Actions Will Speak Louder Than Words

If I learned anything about India in the past week, it is the fact that politics and politicians will never keep their noses out of things. Of course, when terror hits one of the biggest cities in the world, the government is bound to be expected to take some drastic steps.

In this case, the drastic steps involved some heads rolling - these heads should have rolled a long, long time ago. I'm sorry. This government, as unfortunate as it has been in encountering the global economic crisis and this unfortunate incident, has been equally inept in its response to both.

Of course, what preceded both the economic crisis and what is now being called 26/11, can also make one question the government's grip over the country. As far as the economic crisis was concerned, the banning of export of basmati rice for a couple of months and a ban on the export of food grains for a year after the crisis had fully begun made the buffoons sitting in Delhi show their true identity.

Increasing the petrol prices after the oil companies were on the brink of running out of cash was also an almighty disaster. In trying to keep the voters on their side, the party currently governing this country delayed the rise of petrol/diesel prices - if they had done that earlier, the rapidity of the rise of inflation might have been curtailed.

Now, 26/11 has yet again thrown huge question marks about how much control this government actually has over this country. The intelligence failures are apparent. The delays in sending the National Security Guards, who are known as "black cats" and are commonly seen in politicians' cars and outside their houses, and the delayed reaction of the Marine Commandos or MARCOS, showed that even in times of great urgency - red tape is something which the people of India have to live with.

What has truly amazed me is the response of the various political parties. Name calling, using this incident as leverage for the elections and trying to divide and rule in times where the people of India need to be united just make me feel sick. What has also surprised me is the reaction of the public to this terror attack. People are angry and want good governance - they don't want idiots coming television and trying to score political brownie points.

The reaction of the people though, can be understood because this has been an attack on the people in the higher strata of society. Had this attack happened in a remote village, people would've cared for more than four days and forgotten about the whole thing. The fact that this was an attack on people like bank chairmen and millionaires has made the upper echelons of society realize that nobody can escape the phenomenon of terrorism.

What people want is action - not politicians coming out and making promises that they will never fulfill, not bureaucrats thinking that their jobs are safe no matter what. In these times of great uncertainty, the least that the people of this country want is that nobody enters this country with guns and grenades to kill them.

The Prime Minister of this country is certainly a great man - one who brought the economic reforms to this country which is now growing rapidly. It is now time for him to reform a considerable number of issues and ensure that there is some accountability within the government.

In these troubled times - only actions will reduce the anger of the public. We're sick and tired of excuses from inept politicians.

We want answers, and fast.

IPL - Bonanza or Bust?

The IPL finally got under way this summer for the first time. Touted as "entertainment ka baap" by the broadcaster, I must confess, it has lived up to the expectations of many people if not surpassed them. It has been good value for money for most crowds as they see some some good cricket, and if they're lucky, some controversial incidents!

I think that the IPL will give cricket a better image worldwide without a doubt. I'm sure that the purists will disagree with me. I've stated all along that cricket is played only among the Commonwealth Nations and some other countries who really don't dominate the world of cricket anyway. What the IPL does (and T20 as well) is that it takes the sport a step closer towards globalisation. I'm not too sure whether the ICC or some people sitting in their arm chairs are looking for that though.

We're halfway through this tournament, and the team I support - The Chennai Superkings with our marquee player, the amicable MS Dhoni has done pretty well. It has been a good learning experience without a doubt for a lot of youngsters. Yes, Sachin has not played until now, Ganguly has failed fairly consistently (I'm not surprised) and so has Dravid. So what? It is a league, it is a team game with 4 foreigners in each team. If they perform well, so be it. I think every fan supports a team for the bond that they feel with the team. If you support one team for one or two players - you're a fool.

I think another good thing that the IPL has done is that a lot of females seem to be taking interest in the game. I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't have cared had a cricket match been on for a whole day or 5 days, but 3 hours of cricket - with entertainment more often than not has attracted their attention. A family can attend a match, like they might go out for a movie, at 8 p.m. and have a really good time. It has become a real obsession for many, and I'm not exaggerating!

Many of the purists are asking whether people will associate themselves with their teams and whether they would remember the 17 man squad of each team - questions which can only be answered after a couple of years and not 3 weeks. I think that the tournament has produced some city loyalties - whoever I know supports the Superkings. I watch some games on the TV and I see fans becoming quiet when their team is losing. If that isn't associating yourself with a team, then what is?

