A clear mandate stumps one and all!

16^th May was indeed a historic day for the Indian democracy, a tad more historic than the day when Mr Kejriwal stunned one and all by his unbelievable feat in Delhi polls. But let us hope that Mr Modi doesn’t become history as the former has become due to his melodramatic and outrageous ways. These elections were the biggest and probably the course defining one for the Indian politics and hence any other result in terms of a fractured mandate would have only dented our nations hope for progress immensely. So more than the elected members of parliament our countrymen deserve a big pat on the back for this decisive mandate. The writing was pretty much clear on the wall but not many could perhaps read it, in fact the UPA cadre and other non-NDA groups made a mockery of themselves in the run-up to the elections through their rather over the top campaign. Here is a comical snapshot of the same –

Mr Nitish SECULAR Kumar supposedly made a tactical move by breaking away from NDA well in advance, as he had a strong view that projecting Modi as a PM will not only impact the secular credentials of our country but will reduce BJP as well in tatters. He even blushed on the occasions when he was asked about leading the third front and being the next PM. Now with just 2 seats to show up against his name, I believe Mr Kumar will have to wait for his dream of being the PM of a secular India. In fact his immediate target will be to avoid his party’s extinction from his home state and taking RJD’s support for the same will not to do any good to his long term political ambitions.

Mr Rahul EMPOWERED Gandhi & Co. have been pressing upon Mr Modi’s dictatorial ways and mocking BJPs infighting for long but a rather shameful all-time low of just  44 seats clearly reflects on how Congress/UPA have misused the mandate given to them by this nation. As a matter of fact if the former government would have been just half as dictatorial as they have been projecting Mr Modi to be, our nation would have been in a much better state today. And if only they could EMPOWER their party men to think beyond the Gandhi clan it will do wonders to the fast plummeting fortunes of the oldest and most respected party of modern day India.

Mr Arvind HYSTERICAL Kejriwal who has successfully hogged more limelight than even the Modis and Gandhis of the world for all his over the top theatrical acts, also have been very vocal about how detrimental BJP would be for our nation, if elected to power. He even went on to publically boast of a minimum tally of 100 seats for his party, forget this ambitious tally, he could only manage a meagre 4 seats with a complete wipe out in Delhi, clearly reflecting people’s angst against his cheap histrionics. Now if he can sombre down and concentrate more on anything and everything other than being in the headlines and pulling down other political leaders, it will contribute well towards his high political ambitions.

Ms PM to be Mayawati who was pretty sure and determined that BJP and certain Mr Modi can never be the PM of this country and she will throw her weight to any extent to not let that happen was also left in shambles after the results. Leave apart her long withstanding PM ambitions, she can’t even imagine to throw any weight with her tally of ‘0’ seats. She has been absolutely decimated not only across India but even in her own bastion. She certainly has a mammoth task in her hands in not just reviving her own image but also her party’s fortunes too for the next assembly polls in UP.

Ms Mamta Mercurial Banerjee, despite a good performance in the general elections couldn’t become a king maker and a party spoiler for BJP and NaMo as she has been aggressively aiming at, in the run up to the general elections. The overall national results have not only stumped her and caught her off guard but have also dented her long term national ambitions. Only if she could have channelized her wrath in the right direction it would have done her a lot of good but she is still better than most of the other political bigwigs who have faced a bitter embarrassment with the May 16^th verdict.

And the list of these big-mouthed ministers can go on and so can their notorious claims but smart have been those who have allied with the BJP and joined NDA well in time. People like Paswan, Naidu and Thackerys have been smart to have gauged the tide and rightly sailed through it. Although, such frivolous commentating and rather hilarious mud-slinging does happen every election season but the kind of mandate that the people of this country have given, makes it look all the more funny. But as much as this clear mandate has stumped the losers so has it stumped the BJP too, now Mr Modi and his team have no other option but to translate this clear mandate in building a strong, inclusive and developed India that engages effectively with the global community, otherwise there won’t be much of a difference between them and the people on the other side of the fence.

