When the cowards had their Wednesday...!

For once, I found myself at a complete loss of words to describe my anguish at the loss of innocent lives in Wednesday's cowardly attacks in Mumbai. Wish the terror-mongers could atleast gather the guts to send fidayeens and shoot at us one-on-one like they did on 26/11. Atleast then we had the satisfaction of seeing nine dismembered terrorist bodies and the hollowness of their evil pursuit. Their mere brand of terror is not shameful, the terror directed at unaware and unarmed civilians is.

No amount of reassurances, loaded speeches or monetary compensation can ever bring back the dead. Its not just 21 people who have died but 21 families that have been emotionally and financially devastated forever. The injured may still live to tell their tales. Lets not even consider bringing the topics of Kasab's birthday, the corrupt Congress government or the failure of the Mumbai police and Intelligence departments into the picture. There are certains domains in public life that are beyond the understanding of laymen like us. And to become moral adjudicators or pure gossip-mongers - read Kasab's birthday - is sheer waste of time.

Well then who do we blame ? Whom do we criticize ? What do we say or write when we wish to make a serious statement ? Let's catch RR Patil. Or should we catch Prithviraj Chavan this time ? No, this guy seems smart. Just lets do what has become a national pastime - either fast-unto-death or breath down Manmohan's neck calling him a lameduck , weak-kneed, powerless Prime Minister India ever had. There starts, as well as ends, our vast understanding of the complex country we live in.

To call paapi-pet-ki-majboori as Mumbai's spirit is a topic I have discussed with my Mumbai friends endlessly. No one really agrees that there is anything praiseworthy when a Mumbaikar goes back to work as usual the very next day after the blasts. What is a mason, who lives on daily wages, expected to do? What is a govt. school teacher, who has to take a pay-cut, expected to do? What is a Software Engineer, who wags his tail as per the wishes of his firang client, expected to do? These basic economic realities, my friends, have got nothing to do with the spirit of any individual person, forget Mumbai as a whole.

Let us not ever forget that our enemy is not a person called Kasab, or a country called Pakistan. The real enemy is the school of thought that has turned hundreds of poor, innocent and unemployed youths like Kasab himself into live human bombs. The real enemies are the promoters of such thoughts who have single-handedly managed to turn a fine, peace-loving religion into a hotbed of fanaticism and intolerance. Give these vocal fundamentalists a real Kalashnikov and tell them to face our country's security forces with the same rage in their eyes and the desire to attain jannat that they inspire in their hapless cadres, and I bet they would have already died many times before their actual death.

Jannat-e-jaaneman mujhe bhi tere paas aane ka dil karta

Jannat-e-jaaneman mujhe bhi tere paas aane ka dil karta

Lekin agar mein jaan de nahi sakta, toh mein jaan le bhi nahi sakta...!!

I pray for the families of the victims and hope they gather the strength to deal with their immeasurable loss.

I also pray for the families of the terrorists who will soon need the same strength to see the rotting, dismembered dead bodies of their terrorist- sons gone astray.

Hope there is light at the end of this darkest tunnel.

Cricket, Cricket and Cricket !

India v/s Pakistan
Venue : Mohali, India
Date : March 30th, 2011

How earnestly have we waited for this grand 'semi-finale'? This is the most-awaited, over-hyped match of the World-Cup, a conquest between two equals just to be fair to Pakistan. Both cricketing nations' teams nurture a burning desire to attain glory by not just defeating the opponent convincingly but batter and maul them so bad that the cuts and bruises of those inflicted wounds stay fresh till their next encounter. As jingoistic as I might sound, I take full liberty in calling this encounter a clash of cricketing titans whose sole aim is to win and win at any cost.

An India-Pakistan encounter has never managed to be just about the respective game or respective fora where these two countries have faced each other. Their representatives bring with themselves the overwhelming pressure of expectations to outperform each other taking a cue from the embarrassing situations they have gone through when they had to be content with the bad end of the stick. As cricketing (and war) records show, Pakistan has had to bite the humble pie far too many times taking a toll on its dwindling self-respect. Yes , SELF-RESPECT is what it is about. To hell with the ignorant souls who call today's Indo-Pak match a simple game of bat and ball where one will win and one will lose. This match has the capacity to make or break careers. Remember the 2003 WC league-stage encounter where Pakistan lost? The likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Rashid Latif - national heroes of those times - had to bid farewell to the game soon after their disgraceful loss to India. Such is the impact of this high-voltage game. A loss to Bangladesh is forgiven in this country, a shock defeat to Zimbabwe can be forgotten, a batting collapse against a weak West Indies is also normal BUT even a 'loss-like' situation against Pakistan is met with angry emotions and abusive rants against players irrespective of their past performances.