The IPL has produced some controversial moments as well. But, I would say that publicity - good or bad is still publicity! I don't believe conspiracy theories about those incidents being staged either. Any sport, any tournament will have controversies. It's pretentious to ask for good, aggressive cricket without expecting a single controversy.

As for the IPL experience, I see crowds filling up stadiums, players giving their everything for the franchises. The fans are enjoying this cricket fest and it has, at least in my view, surpassed all expectations. It has been great fun to watch some matches on TV and even attend one! So, the IPL without a doubt has been a bonanza!

Sayonara Beijing!

This has certainly been a historic month for Indian sports. While we won an ODI Tri Series in Australia for the first time, we somehow failed to qualify the Beijing Olympic Games' hockey tournament. It is quite a true reflection of the way the two sports are run in a country where there is no system of 'separation of federation from the government' .

While cricketers get 58 lakh rupees each for a win in a one day tri series competition, football players got zilch for winning the Nehru Cup. Hockey players got nothing at first for winning the Asian Cup but then got bits and pieces. The simple fact is that we prefer to play and support a sport which is played mostly by the Commonwealth Nations. We want to exist in a World where we feel we are successful. We have this pathetically recessive thought that supporting our hockey or football teams are going to get us nowhere. I didn't see any news reports about eggs being thrown on players or people criticizing the Indian Hockey Team for their miserable failure. I did see some Indian Cricket fans berate Yuvraj Singh for not scoring enough runs on the Australia Tour though. No one seems to care about anything other than cricket. We are yet again trying to prove that we have only one dimension. It saddens me no end.

The simple reason for our failure to qualify for the Olympic Hockey Tournament this year is that we don't care about our Hockey Team. We don't care if they qualify, if they win, lose, get thrashed. But we do feel the pain of Sachin Tendulkar when he gets out in his 90s. That said, we celebrate for 5 minutes when we see our Hockey Team win the ASIA CUP and we celebrate for 5 days when we see our Cricket Team win the CB SERIES. Talk about putting things in perspective.

Yes, the flaws are in the system. Whose job is it to clean it up? Only if we put pressure on the Hockey Federation will they act in a suitable manner. I heard somewhere that an ex-Army man is incharge for selecting an entire team. We have a 'technical consultant' who is sitting in Australia while the team is in Chile trying to qualify for the biggest hockey event in 4 years. None of this was covered in the news. None of this was made known to us. Why? The Indian Cricket warriors were battling Australia... that's why!

We, as a nation must really learn to put things in perspective. We set ourselves up for failure and then blame the poor players who have been beaten down by the very evil that we've nurtured. I'm not saying that we should become hockey fans.. all I'm saying is that partisan support for cricket - is just that, brainless.

For now though, because of the inability of the system and of course, us - the men in blue.. with the sticks are coming back home having failed rather ignominiously. I hope that we are able to develop some tact to support them in the future, if not the sport itself.

Five Months.... And Nothing's Changed!

Wow.. It has been somewhat of a hiatus, and I get the feeling of complete unfamiliarity when it comes to blogging now.. It started off as a "block" and then I just couldn't find time to blog. I have absolutely no reasons as to why I couldn’t blog.. I just couldn't!

The funny thing in all this is that barely anything has changed in my life (of note) that really needs writing about. I remember the first time I felt like blogging since October - and that was when Benazir Bhutto passed away quite tragically. Somehow again, it just didn't happen. Now, somewhat equally inexplicable is my desire to blog again! You can see I'm going nowhere with this...

The next time I really felt like blogging was on New Year's Day.. and again for some stupid reason or the other.. I didn't blog. The beauty of the blogosphere is that it is always there. You can always come back to it after some time and acclimatize.. feel at home and then really get back into your "groove".

I'll end all of this here.. but I'm pretty confident I will come back soon enough to blog about something. For the moment though, it's just nice to be back here again!

Sad 'State' of Affairs....

India is a country which is statistically very strong. We all know that, though statistics are good markers - they're not the absolute truth. This is what applies to India. Our GDP is in trillions but our per capita income is very low. Our economic growth is 8% p.a. but the disparities between the rich and the poor are there for everyone to see.

So, when the Indian film Industry makes nearly 800 movies a year - you would think that we would get some critical recognition (in the form of... an Oscar) in the industry's existence. There are various factors (like the Oscar jury being biased against Indian films) which don't help us without a doubt. But, believe me, we're doing our cause no favours. By nominating movies like Ek Lavya, we're simply increasing suspicion about our credibility. Our country seems to be playing politics everywhere.

