The Bihar Ball-Dance!

Why are the state elections in Bihar so talked about phenomena across the Nation? Or for that matter why is the state of Bihar so very important from a national perspective? Well, it is the third most populous state of the country, the Bihar state politics and dynamics have always had a huge bearing at the center, also the state of Bihar has always been known for its rich cultural heritage, great scholars, the great Maurayan Empire and not to forget it is the land of one of the greatest emperor of all times Asoka and the great Lord Buddha. But of late the main reasons which have kept Bihar in the news are the lawless situation, pathetic means of transportation, traces of roads in the barrens of potholes, paltry levels of literacy, unimaginable levels of crime and last but not the least the ever so ebullient, witty, comic and charismatic Mr. Laloo!

Naturally the recently concluded state elections had to be the talk of the nation, but there was no gentle breeze blowing through Bihar in 2010, it was almost a gale storm, one that literally rewrote the political sociology of the state, yes it was the Nitish gale storm! To lead his alliance in an impressive 206 seats out of a total of 243 and leaving the mighty Laloo & co tottering for just 25 odd seats and congress to a meager 4 seats, is no mean feat. And what is fascinating about this decimation is not the margin of the victory but the manner in which it has been achieved.

Neither NItish nor any of his alliance members used the age old card of caste and creed to woo the masses, rather the focus always remained on a vocabulary unheard of in the state in over two decades: roads, primary health centers, girls’ education and thermal power station. And the rapt attention with which the crowd listened to Nitish was an absolutely beautiful and welcome change. These alien concepts are the ones which the poor man of Bihar has always dreamt of all his life and despite the absence of caste references in Nitish’s speech, he still had the backing of not only all the extremely backward castes, Mahadalits but even the backward Muslims joined his bandwagon of Development. And not even once Nitish’s limitations as a public speaker came as a hurdle in his zest to connect with the masses. Rather the only rhetorical flourish he permitted himself was when he promised to confiscate the property of corrupt officials and set up schools instead.

In fact what has worked in Nitish’s favor at the end of his first five year term is his ability to convert the promises he made to the common man into reality. The triple S formula of sadak, shiksha, suraksha on which Nitish ruled or rather sweated for last five years actually worked in his favor. The gleaming highways and pucca village road’s are Bihar’s new pride, the bicycles for girls studying in ninth standard have become a symbol of women’s empowerment, 50% women reservation in panchayats and ability to just move out after dusk in Patna or Gaya is simply liberating but the biggest achievement of the last 5 years is undoubtedly law and order. In a state which has been lampooned in Bollywood and beyond as a land of thieves and kidnappers, Nitish Kumar has positioned himself as 'The Terminator'.

But the million dollar question is what has gone wrong with the man who once promised to make Bihar’s roads as ‘smooth as Hema Malini’s cheeks’ but rather left them as lunar craters? Well the evergreen superstar of Bihar, Shri Shri 108 Laloo Prasad Yadav still offers the best one-liners and you still smile at his jokes but that smile is more out of a nostalgic remembrance of an old comedy film and somehow he is now just a caricature of the rustic king he once was. And even the famous adage which he once coined isn’t holding good anymore because the Samosa still holds the spicy Aloo but there are hardly any signs of Laloo in Bihar. And in true sense the public of Bihar has become too smart to be fooled by the corruption and inefficiency fluently practiced under the sugary coats of comic rhetoric; the development in the last five years has literally butchered the Laloo style of governance.

Naturally with a corrupt and toothless opponent, Nitish’s second home coming was just a matter of formality but the real challenge now for Nitish would be to manage the rising expectations. Though under his leadership education has received a boost, but jobs still remain scarce; Security has been provided, but investments haven’t come in; Crime has been controlled, but petty corruption appears to have grown; Roads have been built, but power still remains a crisis. Well it’s not fair to be utterly critical and pessimistic about Nitish’s future because the resolute nature and perseverance which the man has shown in his tenure is worth every bit of appreciation. But what is even more praiseworthy is the fact that Bihar has truly leapfrogged to the numero uno position in terms of the fastest growing states in terms of development. And the fact that common man in India has understood the importance of development oriented governance over the materialistic lures of liquor and blanket to vote, are the true indicators of India’s bright future in the coming times.

Perspective : With Nitish all set for a long term in Bihar riding on the wave of development, the only other career option which remains for Laloo is that of a standup comedian!


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Reality Shows - Not all that Bad!