There is no doubt that India has done well to qualify for the semi-finals. But that in itself doesn't speak volumes of this hot-favorite side since Sri Lanka has already qualified for the finals with relative ease and Pakistan was not even expected to make the semi-final grade after a string of losses in bilateral ties and series of spot-fixing allegations on some of its top players. In all fairness, its Pakistan who deserves full credit for coming this far on the strength of sheer talent and strong leadership from skipper Shahid Afridi - the leading wicket-taker of the World Cup so far.

India, on the other hand, has relied too much on individual performances with Sachin and Yuvraj leading the batting charge and a lonely Zaheer Khan left to try all tricks with the ball. A miserable and clueless (but media-savvy) captain in Dhoni has further compounded India's worries. The league matches don't instill much confidence either, especially the drawn match with England and a characteristic batting collapse against South Africa - who are now already out of the World Cup courtesy New Zealand who in turn are heading home courtesy Sri Lanka. That gives me logical nightmares about a possible India-Sri Lanka clash in the finals but we will reserve that discussion for another day.

To add spice to the fun, the chhakka-panjaas (politicians) have decided to partake the glory and limelight of this encounter by making this match a bilateral political affair under the guise of cricket diplomacy or Cricketomacy. Never have I understood this irrational offer of friendship when the offending side continues to be an existential threat to us and has not even assured us of full co-operation in tackling terrorism; forget apologizing for the heinous acts (26/11) planned and financed from its soil. A weak-kneed, lameduck Prime Minister, for all his integrity and honesty summed together, still doesn't add up to the expectations of the young, vibrant and demanding population of his country. Cricket cannot and should not direct the national policies of our country against a rogue neighbour. A Shahid Afridi is welcome with open hearts but an Asif Ali Zardari or a Yousuf Raza Gilani deserve nothing less than chappals in crude Hindi. To have them over as state guests when families of those who died in the 26/11 carnage still await justice and co-operation from Pakistani courts in punishing the masterminds is a sad commentary on our foreign policy. I will rest my arguments on this restive issue for now.

Coming back to cricket, there is no doubt that people from both countries are already losing sleep thinking about this encounter and its aftermath. A brilliant display of sportsmanship, nerves of steel, strong and innovative leadership is what people expect to see in a span of 100 overs today. Hope its a match that raises the stakes for the finals, hope its a match that gifts the winning nation a day of festivities and celebration and the loser's a chance at introspection. And as much as I try to resist the die-hard fan inside me, hope it gives the God - Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - his chance at making his 100th international century in style.

As the Master Blaster himself says and we all agree, "Beating Pakistan is always special because they are a tough team and we have a bit of a history regarding Pakistan."

Hope its a special day for India tomorrow.
Let the game begin!!

Spare a thought...

On this 63rd Independence Day, much as we hope for India's prosperity, let us spare a thought for that man guarding our nation's borders in the uninhabitable Siachen glacier; the man in Vidarbha who feeds us regularly but commits suicide out of fear of not being able to feed his own; the old and helpless who have been disowned by their children and left to the mercy of this evil world; the street urchin for whom Independence means struggling for a decent meal every single day; As the lucky few that we are, let us vow to give back something in return for what this country has given us and may Independence stand for freedom and liberty for all.

Siachen Glacier Anthem Video :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_RGzJzhLnE

Jai Hind !!

A warm, tight, final hug to Engineering...!!

The full text of my Convocation-cum-Farewell Speech today in the august presence of my batch-mates. A big thanks to Tanya Sarna for giving me this opportunity which I grabbed with both hands and an even bigger thanks to the lively audience who supported, clapped, rejoiced (probably hooted too) and makin this otherwise dull day come alive....


" It was 4th September 2006, technically the first day of college for our batch and I dunno how many of u remember but we had our Orientation seminar on that rainy day. unless u bunked on that day too… we were made to listen to the history and geography of this institute where today we complete 4 full years of our course that have enriched us on various levels, given us so many memories to cherish for a lifetime, given us amazing friends wid whom we have spent the best times in these years; these 4 yrs hav given us practically everythin except a slightest idea abt the logic behind our course syllabus..