The funny part about this situation is that we might end up not having a nomination at all if things go all wrong (as if they already haven't!). It is certainly a sorry state of
affairs for the president of the jury to admit, a month after the movie was nominated to admit foul play in its nomination. 800 movies and no nomination? Don't believe statistics completely!

Doesn't this completely make fools out of Indians on the whole? Where's the transparency anywhere, where's the accountability? Be it the nuclear deal or the great Indian debacle against Australia - nobody seems to stand up and say "Sorry, my bad". Everyone loves to point fingers in India - that could become our 'national gesture'.

While we're talking about embarrassments - it would be apt to add that India ranks 120th (out of 149 countries) in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index. We're drowning ourselves in glory aren't we? I mean, we're the biggest democracy and there is no freedom for the press, no freedom of expression for bloggers.

I've ranted about India not being a true democracy in the past. This proves that even though you have 1.2 billion people in a democracy, you can't be the largest provider of freedom. So, then that vindicates the fact that statistics don't mean everything, right?

Sour Grapes..

One thing that I didn't envisage when the Indian Cricket Team won the T-20 World Cup was the opposition that their treatment would get among other sports persons. The hockey team has taken exception to the vast amounts of money given to Team India. At first, I actually thought that they were right. Now, though, I have very different thoughts.

Last year during the Hockey World Cup, the Indian team was ignominiously dumped out in the 1st round after being placed 11th (12 teams in all). So, how many effigies of hockey stars were burnt? How many hockey stars resorted to the back door of airports in fear of a backlash from fans? None. These guys could barely beat South Africa, who were the minnows of the World Cup 2006.

The Indian Cricket team's fortunes were somewhat different. They lost, played poorly in the World Cup 2007. Effigies of pretty much every player were burnt on the streets of every city. The players returned home through the back doors of airports. It was a poor performance met with the anguish and embarrassment of the 'stars' in public. The media pretty much hung them out to dry as well.

Fast forward to the present… The hockey team won the Asia Cup in Chennai and in style. The media was more than appreciative. Yes, the government did very less to show their happiness. The T-20 team's win though has been treated with a great amount of happiness as well. This was a World Cup, not an Asia Cup. The BCCI is the richest sports body in the World. They can afford to give out 80 lakh rupees to their players. It is not their fault per se.

The fact is that when the cricket team lost, they were taken to task. When they won, they were glorified. The hockey team had the luxury of coming back home to a stable environment even though they lost pathetically in 2006. We all know that hockey is India's 'National Sport' for practical purposes only.

We're all Indians. We should enjoy these moments when our sports teams are achieving great things. Yes, one sport is more important than the other for obvious reasons. Cricketers are more popular and they deal with a lot more pressure. People seem to be forgetting that point! As for the hockey players - don't be disheartened. If you guys win the World Cup, I'm sure that there will be a victory parade for you as well.

Otherwise all this nonsense of the cricket team getting more attention just sounds like sour grapes to me. That has been happening for the past 2 decades and nobody has had problems for so long, so why now?

T20 - Here to Stay.

I wrote an entry slating cricket a few months back. That might have been a scathing entry about a sport which was dying then. I cannot and certainly will not say anything of that sort today though!

Twenty-20 cricket has been a real breath of fresh air. This advent has brought a lot of exciting matches and some breath taking shot play. I have never been so excited about cricket for a long time. India is winning its matches as well and a final against Pakistan beckons, so why should I be unhappy?

I saw a lot of cricket commentators worried about the introduction of this format of the game. They were concerned at the fact that this would overtake test cricket in terms of viewer ship and interest. Who are you kidding? I don't think anyone has the interest to sit and watch 5 days of cricket continuously. We were all interested in ODIs in any case and that was beginning to bore us all!

As for bat dominating the ball - that is not true. The bowlers can learn how to bowl in the slog overs in a 50-50 game. They bowl positively. Batting also becomes positive. So, how can positive changes be negative?

We get to see the exciting side of the game in this format. We don't see guys just standing around, looking at the sky or wondering about what's back at the hotel for dinner. We have full fledged, hardcore cricket. The commitment is there, and so is the excitement - for me that is what should define sport. Cricket was fast becoming a game of the last century. This has been a renaissance of sorts for the game.

I never thought that I would see a day where I would be saying "I'm looking forward to a cricket match". Well, I am! Many people were questioning India taking a young squad. I praise them for that. It was a gutsy move and one which has paid off. We're no longer going to have to put up with 35 year old imbeciles who think too much of themselves and are not physically fit.

