Misdirected Sympathy

The Binayak Sen case has caused a furore among the educated gentry who are protesting against the sedition charges levied against him. With 40 nobel laureates throwing their weight behind Sen, the issue is causing ripples in the international circles too. The pressure is mounting as the bail plea was rejected again by the Chattisgarh High Court and is now being passed on to the Supreme Court. His backers allege the move to apprehend him was a political one and was riddled with inconsistencies. But, the prosecution counsel told the court he is suspected of having affiliations with the Maoists and the naxal movement. It is really unfortunate that the arrest was made without substantial evidence and if found otherwise the charges must be withdrawn.

But, It is not an unknown fact that there is an expanding coterie of Maoist sympathizers who approve of the ways adopted by them. It is appalling that scholars, reputed authors and several other respected personalities are choosing to turn a blind eye towards the atrocities being committed and endorsing their cause. The Maoists have time and again made their intentions clear about toppling the existing democratic government and establishing military rule. To achieve this goal, they have abducted & beheaded policemen, raped women and killed innocent people. Several of their horrendous acts go unreported due to the inaccessibility of the region were they wield their influence. With funds from China and ideological support from Nepal, the Maoists have become a potent network of trained militia. The difference between a terrorist organization and the Maoists is not very much. They have their preposterous set of demands and if they are not met, they’ll kill people. It doesn’t matter who, as long as their voice is heard.

The subjugation of the people in the inaccessible regions of the country is well known, it is impossible for the urban population to even imagine the inhospitable conditions they live in. But, Is killing innocent people a solution? The protests in the Middle East must act as a precedent for people who turn to arms as a mode of protest. Strong mass protests can make the most stoic governments wilt under pressure. There are several examples that one can recount, in which peaceful and strong protests led to the people in power yield to their demands the Telangana issue for one comes to mind. Throughout history, a single aspect has stood the test of time, that violence never solved anything. Be it Kashmir, Palestine, LTTE, Iraq war. It has led to bloodshed, loss of life in hordes but no solution. The Maoists too are fighting a losing battle, as long as they don’t abjure violence-as the Home Minister said - “Nobody will listen.”

Thus, I have no sympathy for people who sympathize with Maoists. No matter how many Nobel laureates think otherwise, the state must show strength in order to suppress anti-national elements.

Raining thoughts.

On a mundane summer afternoon, the air was dry, the trees looked parched. The view from the window was the usual hustling, the honking and the odd squabble thronged by eager on lookers. Strong but dry gusts of wind blew, rustling the foliage on the trees below. It seemed as though the last few months had taken a toll on the city, the unrelenting heat seemed callous leaving everyone teeming with frustration. People were flinging invectives at each other for frivolous reasons, making well documented references to each other’s mothers and sisters at the drop of a hat. Irritability was quite blatantly at its peak. Amidst this inanity, something conspicuously obvious slipped from everyone’s notice. A behemoth of a dark cloud gradually eclipsed the sun like an alien warship, announcing its arrival with a rapturous thunderbolt. That was enough. Enough to wake them from their life of drudgery, they peeped out of windows, came out of shanties, disembarked vehicles or stopped them dead to catch a glimpse, looking heavenward. It was a harbinger of respite. The sight mesmerized some.

Before anyone could grasp the situation in totality, it happened, the heavens opened; the tears of the gods fell like drops of joy. The parched mud quenched its prolonged thirst, sending wafts of its aroma across, pleasing the olfactory senses. Women ran to their windows to take clothes off the clothesline. Men ran for cover, thronging the makeshift tarpaulin sheet shelter at the 'tapri' (sic).

With another fleeting glimpse, I caught something that brought me vicarious pleasure. A bunch of kids in their school uniforms dashed towards an opening and welcomed the downpour with an impromptu jig. There was unbridled elation on their faces. They looked skyward, beaming from ear to ear as they got drenched from head to toe. Their concerned mothers shrieked at the top of their voices blustering threats but they cared less. They lived it. They lived as if there was no tomorrow.That sight led me into asking a question to my conscience, when was the last time I had shed all inhibitions and experienced sheer joy for a triviality of that sort?. Five minutes back, I had jotted down the goals in my life, things I aspired for and craved. It read at the top in uppercase “I AM NOT HUNGRY FOR SUCCESS ANYMORE, I AM STARVING!” .I stared at the piece of paper wide-eyed going through each of them, making an attempt to make sense. In a flash, it all did. I craved happiness.

Thoughts rushed hither-thither, but they were gradually silenced by the rain. I felt content somewhere, was it happiness? I wasn’t sure. But I knew I had lived the moment.

Run like the wind

The wind in your hair, the rush of adrenalin, the searing burn in the muscles, the palpitation and the pounding of the concrete these are just a few feelings that render us delirous with joy when one just simply runs.The muscles talk, sometimes shriek but that is all a part of the entire continuum. The body learns to cope, it fights grapples against gravity but fortifies itself and the repetitions of the process further aggrandizes the endurance to take it a notch higher than before. Is this joy, you ask? Yes, for those few who are willing to strive to overcome a challenge. The act of running is not as uncomplicated as it is assumed to be. It is as much a mental tussle than a physical one. After the physical threshold is surpassed, the mind takes charge & pushes the limits, takes the physical body to unexplored heights. There is unlimited amount of dormant potential yet to be explored, it is all a state of mind. Lets scale the peaks.

It is time. It's time to Run!

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!