 

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Modi and his team certainly don’t have any excuse to fall back upon, they will have to deliver to repay for this strong mandate!

Why (not), Modi?

Modi Modi everywhere, but is he really worth the silverware? This is the overwhelming sentiment across the nation, as the biggest election show of the earth keeps the entire world enchanted with its magnanimity. There is no doubt about the fact that the key theme of this general election in India is certainly Modi, not only for BJP, but even for Congress, AAP, SP, BSP and all other political parties. Where on one hand BJP is busy in propagating how good Modi is, all others are running helter-skelter to prove that he is nothing more than a marketing phenomenon and his real identity lies in communal un-events like 2002 Gujrat riots.

And as the election season reaches its crescendo every Indian has turned into a political analyst, with very strong and self-proclaimed righteous view point. For some Modi led BJP is the only way forward for the nation, mainly due to Modi’s strong and authoritative personality driven primarily by a commendable development track record in Gujrat. But practically this view point is an epitome of optimism, as neither Modi nor BJP has any Potter-esque magic wand that can solve or undo India’s long ailing problems. Also, a hypothesis of transforming India into a Gujrat style development model won’t be the most prudent solution for two reasons – 1. By nature every state in India has a unique landscape, so a one size fits all philosophy will certainly not work. 2. Marketing gimmicks aside, the so called universally famed Gujrat development model is by no means a fool proof model, it has as many downsides as its perceived pros.

So does this mean that the Modi bubble is pretty similar to BJP’s India Shinning bubble of 2004? Does this also means that all the detractors of Modi are correct in propagating against a Modi led government coming to power? May be yes, may be no. Hence, the bigger question in this scenario is that what are the alternative options we have in hand that can go ahead and form a stable and promising government at the centre. Modi’s detractors propagate against him on communalism fears, dictatorial apprehensions and divisive politics but doesn’t these issues hold true with the incumbent or for that matter any political party that claims stake for the top spot. There are enough facts floating around that prove this true for all the leading political parties in India.

With such a background, if not for Modi led BJP, shall we opt for Congress again, the only other political party of the national stature and standing? But after all kind of lows that we have seen in the last decade in terms of inflation, poverty, unemployment, scams etc. this by no means seem to be a logical option, unless people want to repeat their mistakes and invite guaranteed misery for five more years. So can it be AAP, the new found sensationalism specialists but I believe a majority will agree that a PM sitting on Dharna in front of the India Gate won’t be a scene they would like to endorse, leave apart expecting development and other rather ambitious virtues from them. Or can a pot-pouri of all the smaller regional parties offer a solution to India’s long list of problems? Which I believe won’t be any less than a ‘tamasha of epic proportions’, keeping in mind the mercurial stature Maya, Jaya, Mamta et al. Or shall we go for the latest entrant in the house, NOTA, which seem to be the most relevant alternative keeping in mind the not so viable options we have in hand. Irony is that NOTA can be an option but it can’t be a solution, it can be a strong means to show our angst against the BJPs, Congress and AAPs of the nation but it can’t give us a strong PM for next 5 years.

So it brings us back to the moot question that when have been electing and re-electing same set of lackadaisical leaders for last 60 years, why can’t we give one chance to someone who at least looks strong, decisive and committed in his approach, appeal and assurances to the common man. In the worst case scenario he will also fail to meet our expectations as the leaders in the past have been doing as well but at least we will have that satisfaction that we have not repeated our mistakes and have given a shot to all possible avenues in hand. After all this country is not an registered asset of any single political party or family.

Cynicism apart it’s really the time to think Why, not Modi?  

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Some might profess to vote for a good candidate irrespective of his/her party, which seems very intelligent too but the problem in our country is that any non-BJP vote is effectively a vote for the Congress. AAP’s Delhi pun intended.

The Voting Day Euphoria!

I was more than excited for 17th of April 2014 over the last few weeks, as it happened to be the poling day in Pune for the 2014 general elections. And this led to checking for my name in the updated voter list for more than three occasions, I also happened to do a recee of the Indira Gandhi Primary School, that was my scheduled polling booth, as if the school will somehow cease to exist. And not to miss I have been brainwashing my maids, society security personnel as well about the importance of not just voting but voting for a change.