It is no coincidence that the 2 teams with lower average ages have made it to the finals then. Whatever loss the ICC made with the Caribbean debacle has certainly been made up here. I just hope that this transforms the sport into a spectacle, something which it has been lacking for a considerable amount of time. The T20 revolution is here to stay!

Indian Idle

Life is probably the most unfair thing to live through sometimes. I certainly saw first hand what that means yesterday. The Indian Idol turned out to be nothing more than a farce and the winner was one who won not because of his talent, but because of where he hails from.

You would think that after 60 years of democracy, Indians would understand the concept of voting. You would think that most people who voted actually had 2 ears to listen to what and how the contestants were singing. Considering that the process spanned 7 and a half months, results should have been announced sooner. The finale by itself was a 3 hour drag at the end of which I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth.

It just goes to show that in India, you can't achieve too many things by voting. Many people are losing their faith in the voting process as it is. The only way this could have been fair for us was if we had let the experts decide who can win and who can't. Would Donald Trump hire somebody on Apprentice because he/she has got more votes than the other?

I don't think that Prashant should have been in the top two in the first place. There were 2-3 singers ahead of him - and they were quite a distance away from him in terms of quality. Emon, Deepali and Chang would have driven Amit Paul close but make no mistake; Amit Paul deserved to be Indian Idol by a zillion miles.

You can only determine a good singer on the basis of his/her voice.. not his memory or his/her ability to remember lyrics. A slip in lyrics means very less. I remember the lyrics of a lot of songs; does that make me a good singer? I invite you to come and listen to my voice and decide for yourself (if you're alive after such an experience!).

It is frustrating when there is injustice in this world. It is frustrating when Bollywood stars get bail for a stonewall jail term. It was hard enough to keep your eyes open after a 3 hour snooze fest and at the end of it I felt like throwing stones at my TV.

We've been a democracy for 60 years and considering that all our politicians turn out to be utter flops.. I cannot fault the Indian public for not bucking the trend. As for Amit Paul, he is the true Indian Idol. Prashant may be a good human being, but he should be counting his lucky stars – which means that he should count every single star in the universe.

The Reasons...

I am not a defensive person, far from it. I don't like to explain why I did what I did. Being defensive, in my opinion, is a sign of weakness. That said I am in a situation where I have to defend myself!

I had a very stupid argument with my sister a couple of days ago. While I respect her opinions and take them into account, I cannot agree with whatever she says. I don't blog as consistently as millions of people in the world do. I don't read other people's blogs - let alone comment on them. My exposure to blogs is minimal; my blog's exposure is therefore minimal.

I started this blog to get a better grip on writing. I needed to get some control over what I wrote, in terms of length and precision... and believe me; I still need to get some control over those things! While I have noticed improvements, I have a long way to go. Yes, I haven't been altogether committed to blogging off late. The reason for that is - I do things when I feel like... or when I can. When I can't do something or don't feel like doing it... I don't do it! Same applies here.

I have great respect for public speakers. I feel that they're really brave people, facing up to loads of people. For me, writing about stuff is easier. I find writing comfortable. I feel that on stage and in front of people - I wouldn't be able to talk as fluently as I can write. Writing, for me, is spontaneous. That doesn't mean I look down upon blogging. That doesn't mean that I want to become a public speaker either!

For me, blogging is something which people do openly and notoriously. Whether people are writing things about their private lives or about various public issues - they're writing on the internet. While I don't have a problem with personal issues being written on blogs, some of the responses which these experiences get are odd. It’s almost as if there is a parallel community on blogs, where people discuss their lives with others. I find that strange. Why? For me, whatever happens in my life remains just that. Maybe I don't have the bottle to write about those things here... maybe I just don't want to because I feel that it is private.

Only after the argument with my sister did it strike me that the "blogosphere" is now very much a society. People write about stuff when they're ecstatic, distraught, jumping with joy or completely depressed about something. It is an outlet, a place where people vent. There is this Indian myth that there are 3 people who look like you in the world. That could very well be a myth, but why can't people have similar experiences to the ones that you've had? Well, that was the question that I wasn't able to answer.

I will continue to blog. I enjoy writing about stuff, so why should I stop doing something that I enjoy? Blogs don't only teach you to write better, they teach you about respecting people's private spaces and opinions. Perhaps I haven't learnt to do any of those things yet.