We meet on this day where we are all decked up to accept our Graduation certificates from the very University that we hav unitedly hated irrespective of caste, creed or language barriers. For some of us, these 4 yrs may also remind us the emotional grind we went thru when we got unexpected KTs on one or more than one occasion. For some, these years may define the absolutely unadulterated fun we had spendin a whale of a time doing practically nothing but sitting and chattin in the college canteen.

For some, these years have been transformational too.. Such was the classroom experience here that even sincere, hard-working pets have transformed into habitual defaulters.. or even vice versa for that matter…

Irrespective of what we gathered individually, the one thing that will probably remain on top of my college memories will be the I.V. days in Shimla-Manali. I’m sure many of u share that view.

This last semester ensured that many of us have our future course charted out in the form of placements. Many among us here have enjoyed Engg so much that they hav opted for an MS. On the other hand, some have hated it so much that they wont mind sellin Dabur Amla Hair Oil and call themselves MBAs. Some of you will join ur family business, some will take the unconventional route and opt for totally different careers. For the undecided ones, I’m sure better things are coming your way too…. But wherever you go and whatever you do, Make Yourself Count ( ok that was cheap advertisement of my personal blog but sorry I cant help it )

Now that I suppose I am famous because of this speech, I hope to be invited to your engagements and weddings whenever they take place. There’s a brand new hall right here so I m sure discounts will be offered to ex-students.

As I conclude, I wud tell u to admire the institute you study in, especially ours. Very rarely will you get to see a defaulter deliverin a convocation-cum-farewell speech 2-months in advance when he has no 'beeping' idea what the next week holds for him.

THANK YOU & ALL THE BEST… and 3 cheers to all of us....!!! "

Incredible India !!

No, I am not launching a new series of commercials for the Ministry of Tourism, certainly not. I don't even think this is an appropriate title to what I wish to write. But still, Incredible India !!

How many times have we basked in the glory of our successes (or excesses) in varying fields only to stand witness to its equally glorious downfalls? How easily we have converted individuals from humans-to-paranormal achievers-to-demigods and then easily brought them down to the rank of frauds and criminals? The vice versa is equally true in my beloved country.

Naming a few will clear the clouds as to what & who am I talking about. Take for instance, Lalit Modi. Not too many days ago, this ugly little duckling was a sapphire in a coal-mine for all of us. He had achieved the impossible. He wrapped the same old popular game of Cricket in a nice little package and promised us an entertainment bonanza every year. Bonanza for you, overdose for me. This alpha-male showed us that nothing is insurmountable if you are driven; even kissing, hugging, hi-fiving beautiful bolly chicks and cheerleaders is possible inspite of being ugly, unkempt and soda-glassified...... STOP --> PLAY CURRENT TRACK and you find the same name Lalit Modi today also stands for kidnapper, drug peddler, fraud, misdirected genius and what not. A typical case of an otherwise irrelevant past coming back to haunt your present. Success is difficult to achieve, but even more difficult to digest. Modi is a victim of his own ingenuity. I will not mention what the media says about him because news-reporting has transformed itself into a beautiful showbiz providing prime-time entertainment like any other over-the-top reality show. Meanwhile, you and me are busy rooting for our favorite teams.

But politics beats it all. Here we have a sophisticated, 'proper'-English speaking, career diplomat and ex-MoS Shashi Tharoor who loses his job as well as an untarnished reputation for mentoring a commercially profitable consortium (a punishable but excusable misconduct even by the strictest standards) whereas on the other side we have career-scamsters who manage to orchestrate a humongous scam even in cattle fodder and still be ministers for full terms. Not just that, they also qualify themselves as chief guests at our top B-schools lecturing the young bright future entrepreneurs on..... MANAGEMENT, if you really get what I mean. How on earth was a person who did not spare animal food allowed to look after the largest rail network in Asia that employs millions and earns millions too? The answer is by Management, my dear, management.

The Satyam fiasco, the match-fixing scandal, the Indira Gandhi story, the Narendra Modi syndrome, the Rajiv Gandhi persona (from best PM to tainted ex-PM), the Naxal issue ; have all been examples of pendulum shifts in perception. The have cost the nation its image on the international front. Worst, they have challenged our ideals and work ethics and exposed our people, our governments whom we looked upon as our saviours, our heroes. We, as mute spectators, aren't left much far behind in our contribution to the chaos. We worship them at our convenience and we also go hammer and tongs when it suits us. 'Yeh public hain, sab jaanti hain' is the most clever sentence aimed at fooling the public itself. We think we matter even when we know we don't. India and Indians are incredibly incredible indeed.