 

But this excitement was not just about getting inked or deriving pleasure by pressing the EVM button, it stemmed from the ongoing frustration about the kind of life we have been leading in the last 5 years, rather 10 years to be precise. And this dubious list of reason is too long and well known to be captured in a write-up like this but the only thing that a common man like me can do to protest against such a despondent governance is to exercise ones right to vote, vote for a change and inspire people around us to do so. Because, unless we exercise this right judiciously we don't have a right to crib for the next five years.

 

So when the much awaited day of 17th April arrived, despite a declared holiday, we got ready early in the morning and set out to exercise our weapon. But the scene across the streets and especially in my polling booth was unbelievable, people have not only thronged in huge no's to cast their vote but their exuberance was worth appreciating too. So much so that most of the people that have come around not only carried their voter id card but were equipped with their Aadhar cards, ration cards, driving licenses and passports too, just in case their names are in the voter list, they will do come what may to furnish all kinds of proofs to prove themselves as an eligible voter and exercise their right. There was stern resolve, a sense of determination in every voters face, that clearly signified a message of 'its my day and its my country'.

 

Though, there were incidents of cash distribution in some of my friend's polling stations, up to the extent of Rs.10,000/- for the educated and Rs. 5,000/- for the uneducated ones. But this was pretty much on the expected lines, as I have been hearing about my maids being paid Rs. 500/- to attend some political rally last week, silk saris being sold for throw away prices that had wrappers of the contesting candidates and lavish dinner been thrown by the same candidates to woo voters from the posh residential societies. But the best part was that despite all such attempts neither the folks who were offered up to Rs.10,000/-, nor the maids who were wowed by the cash and kind nor the elite class who were lured by such gestures were shaken in their resolve to vote for a change. Everybody had the same thing to say, 'we are not fools to get trapped for five more years by such irreverent freebies'. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the logic given by one of friends after accepting Rs10,000/- from one such tout, he said, 'see I have anyways voted for the one I wanted to and I am also sure that even if a new guy comes in he wont be any different, so its better I take this amount and use it in paying it back to them while getting any of my official work done, which is by all means an undocumented but a mandatory practice now'. Such is the acumen of today's voter:-)!

All said and done, exercising ones right to vote gives an immense sense of pride and a kick of sorts, that we have done our bit in choosing wisely for a better tomorrow. It can be rightfully argued that all the political parties and leaders are one and the same but even if the new guy is also equally bad we can at least console ourselves by the fact that we have not repeated our mistakes by not voting and letting the same guy ruin our lives for five more years. Let us all hope that more and more people rightfully vote this time around and contribute towards a better India!

Don't just vote but vote smartly!

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For the love of the movies...

In India, if there are two trades that form the staple diet in terms of people's passion or hobbies, its surely got to be Bollywood and Cricket. Though, there can be a handful who might not be interested in either of these but still a majority will surely have a point of view on both these trades. And you can strike a good conversation with them on either of these topics, as is evident in any 'paan-shop', 'restaurant', 'train compartment' or any public place. We Indians just love to press upon our opinions on both these rather massy topics quite vehemently.

So if we leave aside Cricket as topic for some other day and just talk about Bollywood for now we can still get into lot of interesting contours. I often come across a lot of my elders, be it my parents or uncles who strongly lament about the fact that the standard of movies these days has gone down to shameless lows. They feel that not only a strong wave of vulgarity has taken over the movies that are on offer these days but also there is huge dip in the overall content, in terms of message that movies of the yesteryears use to convey. I kind of agree and disagree on this at the same time. I agree on the vulgarity aspect that has taken the front seat in most of content that is served to us but I disagree on the fact that we no longer have meaningful family oriented cinemas been created these days, how about '3 Idiots', 'Barfi', 'Kahaani', 'Taare Zameen Par' and 'Chak De' to name a few. Will they not stand at par with any of the yesteryear gems?