Of late apart from the 3 seasons in the year,almost every year we are well and truly witnessing a fourth one too. And this fourth one is rather more consistent these days than the other three. So which is this new found consistent season dawning our lives every year? It's the season of bitching,bickering,abusing,exposing,debating,criticizing and banning. It's the season where in every year we or more particularly the Government of India takes objection to the vulgarity and nudity shown on the Television by the medium of reality shows and tries to curb it through threats and bans. Interestingly the shows in contention, the parties on protest, the sole aim behind the supposed vulgarity (high TRPs) and the final outcome of the entire drama remains very much the same every year but still there are no signs of any change,boredom or respite after these consistent streak of events every single year. And this recurring phenomena probably reflects the state of mind or the appetite of the audiences more than anything else.

So if this year it is Dolly Bindra breaking the decibel levels with her vulgar and over the top remarks in Big Boss, previous years it was some Raja Chaudhary or KRK doing the encore. Similarly if Ashmit Patel and Veena Malik are found coochi-cooing around every corner of the Big Boss house, previous years it was Rahul Mahajan and Monica Bedi or Anupama Verma or Aryan Vaid. Same goes with Rakhi Sawant, if last year she was creating new records of shamelessness and audacity with Rakhi ka Swayamwar, this year she is doing it with Rakhi ka Insaaf. And the list goes on with new shows like Emotional Atyachaar, Splits villa and Roomies following the suite. And what eventually happens every year is also a repeat replica of the last year, a select few raise voices against the proclaimed nudity and vulgarity shown in these shows, thereafter the Government wakes up and passes a threat or in some cases imposes a (partial) ban and in due course all these shows are back on TV in a toned down fashion or almost in the same vein.

Now the big question is, Is the Government or the Information & Broadcasting (IB) Ministry correct in imposing itself by means of warnings and bans against these shows? Or are these supposed shows of obscenity, the true and the only culprits? Well on the face of it, it's very easy to straight away tag these shows as the real culprits but the matter is not as straight forward as it seems. True that the content showed in these reality shows is objectionable and beyond the moral values which we as a nation have been endorsing and practicing for years but the high TRPs which these shows are garnering day in day out are the true indicators of the fact that how much the common man wants to see these shows. Whatever be the reason, be it the bold avatar of the main protagonists, be it the nudity, vulgarity or the brazenness shown by the medium of these shows, it beautifully emphasizes the changing times. This isn't the early Sunday morning Ramayana or the Mahabharata age, it's the age of late night shows of vociferous Dolly Bindras, brazen Rakhi Sawants and live telecast of a newly married couple's first night.

Hence it's highly imperative that IB ponders upon this change of guard among the audiences and only then they can hope for a long term check or curb on these morality breakers. Understandably the IB's concern about these shows casting a bad image on the children is praise worthy, but have they ever wondered that, Are these shows the only medium of vulgarity available to the children or the masses? With almost every second middle class child and every fifth lower middle class child having access to Internet in the close confines of his bedroom or the omnipresent Internet Cafes, isn't the free and readily available access to internet pornography a far more worrisome fact than these television shows? What good the IB or the Government has done so far to curb these free access to obscenity and vulgarity over the years? Hardly Any! And it's not only the children or the younger strata of the society who is an audience to these reality shows, the very fact that the TRPs of these shows are higher than the regular family soaps running on all the channels, clearly emphasizes the fact that even the families are watching these shows regularly and with a gruesome appetite.Naturally the producers of these (reality) shows are showing what the audiences actually want to see and enjoy.

In a nutshell, it's highly important to decide upon the permissible limit shown by the medium of these reality shows but that should not be the sole effort put forth to curb the obscenity on air. There are other sources and mediums too which need to be monitored, regulated and rigorously checked. And hence blatantly blaming the producers of these reality shows isn't the most prudent thing either,agreed that they are selling shit for high TRP's and raking big bucks but on a more practical note they are selling the commodity which is on high demand, so what if it's a waste of a commodity. On the whole, it's a vicious cycle which breeds on the premise that you might love it, you might hate it but you just can't resist yourself from watching it. And the funny irony is, this is not only applicable to the children and the young guns but this equally holds good for all those (IB included) critics and oldies too:).


Perspective : With new seasons of Splits villa and Roadies about to start, there is more fun waiting to unfold, not only through these shows but off it too:)!

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Congress Way or the Wrong Way...!

What ideally should have been the festive season in our country at this point has turned out into a Corruption fiesta. The Navaratri, Dussera and Diwali frenzy has been overshadowed by the CWG, 2G and Adarsh hysteria, with Kalmadi, Raja and Chavan being the main villains as against the age old Raavana. Unfortunately these new era villains can't be burned on the lines of what we do with Raavana every year, but make no mistake their offences are no way mean in terms of magnitude.

