say our prayers, put something in the box,take the prassad and rush out.But that is of no use.I used to go to temples before just to find peace.Nowadays even that is not possible with the kind of population we have.Anyways, I never believed in the concept of praying to God.Well if God exists, would he really want us to pray to him.That would be a trait of a dictator.I certainly do not question the existence of a higher power, but cannot accept his greatness for it being a dictator.

Well let us not drift away into a debate on the existence of God which is like a black hole.Lets talk temples.Recently when I visited Nasik, literally a city of temples , I realized that I never bothered about the stories that resulted in those sculpture.But this time when I heard all the stories answering why that particular temple is standing there and why that is shaped this way and what is it's significance.I was surprised that each pillar & each corner had a story to tell and all made sense.May be all this is not enough to transform an atheist like me but I surely know that there is always something to learn for these places of religious importance which you can relate to present times.And sometimes you also find those answers you have been looking for.

Amidst the grandeur of the Ram Kund , there was a neglected small temple of Ardhanareswara
with a deity half man half woman.That was so to depict that half of the power of a man lies in his woman.A fact that makes men uncomfortable but is damn true.All wise men would not deny.I was amazed at the simplicity of that deity and the colossal truth that it asserted.One might wonder if these deities and the temples were created just to pass messages for the coming generations from the learning's of our ancestors and not for any religious compulsions.

There are many other such instances from that trip, but I would say the best way is to go there and feel it yourself. I am not preaching here.Just making a point that if you go to such places, try to know the history behind.Because History is not boring.Not always.

Rageshree !

She wants to be an artist.A designer rather.When you see her work, you would say that she is gifted.Many people are.But it takes some guts to follow your instincts and showing your finger to that stereotype lifestyle that majority of us end up with.

There is something about her.A spark may be or an aura.You feel different when she is around.It's not like she is an ET or something but there is something unearthly about her.A couple of years back no one would have guessed what she actually was.It was like she was in a shell.A temporary abode for deception.And then the real her came out.Confident,graceful,beautiful and amazingly cute.She is full of life,that undying zest and that million dollar smile.

To me, she is one of those people to whom you need not make an effort to open up.It goes utterly butterly smooth when we two chit-chat.To me, she is a picture of confidence,hope and beauty.To me, she is one of those whom i would turn to when down. To me, she is the sister i never had.

I am confident that she will make it big one day. She will make all her dreams real and all her well wishers proud.And little sis, I wish you all the happiness in this world.I will be just two steps behind if you need me.Go girl, rock the world!

Legend of RMR

'Raja' Ram Mohan Roy was a great visionary, thinker and the greatest socio-religious reformer of modern India.Ergo popularly referred to as the 'Father of Modern India'.He was the central figure who organised the religious reform in the early years of 19th century. He was a pioneer of several activities in India.He started political agitation against the Britishers for the first time.A much needed step in those desperate times of slavery.He also started the religious reform movements against the super-stitious rituals and practices of various religions practiced in India.

In 1814, he established 'Atmiya Sabha' as a religious organization to propagate his ideas regarding monotheism.To support his say he wrote the book 'Gift to Monotheists'.He was a firm believer that all religions lead to the same God, the only God.Further in 1829, he established 'Brahma Samaj' to purify the Hindu religion.

For the upliftment of higher education, he with the support of the Dutch 'David Hare' established 'Hindu College' at Calcutta.He was also instrumental in the establishment of 'Vedant College' to impart modern and scientific education to the youth of Bengal.He is also referred to as the 'Father of Modern Journalism' in India as he was a scholar of many Indian languages and himself wrote books like 'The Percepts of Jesus' & 'Gift to Monotheists'.He also started agitation for social reform in India and persuaded the British authority to declare the custom of Sati as illegal.

One man, so many influential works and contributions that too in a period when Indians where suppressed at every step by the British.It's ironical that today when we have a democracy in place and are given Fundamental Rights, we do not have even a single leader or visionary like RMR.To uplift this golden bird from the still existing social taboos and evils, and from poverty and colossal inequality, we need a handful of people like RMR in the billion plus population.

Raja Rammohan Roy , this Nation will never forget what you gave her.

Respect.

To Phalke !

We all love movies, we all have a thing for the stars and although we may pretend to read only 'The Hindu' but never do we forget to pick the latest 'Filmfare' from the stands.Bollywood today is the largest film industry the whole world employing over 3 million people and producing over 900 movies every year in several languages.Have you ever thought of it's inception ? Dundiraj Govind Phalke(aka Dadasaheb Phalke) was a born entrepreneur and experimented with lots of things before getting his hands on the camera.He was involved with the printing press which he left following some disputes with his partners and assured them that he would not compete with them in the printing business.And even though his financial status trembled like Fukushima, he did not compete with his old partners.People started calling him 'Harishchandra' for keeping his words.

And them in the year 1911, he accidentally ran into a fair where the Britishers where showing some motion pictures in a tent.Phalke was mesmerised after watching the film and at that moment itself decided to establish this industry in India.After numerous requests the operator of the tent agreed to teach him how all that stuff worked.Given that he had no money, he started selling the furniture of his house so that he can have the money needed to study this virgin phenomenon.For weeks he drowned himself in the reels of pictures trying to figure out the beautiful puzzle of movie-making.Unfortunately he lost his sight temporarily due to overdoing it and ultimately straining his eyes.His friends and kins tried their level best to stop him from risking everything for something totally new to India and it's people.They even tried to admit him into a mental hospital.But he didn't stop and was heavily supported by his wife with her immense faith.

He then arranged finance by mortgaging his securities so that he could go to London to learn the art and get the required equipments.After coming back, the first thing he needed was to arrange for the finance.People were afraid to invest in something which was totally new to India and sadly there were no Venture Capital firms at that time.Then something came to his mind.