Interestingly, there is new category of cinema that has established itself in recent years, the so called intelligent, multiplex, internationally acclaimed film category, may be an upgraded version of the erstwhile 'Art Film' category. Movies like 'Dor', 'Mod', 'Slum Dog Millionaire' and 'The Lunch Box' will suitably fall in this category. Not taking anything away from the cinematic brilliance of such movies, I often fail to form  a definitive opinion about such movies. I do like most of these movies for there excellent story telling ways but I can somehow never fathom the basis of the huge critical acclaim they garner internationally. I feel these movies more often than not depict the rural/semi urban aspect of India with an intent to wow the urban/international audiences and thereby pose a strong case for themselves in the global award categories. And if this is not true, then why are these rural/semi urban plot based movies not released in rural/semi urban single screen theatres? Will the people there not connect with these stories better? Or the intent of making these movies is just to win those international awards by showcasing the not so good  and sorry aspect of India?

But a section among us kind of defines there taste by strongly advocating such movies at the expense of potboilers like 'Dabang', 'Singhams' and 'Chennai Express'. There is no point discussing the merits of the latters but to prove oneself intellectually superior by advocating the former, is totally irrational. For the simple reason that if you don't like a particular type of cinema please don't watch it and also please don't like a particular type of cinema just because the so called 'intelligent few' have liked it and unless you too do so you won't graduate to the intelligent category.

I believe the beauty of Indian cinema lies in the diversity its offers. On one hand we have the no brainer masala entertainers like Dabang, then on the other we have the Lunch Boxes as well and then we also have the ZNMDs and Milkhas of the world. Where else will you get such a diversified platter to pick and choose from. I for myself watch all kinds of cinema, though I am most inclined towards the ZNMD, DCH and Milkha category. Not that I can't stand the Dabangs and Singhams of the world or can't understand the delectable Lunch Boxes but if given a choice I would rather opt for the 1st of the 3 categories.

 

But then the real fun lies in striking an interesting movie conversation with effervescent massy film lover or the rather classy internationally acclaimed movies, aficionado. Because neither of these movie lovers are less by any means in there love and passion for Indian Cinema. And this passion howsoever different keeps the movie buzz alive even outside the cinema halls.

Long live BOLLYWOOD and long live it's variety!

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For those who really care - Jinhe Desh ki fikr hai!

The new season of the Satyamev Jayate started with much fanfare this weekend much to the build-up that was created in the last few weeks. And the kind of innovative and rather emotional flavour that was associated with its re-launch ensured in striking the right chord with the masses. No doubt people have been a tad more cautious in not breaking the traffic signals these days just to ensure that they ‘care for the country’, pretty much on the ‘jinhe desh ki fikr hai’ tag lineJ.

One of the key factors that lends a lot of credibility to Satyamev Jayate is Aamir Khan’s association and close involvement in each of these critical issues. He makes the overall effort look so credible and believable, that you tend to envy him for his ever so impeccable and perfect ways. Some may argue that at times certain portions of the show do appear overly dramatic but that doesn’t  take anything away from the overall noble intentions of the show. This show has succeeded in bringing very tough and awkward issues into our drawing rooms that we have so far evaded discussing or contemplating upon, together with our family members. And that surely is the first and the most important step in working towards these serious issues and the new tag line ‘jinhe desh ki fikr hai’ rightly emphasizes on it.

So assuming that ‘those who care for the country’ implies to every citizen of this nation and urges them to be responsible and vocal against anything that is unjust, makes everyone accountable of anything untoward happening around us. It rightly gives a sense of direction on how we can bravely tackle these situations without being thwarted by them. Also,it clearly outlines about the state machineries whom we should rightfully reach out to register our grievances and call for an immediate action against the culprits involved. But is this enough? Not to undermine what Satyamev Jayate is trying to achieve through its manifold initiatives, not to sound too cynical about the ask from every citizen to care for the country. This is certainly not enough.