Cocktail..... Part 1

Well... if there isn't a single thing to write about, I figured that I should write about a lot of things.. I had a couple of outstanding posts. I must admit that I didn't even have the slightest inclination to complete them, until I completed the last one. I feel that writing about more than 1 issue in one post is not all that bad - so when I'm suffering the now proverbial "blogger's block", you're going to see a "Cocktail"!

The dog is man's best friend, there is no question. That said, I don't think that any of us would leave 12 million dollars behind for one. I think the late Leona Helmsley would disagree. She left the largest portion of her fortune after her death to her dog! I had to bang my head on the wall a couple of times before I read the amount mentioned and who it was going to. How is a dog going to make use of 12 million dollars? Get some accessories? A mani-pedi? I don't even know what I would do with that much money!
You know what the irony is? The dog's name is Trouble. So, her will must have read "I leave 12 million dollars to Trouble"!

I haven't written about football for a variety of reasons. This is worth writing about though. Arsene Wenger, the manager of Arsenal has signed a new deal and this is like an insurance policy for the club. This man, despite all the criticisms thrown at him stays loyal to the club and to his principles. I love that about him. If there's anyone I want to meet and have a good talk with in the world, it would be him. He's a genius and a modest one at that. Arsene knows!

Indian Idol 3 has been a superb 'talent finding show'. The problem is that the concept of voting for who you like doesn't work in India. Contestants get votes for their state rather than their talent. So, it was no surprise when a girl from Uttar Pradesh - one of the larger if not the largest state in India reached the top 4 (totally undeserved in my opinion). The bottom line is simple though, Amit Paul is going to win. He's simply brilliant. He's got a voice which is indescribable. A great find - so most of the people who voted have some music sense.

Another football issue which is in every way disturbing is that Antonio Puerta, a Spanish footballer, 22, died of a heart attack late last month. This was after a 17 year old footballer in England collapsed in training and died as well. I don't know if there was a sequence of events for these deaths but it just goes to show that life is so fragile. We're here one second and could be gone the next. When people die so young, it does bring tears to the eyes. I hope both of them Rest In Peace.

I hear that R.G.Verma's Aag is a failure. That is why the so called great hits should never be re-made. He's a good director and I think that he should avoid wasting his energy and the producer's money on such lousy remakes. For a man who seemed to pride himself on original, innovative scripts - I am surprised that he wanted to remake Sholay (copyright G.P.Sippy).

I guess that I've covered everything that I can think of for now. Hopefully I'll come up with a single thing to write about next time!

60 Years.. Many Happy Returns...

India celebrates her 60th Independence Day in a few hours from now. Despite whatever I've written about India, this is my country. She has gone through a lot of ups and downs and has certainly been going good for the last few years. We just forget how good we have it here sometimes. That's why I believe that after a long, long time - we should be thankful.

When British India split into two, it was India which was getting more of everything - many people forget that we got more of the population too. Nehru and Co. had a lot of responsibilities. They had to cater to a nation which was in turmoil in every single way. I think India chose the right path in doing many things - even politically. We believe in equality and have a 'no-no' policy on discrimination. I know countries who almost make themselves non secular.

60 years is just such a long time that my mind boggles at what could have been had even a tiny detail changed. Of course, that could hold for many things relating to the past. Over these years, we certainly have progressed a lot more than our neighbours. We have risen sharply as an economy and our society has become a lot more liberal in the decade gone by. It has been a turbulent transition without a doubt, but I think that we’ve survived. We are quite easily the strongest nation in the sub continent – in every which way.

The Beeb has come out with a bunch of statistics about who has how much amongst India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is a no brainer that India has the most of everything (land, population, military stuff, ammo, nuclear warheads).

The problem I have with such anniversaries is that people tend to look backward. We tend to look at history and forget that we do live in the present. We have a future to look forward to. Everyone thinks of the hardships of the partition and forgets that we live in a free country where we get to do pretty much anything we want today. Everyone thinks of the bloodshed and the events of August 1947 and forgets about August 2007.

I think that over the last 60 years we have come a long way. Yet people look at the poverty (yes, me included) and all the other negatives. I say, think positive, think about the future. We can be a world power and at 60 years - India is a fairly young nation. When there is a will, there is a way and I dare say that we have so much will that the next 20 years could well see India rise to the top of the world. I really see that vision becoming a reality.

Tagged - Part II

Here's the second part of my tag, the kind of people I judge. Keeping in mind that I would have probably judged every person I know, I have to try and keep this list short! Here goes..