And the manner in which the oldest party of our country (read Congress) has handled these situations, truly embarks the reason why they have ruled our country for 50, 60 or all those innumerable years. If there is one word which aptly describes the approach of Congress Party in handling these fiascoes or for that matter many such situations over the years, it's the word 'SHREWD', and mind-it when I use this word its certainly not with a negative connotation. That's how they have been all these years and that's the very reason why they have been the most consistent and numero-uno political outfit for so long, also thanks to a reasonably considerate lot of politicians they are blessed with and not to forget the presence of ever so dominating and flamboyant Gandhi scion.

Where other political parties might have succumbed to the relentless opposition in handling such allegations and scams, Congress has been very prudent and precise in their execution. With CWG scam looming over their head for so long, they did what every government excels in, ordered a high profile probe, which in all probability will go on for ages or at least till the point where not only the opposition forgets the scam but even the public loses interest in these financial muddling and the same is happening with the 2G and Adarsh scams too. But what is interesting is the fact that when it comes to addressing such highly inflammable corruption charges against their party members, it's not the upper strata of the party which convenes the media or the parliament but it's rather the more low profile and unknown faces that are given the charge of addressing such scenarios. Ever heard Sonia Ji or Rahul Baba talking about CWG or 2G or any other scam? Never! They always keep their image clean and never indulge in the dirt sputtered by their fellow ministers; rather they concentrate more on pointing fingers on the leading figures of the opposition parties for their supposed involvement in various scams and thereby landing them (opposition ministers) in awkward situations.

No wonder despite the relentless outcry from the opposition and the media they stuck with the Kalmadis and Chavans, the main culprits of CWG and Adarsh debacle, for a smooth and successful Obama's visit. And even before Obama left the Indian skies, Congress were quick to axe both the tainted leaders in one go. On the face of it, it seemed that the government was trying to salvage India's pride by not giving much air to such controversial issues at a time when one of the world's most powerful leaders is visiting our country. But another angle behind this sudden axing was also to counter the huge uproar which the opposition might subject the government to in the winter session of the parliament which was starting from the very next day. And this axing move at the final hour actually left the opposition gasping for air, as they were not sure how to handle this master move taken by the Congress led government, which according to them (opposition) was their main agenda for the entire winter session. A perfect example of political shrewdness exhibited by the Congress high command!

But after much ado the opposition woke up and forced its way into the parliament with the alleged Rs1, 76,000 crore 2G scam and demanded an instant axing of its main protagonist Mr. A Raja. On the other hand Raja and his (DMK fame) mentor Karunanidhi where in no mood to entertain any such thoughts and were constantly claiming Raja's innocence on this matter. This scenario definitely put the Congress party in a bit of dilemma because the minister in fray this time around wasn't a Congress minister as against the Chavan and Kalmadi. And axing him (Raja) wasn't that straight because it was directly impacting their coalition at the center. They again adopted their ever so successful formula of 'wait and watch' and it worked again for them, their savior this time being the fairest (in color), fattest and smartest lady down south, AIADMK supremo Ms Jayalalitha. She announced an unconditional support to the Congress at the center, if they immediately axe Raja. And with this Congress again found itself in the best of situations, with none of the two parties (DMK & AIADMK) wanting to give an inch to the other, as they are not only eying the hotspot at the center but they are also aware of the probable gains they can reap from an alliance with the Congress in the soon to be contested State (Tamil Nadu) Assembly elections. So if Jayalalitha was quick to foresee an opportunity, DMK veteran Karunanidhi wasn't far behind, he immediately asked his protégé A Raja to resign, thereby vanquishing any chances of AIADMK taking their position at the center and also keeping high hopes for the forthcoming assembly elections. Yet again Congress had to do nothing and they were out of this soup much to the dismay of the opposition parties.

In the nutshell howsoever puzzled and envious the other parties may be, there is no denying the fact that if there is one party which knows the in and out of politics and all the tricks in the book to run this enormously hyperventilating country then it's 'CONGRESS'. Be it Nehru, be it Indira, be it Rajiv, be it Sonia or be it Rahul or for that matter be it any non-Gandhi Congressmen either, they all know the nuances of handling the most complicated of issues with a lot of finesse. Some may call their ways Shrewd, some may call them Mean and some might even call them Nasty but going by the track record of all the political parties post independence, if you are not following the Congress Way, more often than not you are on the wrong way!

Perspective - It's not a criticism nor an appreciation, but it's just an observation on how things run and work the Congress Way!
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The Obama Hungama!