Not enough, because even if a considerable no. of people start caring for the country by becoming proactive and alert even on the issues that are not impacting them directly, it won’t totally solve the larger problem in our country. And the reason is simple, unless the office bearers, decision/policy makers and government officials start to care for our country, a common man’s care won’t make much of a difference. Imagine a situation, a set of caring, responsible and aware citizens going to a police station to report an anti-social incident but the officer  in charge refuses to cooperate, what good can that new found awareness and care do? It would rather demotivate the common man further to believe that nothing productive can be done in the present day context. So, as much is the need to make the common man aware and equipped with their roles and responsibilities towards our nation, which Satyamev Jayate is rightly doing, there is a larger need for a mass conscience awakening of our bureaucrats and politicians towards their role in making our nation a better place to live, for the generations to come.

Without doubt Aamir Khan and his team deserve lot of credit for what they are trying to achieve through their television show. But only if our office bearers can also join the ‘jinhe desh ki fikr hai’ bandwagon, our nation would be much better place to live far sooner. And to start with they can do their bit by proactively adhering and enforcing the accountability measures like Jan Lokpal Bill and RTI across departments and thereby showcasing their intent and care for the country. Alas, a day will then come when we don’t have to worry for our country!

Satyamev Jayate!

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Living life by the weekends!

When I was a school kid I eagerly awaited my summer/winter vacations and had big plans for those precious days ahead. Same was the fascination being in college, as all the big plans that can’t be executed during the academic session were to be implemented during these vacations. But as the graduation from academic life to professional life  took place, the idea of vacation got restricted to a bucket of approximately 20 odd vacation leaves that had to be consumed across the year. So anything special be it a family get together, dinner with good friends, outings, shopping etc. all have to be planned for the weekends or the 24 carat gold-esque long weekends.

No doubt it’s so very exciting to wait for the weekends with Monday being the most dreaded day and Friday being the most liked one but in retrospect when I compare life today with what it was for say, my dad while I was a kid, it’s totally contrasting. Firstly, we never knew about the concept of weekend then, it was only Sunday as the weekly off for him and may be an additional half day off on Saturdays. And secondly, nothing was planned specifically for Saturdays or Sundays, it was all done on the fly with an unstated understanding that all days are alike. So if I had to buy some clothes it was done right after my dad’s day at work and wasn’t pushed to the Saturday/Sunday to-do list. Same applied for b ’day dinners, visiting close family friends, watching movies or any other trivial or critical task. Neither was my dad  tired to pursue these activities post his hectic day at work nor was anybody else at home. But today to imagine anything after even a normal and not so tiring day at office, is like asking for one’s life. It inevitably had to be pushed for the weekend.

But why such a drastic change in our mind set? The weekly work hours still remain the same as they were 20 years back, in fact tad lesser considering most of us have Saturdays off. Also, most of us work in the comforts of well-equipped air-conditioned offices without breaking a sweat, very much in contrast to how office life was for our parents in their youth. Some can argue that the things like travel, competition and mental pressure today take lot of toll but surely even our parents had their own share of stress in their work places. So why are we not as agile when it comes to doing anything post our work hours. Why are we so reluctant on week days and so much dependent on weekends? Probably because we don’t want to stretch ourselves and come out of our comfort zone.

And when our parents empathize with our routine saying that you guys have such a tough life working from morning till late evening, it probably further strengthens our belief that our life is much harder than what it was for our parents. But it is a grossly over rated belief. While we conveniently or rather lazily push even the smallest of tasks for weekend, our parents hardly did that, in fact they dutifully catered to anything and everything we asked for, after their work hours. So while we have knowingly or unknowingly adapted to the western way of living the life by the weekends all too mechanically and lazily our parents certainly deserve a lot of credit on how they managed everything without waiting or pushing things for the illusive weekendJ.

Surely one of the many things that we can learn and adopt from them.

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Cricketification of Life!