"Chamatkara sivay namaskar nahi !(Everybody salutes a miracle!) "

Then he created a short film depicting a seed growing into a plant.Something which was never done before.People were totally mesmerised with magical creation of Phalke and some of them agreed to provide finance for his first production.He then hired actors and decided to tell the famous tale of Raja Harishchandra.At that time women hadn't come out of the purdas and he couldn't manage to get a woman to play Rani Taramati.So adamant was he about a woman playing Taramati and not a man dressed as woman that he even went to the red light areas of Bombay in search of his Taramati.A place he thought one could find the bold and the beautiful.But it didn't work out and ultimately he had to settle with a man.

For shooting some of the sequences they decided to go to a near by village.There whole troop dressed as saints and royal men with swords and trishuls apparently looked like a gang of bandits.All of them where arrested by the local police for suspicion.Somehow they managed to convince the police that they were just going to shoot for the film.While shooting Plalke's son got injured as he fell upon the rocks and everyone suggested that they should go back at once.But Phalke noticing the minor injury asked everyone to complete the stint first as the sun was approaching the horizon and it was not possible for them to come back for shooting the remaining scenes.Some dedication!

The film was completed and released in 1913 at the coronation theatre.The experiment was a super success and laid the founding stone of Bollywood.Then came other films like 'Bhusmasure Mohini' & 'Satyavan Savitri'.Phalke went on to make more than 100 films.He is an example of dedication,passion and of believing in what you dream.I remember few of his words during his long struggle for making the first motion picture of India.

"Bedhun taakin saari gagne! ( I will tear apart the sky!)"

Lets remember him in our hearts and Let raise the toast to Phalke & the magic that followed!

Tribal Issue: The Jhingalala Dilemma

Well I was kind of in a dilemma too regarding the title of the post and ended up jazzing it a little.Scheduled Tribes of India a.k.a STs have been here for a while now and by a while I mean way before our ancestors i.e. the Aryans invaded Indian territories.But sadly their seclusion from the mainstream has not diluted till date.They have been isolated from all the progress and development we and our communities have witnessed.They still live in the dense flora of India surviving on subsistence pre-agriculture economy with bows,arrows and stones.

According to the Article 342 of our constitution, our President has the power to declare a community as ST.Though there is no constitutional definition or criteria, general conventions have developed mainly after the 1931 census.Indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture,geographical isolation, shyness of contact and backwardness being some of the general identifiers.The 2001 census puts the overall population of STs as 8.2% of the total population.Interestingly this is spread over 15% of our geographical area and ergo thinly populated.And maximum tribal population in my own state M.P.Although never came across anyone as I haven't been into the wild.

Although they are way behind the mainstream in all indicators, but they have a better sex ratio and child sex ratio as compared to the rest.Probably because they haven't reached the female foeticide stage.Ignorance can be a bliss !

Post independence a lot has been done for the STs. At least as far as amending the constitution is concerned.But then few tribal activists feel that we should not interfere into the lives of tribal people and they should be allowed to develop on the lines of their own genius.A brain teaser for the human rights activist.To help or to isolate.Some feel that if they are removed and brought to mainstream they will loose the long kept culture and would not cope up with the outside world.On the other hand the government has obligation for the promotion of their educational and economic interests as tribes are the weaker sections of the society.As stated in the Directive Principles of State Policy.

Lately we have seem many cases when the tribes opposed the development projects by the government in their lands.They apparently are happy with what they have and do not want interference.Rather than forcing developments on these people we should pass the dais for taking a call to them making them aware of the current scenario and the developments made by the world.They should be allowed to make an informed decision.Even though to us they are just Jhingalalas, but they are also humans.They are also the citizens of India.And they also enjoy Fundamental Rights.

The A.I.C-I Superbug

Jantar Manter on that day was overwhelmed with the public response in support of Anna.He finally got the government nod for the Jan Lokpal Bill against the rampant corruption in the veins of the bureaucracy and governance.People are hopeful and jubilant.Hope is a good thing but that this won't suffice.

Looking at the past, we have had several bills and legislations over numerous other social issues and even after they became acts, nothing has changed significantly.For example, the bills formulated on dowry, child labour, sex determinations etc.They all exist in the constitution now and have the punishments listed in the Indian Penal code but can we say that these evils do not exist now? In fact laws on these issues apparently have changed nothing.When ever we come across someone taking dowry or whenever we see a child working in a shop, do we do anything about it? Do we use the existing laws? What people need to understand that having a law won't suffice, the people should feel for that law.

Often we criticize oligarchs of corruption and for ruining the fate of the nation but more often we ourselves indulge in unlawful acts.How many of us can put a honest claim that they have never faulted or paid a bribe, directly or indirectly.When we have some work in some governmental organization, we often use money power to speed up the process.We hardly follow traffic rules in India.And when stopped by the traffic police for not wearing a helmet or not having a pollution card, we never get a challan done.Who the hell wants to go to the magistrate for this meager amount.Why not give that traffic policeman half the amount and live in peace.It's a kind of service tax you see.But we never stop criticizing the politicians for their violations as they are colossal.But there is nothing called small corruption.The typical Indian mindset "Itna to chalta hai yaar!".Think, if someone harasses a girl a little, it will still be harassment.

As far as the government officials at the lowest levels are concerned, they with their not so handsome pay-scale don't mind a little extra to cope up with inflationary living standards imposed on the middle class.As long as there is unequal distribution of resources, this will persist.So it's a all win situation when it comes to our personal work.Otherwise it's a crime.And this principle has injected this All-India-Corruption-I Superbug in us.All of us. And the Lancet hyped NDM-I superbug is no competition at all.