As for the actual 'Incredible India' campaign carried out by our Tourism Ministry, you just need to google to find out the rapes per month of foreign nationals that take place on Goa's beaches and I bet you will hate that term for the rest of your lives. Btw, Goa is the smallest state of our Incredible India.

Pak Infiltrates, China threatens, Aus attacks : Welcome to India's Century

The 21st century belongs to India. It sure does. We're in the news all the time. And for all the wrong reasons. First things first , 14 months and we still haven't managed to get a single person convicted for the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. Gone are the days when Pranab Mukherjee (then Foreign Minister) sounded the war bugle on Pakistan in response to the cowardly attacks but ended up taking instructions from them on how to proceed legally to secure convictions for a crime that was documented LIVE on World Televisions. In UPA-2 some divine intervention told him about his advancing age so he conveniently shifted himself to the more cosy Finance Ministry leaving the Foreign Ministry charge to a docile SM Krishna 'ably' supported by his assistant Shashi 'Twitteroor'. I'm sure they both got to settle a lot of other differences first before they start taking their jobs seriously. Meanwhile, Pakistan has played its side of the game smartly. Rarely do we see a country come out unscathed after inflicting such macabre humiliation on its neighbor. Even the pea-sized Palestine bombed the mighty Israel when challenged.

China, on the other hand, badly cuts us down to our size, both physically and diplomatically. Physically; by claiming Arunachal Pradesh & Aksai Chin. Diplomatically; by vetoing crucial treaties and accords against us in International Bodies, investing money and manpower in mineral-rich Africa and oil-rich South America, gaining political clout in countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh which have traditionally been India's friends. The Chinese economic growth story is a result of their own hard efforts. The political arrogance is just an expected consequence. Unless we keep them in check and learn to expand our own base, we will be to China what Canada is to America. Living under fear is bad but living under denial of it is worse.

The newest hot-spot for Indians for education and tourism, Australia, is in the news too. What started as stray street attacks on brown people with the motives being robbery or sexual assault has transformed into full-fledged racist attacks with Indians being singled out for special treatment. Before we even discuss the reasons behind it, I strongly believe that the job of the Australian government is to protect its people (citizens, tourists alike) from such brutal attacks and not get philosophical about job losses and domestic unemployment being the reasons behind these acts of sheer cowardice. India, on the other hand, has taken 3 months just to request the Australian authorities to set up a committee to look into the matter. Parents have lost their young children, some have been lucky to settle with a permanently disabled young man in their house, some plan to return soon, many have cancelled their plans of going. If the govt had guts, it would have issued a strict travel advisory prohibiting Indians from touring Australia in the near future and banning any visits by Australian ministers or industry tycoons. But our policy of pliability prevents us from taking decisive steps. Instead, we had the Australian Foreign Min, Dy. PM and PM himself as state guests recently who either conveniently avoided intrusive questions on the racist attacks or gave textbook answers that would keep the diplomats happy. An Indian is probably running for his life or being beaten to death on the streets of Melbourne even as I post this blog.

Push has come to shove, and the shove to a Tombstone Piledriver, but we lay bare and naked knocked out without putting up a fight. Unless we stand up and be counted, the world will dismiss us as just another over-sized country that is too busy with its one-dimensional growth to care for the life & property of its citizens or diaspora. The way things are going, we must count ourselves lucky to even co-exist in this world amidst some fiercely self-respecting countries that will not give up an inch of land or let go a single drop of blood without making the aggressor pay heavily for it.

Maharashtra Elections : An Exercise in Futility or a Serious Chance for Change ?

Well we are welcoming another long weekend after the Pateti and Dussehra weeks. But this time, its slightly different. The 13th of October is election day and not just another festival. It is indeed a festival of democracy but I won't be wrong in assuming that very few people perceive it that way. The general public mood regarding elections was evident in the recent Lok Sabha elections where the voter turnout from a cosmopolitan city like Mumbai was a pathetic 43%. So I have decided that I won't waste anymore time in trying to inspire the disinterested souls to come out and vote. This is meant purely for those who are eagerly waiting to exercise their franchise and elect the candidate and government of their choice.