Some things in life have such a deep impact on our thought process that we start living life by those activities. For instance a man deeply in love with food forms opinion about people and places by the food associated with them. A man passionate about reading judges his friends and colleagues by the books they read. A man obsessed with his clothing forms an opinion about others based on what they wear. Surprisingly, I too have one such rather weird habit of correlating everything in life by different scenarios in a cricketing context, all for my immense love for the game.

So if I am driving in a terribly choc-o- bloc traffic I kind of relate it with how Rahul Dravid would have patiently played a quality spinner like Warne or Murali, tactfully finding gaps between the fielders (read between the vehicles), ignoring the constant chirping of closing fielders (read honking vehicles) and on instances dancing down the track to maximize on the rare opportunity (read making use of by lanes to beat the traffic).

On scenarios when my wife is giving me an earful on anything that I haven’t done per her expectations, I tend to relate that barrage session with Tendulkar (read myself) facing Steyn (read my fearsome wife) on a green pitch and negotiating the on-fire assassin by leaving most of deliveries outside off stump (read silently listening to furious wife). As trying to hit back (read argue) an inform Steyn (read angry wife) is risking your wicket (read inviting more trouble in front of the indomitable wife). The same has also held good years back with my mom and her lectures too, though Mc Grath doned Steyn’s role then.

Often, I have also related the holy trinity of Indian batting i.e Sachin, Rahul and Sourav with the kings of Bollywood. With Salman being Sourav, for his maverick and shirt less ways, Aamir being Rahul for his perfectionist and impeccable approach towards whatever he indulges in and Shahrukh being Sachin for his larger than life persona and unmatchable popularity among commoners.

Similarly, whenever I have driven my car on the Mumbai Pune expressway, putting my foot on the pedal driving on the top gear, I have likened it to Gayle’s carnage against quality bowlers in the slog overs of any one day match. The analogy is all too obvious and similar, uninhibited but calculative.

Also, whenever I am stuck in a high pressure situation in office or elsewhere, which involves tactfully dealing with stakeholders and handling the situation with a very cool head I tend to relate it to how Dhoni would have handled the situation in a pressure cooker scenario during the fag end of a crucial encounter. All, with a very calm and composed head, handling it like just another event in life.

And there are multiple such scenarios and analogies that keep cropping up day in day out. I call it as ‘cricketification of my life’. Weird but funny! And I am sure this happens with everyone, its Cricket for me, for others it could be music, reading, travelling or any of their favourite hobbies. One probably tends to correlate various scenarios of life to what he or she is more attached to and thereby attempts to simplify life and keep learning from what one loves to do J!              

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The New Year Resolution Gimmick!

Ideally, this blog should have come on the 1^st week of the year, as that happens to be the week of making and breaking the resolutions for the year ahead but thankfully I never made any such resolution to pen this down on the 1^st week itself. So I am yet to be convicted for resolution breaking crime for the year. But that is what usually happens when it comes to making resolutions and adhering to it for the entire year and in turn keeps most of the people away from this ‘resolution of the year’ gimmick. No doubt the most popular resolution of the year across the globe happens to be ‘ to not make any resolutions this year. Albeit, the safest and easiest resolution one can think ofJ.

And the second most popular resolution being ‘ to lose x kgs of weight this year’. This though, also happens to be the most frequently violated resolution of all times. My wife, however, terms this resolution business as stupidity and people like me who indulge into this as kid dish and immature. But these views (like many of her other views), hardly have any bearing on my actions. That said I have been into this resolution making, keeping and breaking business for a long time now. The much enlightened and learned people like my wife find it a futile pursuit but I have always enjoyed making my own resolutions (writing a blog every week, going for a minimum 2 vacations in the year, restraining from junk food, staying fit through regular workout etc.) at the beginning of every year and tried my best to pursue it throughout the year. At times without much success but mostly successfully. I feel these self-made challenges makes our routine life some-what exciting, tad more interesting and gives us opportunities to learn or improve upon any good habits.

