The Hoop-la

Looking at the the Tiger Woods episode unfold in the last few weeks, I must tell you I am quite amused and entertained. Just that picture of him screaming & running away from his wife, who chased him with a golf club into a car which he later out of sheer fright crashed into a tree, cracks me up. Apparently,he was so doped that, after the crash he slept on his neighbour's lawn until the police found him. There was also fluttering news of him losing a tooth after his wife hurled a mobile phone at him to shut his face. Guess it is going to be a while before he endorses products with that big wide grin of his. He'll have annoying kids running around him in circles calling him "The-Toothless-Tiger". If the companies do stick with him for endorsements then some of them like Nike who use tag lines like "JUST-DO-IT" will definitely need to do some hasty tweaking to their marketing strategies or else it will be out there open for interpretation. The repercussions of his escapades are not only bound to the companies but even at my own place. One of these days my mom walked into my room, quite evidently miffed & pointed at a very old Woods poster on my wardrobe that I had completely forgotten about and asked "What's he still doing up there? Guess you want to be like him, huh?". I had to promptly tear it off before she made any more snap judgments . There is a school of thought that believes that the entire hoopla that is being created is uncalled-for, that it's his private life and amidst all the gossipmongering at the water cooler, we are drawing curtains on the career of one of the most successful golfers that the world has ever seen. But, there is a catch to all this, he must have at some point had to make choice about being in the glare of the public or not.And he definitely did not choose the latter. Public figures do not only represent themselves alone but a million other people from all walks of life. They become role-models, demi-gods that can do no wrong, we conjure-up an idealistic image of them so that we can aspire to be where they are someday. We are awe-struck, we want to walk like them, talk like them because we think it is that that got them there.

I just hope that power personalities like him think twice before they "transgress"(sic), it is

not them alone that they are letting down but a hordes of others too.

Cheers!

Tough Questions

Waiting in anticipation for the result of the assembly elections which is going to be declared tomorrow .The government that does set foot in the assembly would have the grave responsibility of keeping up to their promises and delivering accordingly. The common voter today is much sharper, bolder, forthright and unbounded by conventions. The gamut of information being doled out by the media ensures that none of the political candidates remain in the dark for too long. The probing media of the recent times, does an exceptional job of keeping the babus on their toes and of cracking the whip when the need arises.

But, the aforementioned smart voter is an endangered species today. The voter turn-out for Mumbai was a shameful 45%. And the appalling part of it all was that the government had to virtually bring the entire city to a standstill to make us exercise our right. The meager numbers are a disappointment. This was the same city a year back, that demanded answers in one voice. It roared in unity and made heads roll in the upper echelons of the government. It took the matter by the scruff of it's neck and made things happen. So, What happened? When did this face change? What made it change? Do we not realize the power of a vote, the power of being a democracy? Are we so egoistic that, if the impending predicaments are not effecting us and the people we care about, then nothing else matters? There are so many 'banana republics' out there even today being ruled over by tyrannical totalitarian governments, we could have easily been one of them. The oppressed people in those countries know the power of a vote, the power of a democracy. This kind of thought process has stemmed from sheer lack of belief in the system. Like how every single citizen is not egoistic, in the same way every politician is not corrupt. The stereotypes glued to politics have to be eradicated if we have the slightest desire to move in the direction of progress. So, next time when you meet someone who aimlessly points a finger at the government for any reason, interrupt & ask that person if he/she has voted or not. If not, then let them know they lose the right to reprimand.

We are, what the politicians are.

"Woh khaate hai, kyon ki ham khilaate hai!"

Cheers!

Inspire.

I was in a despondent mood today. My mind was plagued with a lot of uncertainty, trepidation & a lack of direction. The recent turn of events have made me doubt my own abilities, question my credentials and forced me to search for that 'purpose' which has often eluded me. The clouded mind of mine was seeking for inspiration, a booster, something that would instill belief and fortify me a tad.

Incidentally, I happened to stumble upon a poem by Harishvanshray Bachchan which was exactly what I was looking for. The answer to all the queries that I ever had and would have.It should be set in stone,etched in each and everyone's memory and should be passed on generously to the forthcoming generations.