1. People who have no clue about the concept of trust.

2. People who talk behind other people's backs - if you can't say it in front of the person, don't do it behind their back!

3. People who seem to be diplomatic in every situation. These people will have to stick their neck out one day.. I can't imagine what that would be like!

4. People who say things without even knowing what they mean - we were always taught "think before you speak".. these people need to "know before they speak!".

5. People who back out of stuff at the last minute - I can't stand their sheepishness or apologies.

6. Gate crashers. If you're not invited, people probably don't want you there!

7. People who set their "Relationship Status" on orkut as "Committed". Please, you're probably just 18.. do you even know what the words "Relationship" and "Commitment" mean?

8. Guys who can't put together one proper sentence in English. I know, sounds kind of snobbish - but I judge them.

9. People who incessantly judge others. It gets kind of irritating.

10. People who are getting into something they don't know anything about.

11. Finally.. the guys who think they "know it all". Well.. you ain't seen nothin yet!

It wasn't as long as I thought it would be. Maybe certain things just didn't click. I think a lot of us do or have done some of what I've written about. In any case - as long as we don't do that anymore.. I think we're safe!

"Justice Delayed is Justice Denied..."

When William Gladstone came up with this quote in the 19th century, he obviously had very little knowledge of what would become the Democratic Republic of India. Well, the judicial system in India to be precise. So when I came across this quote, I felt, as every Indian would feel that justice is denied in every which way in this country. I am certain that most of us felt the same way when Sanjay Dutt walked into a special TADA court set up in a corner of Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.

By bad luck or good judgment though, the actor who so famously portrayed the self righteous gangster - Munna Bhai was sentenced to a 6 year term in jail. People who said that the Indian Judiciary didn't have the bottle to sentence big names had to eat their words. Sanjay Dutt himself would have felt hard done by as he had already served a year and a half in jail.

Sanjay Dutt was erratic in his behaviour to buy 3 guns (or whatever the number) from underworld members. He was incredibly stupid to buy them at a time when the TADA Act was in force. He was ignorant of the fact that he was breaking the law and that has ultimately cost him 6 years of his life (in theory). The odds are now stacked against him and his legal team probably will have to do a lot of convincing to the Supreme Court for his bail.

As for PD Kode, the judge - he was incredibly strong and put his foot down in terms of this case. It was a remarkable display of bravery by the judge and in a case where there was so much scrutiny by the media and the public at large, his performance must be commended.

Laws are such that they can only judge people at the time they are committing the crime. In 1992, Sanjay Dutt committed a very big crime. His actions could have potentially lead to many people's killing. He had a rifle to "protect his family" - an explanation I don't understand. He had to be convicted. We live in India, where cases move incredibly slowly. So what if he has become a better person? Does that take away what he did 14 years ago? He was merely out on a technicality in any case.

Sanjay Dutt might be a great human being with good intentions. He is a good actor without a doubt. There are so many good people who do things against the law though. Do they get the media coverage and the pleas that this man gets? Do they get shown any sort of leniency?

The thing that lets me down is that people who have a portfolio in the cabinet have denounced this verdict and have said that he has suffered enough. Who are they to say this? I think the public will be happy if justice is served. If you commit a crime, you have to do the time.

So, I do hope that even if justice is delayed, it isn’t denied. I know that for now, in this case it has been delivered by and large. The scene may change very quickly and easily in 4 months time though. That's because this is India - justice is pretty much always delayed and as William Gladstone said - pretty much always denied.

Tagged - Part I

Well.. I feel like I'm writing after a zillion years! It’s nice to be writing after ages in any case. I've been tagged to write about 2 things: What kind of people I admire and What kind of people I judge. So, here's part one!

I admire:

1. People who say "I don't cheat" - and actually practice that!

2. People who value friendships and know what it is to be a friend.

3. People who actually know what the word "trust" means - there aren't a lot by the way.

4. Independent people - who hate relying on others for every little thing.

5. People who don't renege whatever they say - people who are as good as their word.

6. A person who is brave, who has courage.

7. People who are liberal - people who aren't rigid in every way.

8. People who think about others before thinking about themselves.

9. People who have it in them to have a smile on their face even though they have had the worst day of their lives.

10. People who don't sit on the fence all the time - people who don't know what it is like to play politics.

I know that most of the stuff that I've said above is farfetched. I still believe there are people who would qualify for 9/10 of these qualities. In any case I'll be writing my second part next - which I believe will be slightly easier!