They came, they impressed, they floored and they went away winning millions of hearts! But for some they came,they impressed none,they hardly nailed our neighbors and they went away with assurances for jobs and business for their own state, doing no good to us. The use of word 'THEY' is highly important here as it wasn't all about the Most Powerful Man on earth but it was equally about his better half too, who raked as much attention and applause as the Male 'O' received.

Now on the overall outcome of Big 'O's' visit, reactions are varied, cynics and critics all across are going hammers and tongs to pompously declare this visit as a big Failure.Their claim is that neither did he bestow us with any tall claims, nor did he made promises on strategic collaboration on the fronts like Technology, Fight against Terrorism or any other worthwhile benefits and this visit was more of an insult to our Nation than a strengthening of ties, as declared by the two head of states. But the ground reality says this is certainly not the best phase of Obama's presidency, his popularity in the US is at all time low, he is coming from a mid term election drubbing and his nation is still reeling under turmoils of economic crisis. So in this gloomy backdrop to expect that his visit will be a bouquet of goodies for us was an overtly ambitious thought. From the very starting it was clear that the main purpose of Mr Obama's visit was to urge the Indian Government to further open the Indian market for the US goods and services and also help in creating more jobs for the Americans.

On the other hand a section of people are overtly happy with the remarks and claims His Excellency made during his 4 day stay in India. The encomiums of garlanding India with the status of a Super Power and one of the fastest growing economy has flattered quite a handful, remember we are a nation which is on an ever starving conquest for platitudes but the truth beyond all these flattering adjectives is that we are languishing at the bottom of almost all human indicators such as education, health and hygiene or infrastructure. And to address all these factors we need funds which are being digressed on defense, thanks to a highly unstable nuclear armed neighbor. So the most prudent thing amidst all these sugary quotes made by the man who is known more for his excellent oratory skills than for his man-management or governance skills, is to not get buoyed by these remarks and to judge ourselves by what we are and not by what we can be.

Another sad thing has been the show of huge outrage displayed by our pompous local politicians, including the CM (of Maharashtra) who was living on borrowed time, having been caught stealing land belonging to the Kargil war widows, over being humiliated by the US. What was this humiliation? They were invited to meet Obama at a gathering organised by the US Consulate and were requested in advance to provide their identification through PAN cards and whatever ID our own Government demands of us whenever we enter an airport or any other place where security's an issue. So our politicians and bureaucrats took huge umbrage and refused to go. These ministers created such a huge uproar on this that the US Consulate had no option but to call it a clerical error and apologise. Apologise for what? For ensuring security for their own Head of State, the world's most targeted leader, at a function organised by them. Disgusting, to say the least!

Now two of the most highly debated, celebrated and abhorred agendas of Obama's visit were - 1. His assurance of supporting India for a permanent UNSC seat. 2. His avoidance of declaring Pakistan as a Terrorist state. On Obama's assurance of support for a permanent UNSC seat to India, almost the entire nation went on a celebration mode, as if we have just pipped down US from the Numero Uno seat (of global super power).We are so blinded from the reality that we can't even comprehend the fact that we can't just become a permanent UNSC member by a mere platonic support statement from the US president. The groundwork, the mathematics and the entire process is far more challenging than it seems from outside. And with military superpowers like Japan and Germany already eying that spot, it will never be an easy battle for India.

And on the issue of Mr Obama declaring Pakistan as a terrorist state, the wrath, the criticism and the disappointment all around is astonishing. It seems we are ourselves not very clear as to what we want on the Pakistan or the Kashmir issue. At one point we detest Pakistan for urging US to mediate in the Kashmir problem, by saying that it is a problem between the two nations and so it hardly makes a point in involving a third party. And on the other hand we want US to declare Pakistan as a terrorist state, now where do those 'no third party intervention' prophecies go? And why should Obama say so just for the sake of soothing India, for that matter none of the premiers of any state will ever make such bold statements against any of the states and certainly not when that nation is a part of their strategic alliance in the south east Asia. In fact the best indicator or between the lines read for us is the fact that for the first time in the history a US President is making a visit to India which is not accompanied by a Pakistan visit.

It's imperative for us to understand the fact that Mr Obama came to India not as a President of the United States but more so as the CEO of USA. And we should rather focus more on appreciating the flamboyance and connect which the couple showed with the Indian masses and media rather than digging various non-sensical matters and criticizing Mr President. We should appreciate the level of preparedness which the Big Man showed on his interaction with us, be it his constant remarks on Gandhi, Ambedkar, Bose or Tagore or be it his use of Hindi Jargons in his speeches (though this trick is adopted by all the westerners). Also can you ever expect Mr Manmohan Singh or for that matter Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee to go to the US and dance with the school kids on any of the Michael Jackson's pop number? Never! So rather than dissecting Mr O's visit to surgical levels its better to treat it as a just another foreign premier's visit to our hyperventilating country.