The marked difference in these elections compared to the 2004 elections is the rise of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena or the MNS. Etched out of its parent party Shiv Sena (SS), the MNS is a by-product of the sibling rivalry between cousins Uddhav Thackeray (Exec. President, SS) and Raj Thackeray (President, MNS). Helped by Raj's powerful oratory laced with sarcasm and satire, the MNS is a one-man army aiming to carve an independent identity for itself.

But this is not what bothers me. Simply put, I am totally confused whom to vote for. I am not someone who would vote for an individual. Its his party and its people policies that matter. In that regard, we have a ready reckoner of the incumbent Congress-NCP government's performance in the last 10 yrs that it has ruled Maharashtra. In my opinion, Maharashtra has seen little or no governance in the last decade. We have no idea who is in-charge. The state has seen 4 chief ministers in 10 years. The Union Agriculture Minister hails from Maharashtra but farmer suicides are the order of the day. Terrorists attacks, more prominently 26/11, have raised serious questions about the state of internal security. The snail-paced development in areas like infrastructure, education, e-governance and police reforms has cast a shadow on the very commitment of this government towards its people. The situation worsens when ambitious ministers are seen washing dirty linen in public. As a result internal squabbles for one-upmanship completely overshadows the business of governance. Yes there have been no major communal out-breaks but that alone can't be a reason to vote this government back to power. The proof of the pudding has to be in the eating.

The Shiv Sena-BJP saffron alliance have struggled to come to power since the last 2 elections. Their urban support base kept eroding due to their street-style politics. The sons-of-the-soil issue further alienated them from non-Maharashtrians who have been living here for a long time. Declaring unilateral bandhs, burning buses, causing immense damage to the social fabric of the city is what defined the Shiv Sena of the 1990s. Their long absence from power has not given us a chance to assess their renewed sense of commitment, if any. But it has to be noted that this alliance was keen to show its mettle in its 4 yrs in government. The completion of the Mumbai-Pune Express Highway, around 50 fly-overs all over the city's clogged arterial roads, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link are accomplishments that have largely proved beneficial to the city's populace. Quite a few ministers were known to be tough administrators and the alliance usually sheds its communal image (on which they seek votes) once they are voted in power. Yes we may have to make do with Chhatrapatization of old and new city landmarks but atleast it will be a welcome change from stumbling across everything that sounds even remotely Gandhi. For your information , the Bandra-Worli Sea Link is officially called 'Rajiv Gandhi Setu'.

Last but not the least, the newly-formed MNS is already a force to reckon with. The party fought the Lok Sabha elections just as a warm-up to the October Assembly election and to check its popularity among youth. But it surprised itself by coveting a major chunk of the urban votes thus seriously under-cutting Shiv Sena's might. Its candidates even came second in some important constituencies. The party has certainly appealed to the first-time voters as well as women and the elderly. It has successfully managed to raise issues of day-to-day concern. It has lambasted both the government and the opposition for failing to take up the cause of the Marathi manoos as well as in tackling civic issues. However, the party cadres resorted to violence and thrashing of North Indian students and workers who have a constitutional right to earn their livelihood anywhere in the country. Their blatant disregard towards law and order and inciting regionalist passion among Maharashtrians acts as a serious threat to civil society. That may still appeal to the psychopants or misdirected youths but it surely holds no good to the Maharashtra of the 21st century. But there is no denying that the party shows promise. Its leaders seem approachable. They are young and raring to go. They have the gumption to take on the spineless government in its own backyard. If they get enough numbers to dictate terms to a future government, they will surely use that opportunity to get things cracking. Never mind the sleepless nights for the government in power.

Again FYI, the other parties in the fray are Republican Daavi Lokshahi Samiti, Bahujan Samaj Party and Independents ofcourse. But then they barely stand a chance so why bother. I probably wrote this blog to clear my own notions about these parties. You may agree or disagree with them but I will be glad you will atleast develop an independent opinion. The scenario is interesting yet so confounding. The opinion polls have already forecast a hung Assembly. But thats not our headache. Our sole responsibility is to make intelligent decisions and cast our precious vote seeking change. Personally, its been a hell of a task to arrive at a decision and I may not necessarily select the lesser of the three evils, but select I will. Elections are the heartbeats of democracy and certainly a chance for change but when successive governments fail to deliver irrespective of their stated ideology, they do become an exercise in futility. The choice is yours. What is important is that you make one...