Here it is:

Lehron se Darkar nauka par nahin hoti,

koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti

Nanhi cheenti jab daana lekar chalti hai,

chadhti deewaron par, sau bar phisalti hai.

Man ka vishwas ragon mein saahas bharta hai,

chadhkar girna, girkar chadhna na akharta hai.

Akhir uski mehnat bekar nahin hoti,

koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti.

Dubkiyan sindhu mein gotakhor lagata hai,

ja ja kar khali haath lautkar aata hai

Milte nahi sahaj hi moti gehre paani mein,

badhta dugna utsah isi hairani mein.

Muthi uski khali har bar nahin hoti,

koshish karne walon ki haar nahi hoti.

Asaflta ek chunauti hai, ise sweekar karo,

kya kami reh gayi, dekho aur sudhar karo.

Jab tak na safal ho, neend chain ko tyago tum,

Sangharsh ka maidan chhodkar mat bhago tum.

Kuch kiye bina hi jai jaikar nahin hoti,

koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti.

– Harivansh Rai Bacchan

Hail Bapu.

On Gandhi Jayanti, resting on my haunches & penning down the random thoughts fluttering between my ears. I sometimes wonder in utter amazement, the power a frail, bespectacled, gangly looking man wielded during the tumultuous times of this country. The ability to invoke intense emotions , to metamorphose rigid mindsets, to neutralize hatred by preaching love & non-violence at times of great distress & discord were some of the few magical powers the ‘Great’ man possessed . He showed the masses that glimmer of hope that they forever yearned for, he gave them a vision. Come what may, he never wilted, never flinched, was never fazed, he never ceased. But I am troubled today, for a quite a substantial reason that too. The tokenism that is manifested by people (which would include myself) would make him turn, jump and do acrobatics in his grave. Gandhiji would never have in his remotest dreams wanted there to be a day-off on his birthday so that every other dim-wit could relinquish themselves of their duties head off to the nearest hotspot for a long weekend. He believed in igniting minds, stoking the desire to change and altruism. The tokenism of cuddling up and watching a documentary on him on his birthday (which too some find rather dull) has to be uprooted. On this day, we have to vow to make a sincere effort to make a significant difference to somebody else’s life. That could mean anybody from your professor, grandfather, the street urchin to your maid, milkman or even your pet. Even something as simple as keeping a sublime smile as you open the door for your milkman or helping a lady with her luggage or having an engrossing conversation with your grandfather about his past trial and tribulations or just showering attention on your pet could make a telling difference. Every person can make that difference in his/her personalized way.

If we have even had the slightest of respect for that man or valued our democratic, secular status which we blithely enjoy due to him, we would not think twice before becoming agents of change.

Cheers!

The self Image crisis

I have decided that rather being my usual ignorant self, I’ll change to become an observer and understand the so-called "subtleties".Since the past few days, I have been making an effort to understand a few people around me and am trying to become a lot more aware. Everyday I see this guy at the station with really big boots with his laces open, with a giant dollar sign belt which rotates arbitrarily each time he moves, torn and tattered jeans which I thought for sure were borrowed from a coal miner in the 70’s and a baseball cap pointing westward. I sometimes wonder if I am from the same era or am absolutely oblivious about fashion and its vagaries. And the answer was always the latter. Emulating someone, rather than being oneself were unequivocal signs of attention seeking behaviour in my opinion. It is ubiquitous, omnipresent. Colouring my hair green just because some ‘cuckoo’ on Television lost his marbles or piercing my nipples just because ‘crazy-Joe’ believes in pain being the allayer does manifest how low my self-esteem is. In a bid to be distinct from the pack, we make efforts towards being somebody whose vague image is embedded in our mindset. It shows that since I am not contended with myself, I would rather not be me and be someone who I think is cool. The examples are innumerable.Maybe knowing oneself better should help in making the right choices.It should keep you away from the ‘pea-brains’ who think they are different who in actuality are clueless about themselves and their standing in the society.

Cheers!