What is Free?

I'm really starting to wonder what is free these days. When I used to be in 2nd standard or 1st, our teacher used to tell us "air & water are natural resources.. they're out in the open, so they're free". Considering that I used to breathe in air and get a constant flow of water in my house I believed her at face value. Only today do I realize what a hilarious statement that's turned out to be.

When I moved to Chennai, there was an acute water problem here. We had to pay a considerable amount of money to actually get a water tanker to our house and fill up the tank once every 3-4 days. We used to pay 500 rupees, if I'm not wrong. If we hadn't, we wouldn't have been able to bathe and our sanitary system would've been messed up.. to say the least! So, we must've paid a fortune just to "buy" water. We also buy drinking water to date, I must add.

The other day, I went to a petrol pump and did the usual thing - fill petrol and fill air in my vehicle. When I went to the part where we fill air, I noticed a sign above the air pump saying "Free Air". I almost burst out laughing, but trying to maintain a straight face went about the air filling. The irony is that everyone paid Rs.2 for the air filling... for "labour" or whatever.

My inspiration to write this entry came when I went to another petrol pump to fill air. I didn't have any coins that day so I told the guy "I don't have coins", indicating that I will not be able to pay anything for the air - I know, it sounds stupid. The guy tells me "give me a 10 rupee note, I will give you change". I was totally taken aback. That's when it struck me - nothing is free in this world.. not air, not water. The dumbest fact is that I, knowingly used to pay for both up until that time.. and will continue to do so.

We pay water tax these days - well that at least is fair. I'm afraid that very soon we're going to pay air tax. To put those 2 words together is odd - but trust me, we're not far away from paying air tax.

Women's Rights?

We all talk about the patriarchal society in which we live in. We always stress on the fact that we're moving away from that particular phase in our endeavour for social development. This can also be affirmed by the fact that the future Indian President may be a woman. The aforementioned facts are all so general that we actually feel that women are going places. Are they really?

I read this incredibly horrible story about a 2 day old baby being buried by her grandfather ALIVE into a field in southern India. Thank God, and whatever was in that soil.. the baby survived. It is acts like these which makes us wonder, where are we headed? We're a nation which has a massive woman entrepreneur like Kiran Majumdar Shaw and yet we see female infanticide. There have been other cases of female foeticide, if I'm not wrong near the capital. Talk about irony.

Then, there's the story of a woman parading herself 75% naked on the streets of Rajkot. Why would a woman do such a thing? Due to the fact that she wanted to embarass her in-laws and her husband who basically destroyed her emotionally on another very stupid practice which is being carried on since time immemorial - dowry.

Being a guy, I might not even understand 50% of the problems women go through on a day to day basis, let alone stuff like fighting against your in laws or giving birth. I was shocked when I read the story of the attempted female infanticide. I don't even understand the rationale. How can a mother actually agree to her new born baby being killed so brutally? The mother is a woman after all.

It really does irk me when stuff like this happens. I'm sure it is reducing. There are laws against things like these. The various Women's Rights Organizations try to take people like Aishwarya Rai to court on a "public display of affection". They only care about their own recognition and forget all about the core issue - Women's Rights.

I feel sick. I'm appalled at all this nonsense going on... I'm simply disgusted.

Crazy Kiya Re!

Talk about sheer consumerism.. the launch of the incredibly stylish iPhone happened yesterday and the amount of attention that it has created has amazed me. I have not seen many other products having such an impact on people. Apart from Harry Potter, I've never seen people in these volumes queuing up for anything. Not that I was actually there but still... it seems to be generating a lot of media hype.

As an owner of an iPod, I do know how enthusiastic people will feel about owning something like an iPod and a phone in one. It is quite a superb bit of engineering. The iPhone, like the iPod is going to be a pioneer in its field. Here's the thing... (there's always a thing!) People have tried to sell on their iPhones and even spots (in the queues) for upto $5000. To my knowledge that is a rip off.

It sure is crazy what people do to actually make money. That is one of the funnier things that I've heard. This really seems analogous to what people in Chennai did for the movie
"Sivaji". I think that all the cinema halls in Chennai were booked up for 10-15 days. Although I don't understand what the hype is all about - avid Rajni fans will tell you that they will sacrifice pretty much anything to watch his movie on the first day.

So, then all this raises a question.. are we, as humans crazy to want something so bad? Are we insane to pay astronomical sums for just a couple of days of happiness? I guess that we are. Apple has marketed iPhone pretty damn well and I don't even need to say anything about Sivaji. That movie marketed itself.