Ending the write up on the very note on which the Big Man (Mr Obama) ended his popular speech few days back - JAI HIND!

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Emotional Atyachaar - 'Dhokha' All the Way!

Boy loves a gal,gal loves (the same) guy, both are deeply in love, living in a wonderland which is so beautiful that makes either of them doubly check there happiness. The lead goes for a loyalty check against his/her lover. 99% probability, the suspect fails the loyalty test and the credit goes to the Emotional Atyachaar team for saving the lead's life by being the Saviour. At times Boy loves a gal,gal loves (the same) guy, both are deeply in love, living in a wonderland which is so beautiful that makes either of them doubly check their happiness. The lead goes for a loyalty check against his/her lover, expectedly the suspect fails the loyalty test but the lead also fails it at the same time, once again Emotional Atyachaar team turns out to be the sole winner amidst all this melodramatic chaos.

No wonder one of the most gripping and watched serials on television these days is certainly Emotional Atyachaar (EA). The craze and following for this serial is almost mind boggling, not only my younger cousins and relatives discuss this with lot of fervor but even my office colleagues and unfortunately my beloved wife is a big fan of this series. It’s not that I am allergic to EA, in fact I don’t enjoy a choice as neither can I stop my colleagues from discussing it, nor can I restrict my cousins from going mad about it and nor do I have the guts to snatch the remote from my wife every time she watches it diligently (and the irony is she watches the repeat telecast also with the same excitement), but my point is there are far more sensible and less fake things available on the platter. The show focuses on Dhoka (cheating) and more Dhoka's on the participant's part in each of the episodes but I personally feel its more of a Dhoka on EA's part to the audiences; all for raking high TRP's and exorbitant revenues.

I believe EA is almost like the age old WWF fights which also enjoy enormous following despite of the common knowledge that every ounce of it is fixed, staged and fabricated, but one hardly gets an idea about it seeing the exuberance levels of its fans. Same goes with EA, because who on earth goes on to make his/her life public and exposes it to the levels which are not only shameful for them but also for their entire clan. Understandably infidelity, temptation and suspicion are all common vices today but to see somebody who is in a long term stable relationship, fall in these traps in a matter of 1 or 2 phone calls or meetings is almost impossible to believe. No wonder people go around and fool their partners out of their low self esteem and irrational carnal desires but to almost get sexually active in matter of few hours or few days is out of our culture. Healthy flirting, chatting and befriending new people is acceptable to an extent but doing that at an expense of ruining ones serious relationship is outrageous.

The brazenness and audacity which is being showcased in this serial is incongruent with our tad conservative and traditional culture, though some might argue that metropolitan centers like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata have tuned themselves to the western ways of openness and independent thinking but still the levels of shamelessness shown in EA only fits well to the 70mm screen and works of fiction and not at all in the cauldrons of real life, as prominently telecasted every week. Naturally EA is a big hit among the masses because it emphasizes and throws light on those aspects of life which are still rare and shocking for most of us. And obviously we Indians being nurtured in the conservative environs are thrilled by the very concept of sex and infidelity, be it by the medium of TV, Movies, Print Media or through Internet. No wonder sex MMS’ of a C grade TV starlet are a bigger hit than the Olympic winning stellar performances by any of our sportsmen.

So what the TV channel is doing by the medium of EA is nothing else but cashing on this weakling and a tad conservative Indian mentality. Hence it is also not the most prudent thing to blame our cousins, colleagues, wives and all the followers of such sex and infidelity sellers because they are all just going by the flow and watching these serials not because they trust on what is being showed by the medium of these shows but because these soaps thrill them more than the other offerings on Television. Also like WWF, a majority of the viewers know that most of the stories in EA are framed and staged, as not 9 out of 10 guys can turn out to be so fraudulent and cheat to fail their (EA’S) so called LOYALTY TEST, at least not in India.
Assumedly it is quite easy to get trapped in the scenarios which are being framed in EA but the extent of the fall in every single of the stories is quite hard to believe. Naturally the TV channel is minting money by this newfound but murky concept, but they should be rather concentrating more on keeping intact our rich traditional values rather than making money by denting, maneuvering and maligning it.

Bird’s Eye View – But in today’s selfish world it’s considered to be foolish to think of things like culture, tradition and ethics rather than thinking of more realistic and productive things like profits and gains!

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