I guess I could one day pay over the odds to watch Arsenal play... so I guess we're all crazy in some way or the other!

India... Model Democracy?

I live in a democracy. Well, that's what the constitution of India says - we are a Democratic Republic and are secular. How can a constitution - an incredibly complex document actually be of any practical use? The simple answer is that it cannot. We are taught everyday that various things in theory seem to be simple and to actually put them in practice is incredibly tough.

So, when the President of our country is voted for by a bunch of parliamentarians, all of whom are politicians - it really does pose an incredibly ridiculous question. Are we a democracy? The answer is that we are a quasi or a pseudo democracy. We 'elect' our MLAs who then elect the President. We don't even elect the Prime Minister! We just vote for the various political parties and they come out with who they want as Prime Minister. I don't think many people even thought that Dr.Manmohan Singh would become PM after our last elections.

The Right to Freedom is probably the most fundamental of the Fundamental Rights. So, my question is that when India appears on the list of countries which regularly tracks website activity of its citizens - how does that give us adequate freedom to express? Many people don't even want to report crimes to the police for fear of death. Where's the freedom?

Mahatma Gandhi, I hope envisaged an India free from oppression, free from political disturbances, economically forward - well the latter most point can be partially satisfied but the former ones are the ones that cannot be. We are a country where bonded labour seems to be common. We have a Constitution and the zillion safeguards but in practice have zero.

So, when Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam - probably the most admired human being in the country was cruelly made a to be in the centre of a political tug of war - it begs the question.. where on Earth are we headed? For all the potential we seem to have - bureaucracy and red tape negate development.

I know that the business of being a democracy is probably the toughest thing on the planet - priding ourselves on being the largest democracy in the world is probably not such a good idea. It is probably the biggest misconception - it makes us look as if we're the model of democracy. The fact is that we have a massive population - that's what makes us the biggest democracy. Ironically, the politicians and politics itself makes India a mockery of a democracy.

I'm sure people who have been oppressed in various other countries would beg to differ. Then again, they've not been independent countries for over 60 years and certainly aren't the 'biggest democracy in the world'.

Judging.... I still don't get it...

I've had fairly empty thoughts till date until I stumbled upon something which I get irritated a lot. So, I'm writing about it! I'm not all that bad and English. There is this word though, which still tears me apart - because I simply cannot understand the precise meaning of it. That word is called judgement.

I think I wrote in one of my previous posts that I do judge. Yes, I will still subscribe to that. My only question is, who doesn't? I cannot find a single person who doesn't brand another person something even though they don't know him or her from Tom or Betty. Its a pathetic state of affairs primarily when I am branded as someone who judges too much.

When I have a point of view, I stick to it and defend it with all I've got even if I'm 'wrong'! How does having strong opinions or just speaking your thoughts get you into a mess? I'm the guy to answer that because more often than not, I've been termed harsh and one who is negative - just because I said something bad about certain people. The strange thing is when that person says something negative about someone else, I'm supposed to listen to that - without saying a thing. Smells like hypocrisy to me.

Everyone has an opinion about everything and everyone in the world. Just because you say it - you are branded as someone who judges which I feel is ridiculous. I do realize the difference between thinking and actually speaking and I'm similarly sure that everyone realizes the difference between transparency and being translucent.

Also, people feel that it is okay to let others judge them and not the people who know them. Yes, familiarity does breed contempt. I still don't understand though, why everyone is so afraid or tired of defending themselves in certain situations. I know it is tiring but, that's the way the world works.

The fact is that the only difference between the person who 'judges' and doesn't is that the former actually thinks aloud. In my view, there is no difference between the two people - in a way it is better to know what people think about others and various other things rather than them being quiet.

I still am not quite familiar with the whole term judging.. but hey.. I probably will never get it!

Putting Myself To The Test

Saw these tests taken in another blog and was intrigued.. here are the results....

Your Dominant Intelligence is Interpersonal Intelligence

You shine in your ability to realate to and understand others. Good at seeing others' points of view, you get how people think and feel. You have an uncanny ability to sense true feelings, intentions, and motivations. A natural born leader, you are great at teaching and mediating conflict. You would make a good counselor, salesperson, politician, or business person.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

You Are A Good Friend

You're always willing to listen Or lend a shoulder to cry on You're there through thick and thin Many people consider you their "best friend"!

What Kind of Friend Are You?