Like every year I have a list ready for this year too with a sense of hope and excitement to fulfil most of these items in next eleven odd months –

-          Resolution 1: To write at least 2 blogs every month – the least I can do for my love of writing and so far I am bang on target for this oneJ

-          Resolution 2: To explore the world of sea food – have restrained from doing so for last 15 years but have already taken a plunge into this one last week by tasting a sumptuous konkan fried fish and trust me it promises to be an interesting year ahead on this frontJ

-          Resolution 3: To not indulge into any unnecessary arguments or wittily mocking anyone – An important clarification - this hasn’t been enforced on me by my wify and is supposedly expected to be applied outside the boundaries of our house tooJ

-          Resolution 4: To read at least 12 good books this year – That makes it a minimum of 1 for every month and I am already lagging behind on this 1, with January already behind meL

-          Resolution 5: To gift something really good to my wife – The toughest, most improbable but highest on the priority list. I am due big time on this one and I feel it’s prudent now to pay this one off in the interest of my long term happinessJ

So these set of resolutions will not only have a huge bearing on my mind throughout the year but will also impact people around me, hopefully for good. And the public declaration makes it even more challenging, interesting and all the more compelling for me to achieve most of what I have thought of. But the driving force behind this entire exercise is the gratification that one gets on achieving even a semblance of what has been targeted, it’s truly a priceless feeling! So I really hope that I achieve most of what I have targeted for, because there would surely be periodic checkpoints throughout the year on some of these, at homeJ

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Idea of a good life!

Every morning we at office have this habit of going for a tea just outside our office premises which is complemented by our usual office chit chat, gossiping and a dose of career centric cribbing. But yesterday I was taken aback, when during our tea outing one of my colleague asked me – ‘ So what is your idea of a good life?’ Taken aback, not just because I had to actually think through before answering but also because we hardly get into such off the track and rather philosophical discussions in officeJ.

Nevertheless, after a momentary thoughtful pause I replied back saying that ‘for me an idea of a good life would be to make a living out of something about which I am really passionate about, something that I really enjoy doing’. With a wry smile on his face, pat came my friend’s counter question, ‘So are you passionate and in love with your job here’. This time around I replied back without any thoughtful pause, ‘Of course not, with no acknowledgement or appreciation for the slogging we do here, there is hardly any motivation to actually enjoy the work’. But even before I could finish answering, my friend pounced on me asking  - So if you get your dues in terms of timely acknowledgement and appreciations for your hard work will you start enjoying your work here and get passionate about it? I replied back saying ‘may be not passionate about it but for sure I won’t be cribbing about it as much then’. This discussion ended in sometime but without a conclusive or a convincing  answer to ‘what is your idea of a good life?’.

But somehow that question got stuck in my mind, to an extent that I started to delve on it even further. So what is that I enjoy doing in life? Most certainly writing, travelling and sports would top the chart for me. So can I make a living out of it now? Some might say I am too old to start in any of these trades professionally nowJ. And to leave a reasonably settled (albeit boring) career in IT with an added responsibility of a lovely family and not to forget two fat loans to be repaid, makes it seem all  the more unviable. Unless, I opt for the treacherous path of starting from the scratch, but that again would be a big gamble and beyond practical means.

What does one do then to overcome the routine discontentment and boredom? Understandably, to make a living out of something you love doing would need a focussed effort towards it and to start that in parallel with your current job isn’t all that easy. But if we leave aside the monetary aspect and can just rekindle our love with those activities that we enjoyed pursuing earlier in our lives, it will still make us feel rejuvenated amidst most boring of routines. For instance, a session of cricket with friends on the weekends does wonder to freshen up and relive those good old childhood days. A vacation or two every year not only gives us a golden chance to explore the world around us but also keeps us in high spirits throughout the year. Spending some time off to read an interesting book reminds us on what we have been missing for all these days and forces us to rekindle this beautiful habit of reading. Though this list of priceless nothings may vary from an individual to other but the list is endless.

So the idea of having a good life starts from our own identification of things that we love to do in life. And then to spare some time off for these things from our otherwise boring and monotonous routine. But often we fail to identify what is that we love to do in life and even if we have the realization we fail to indulge in those activities. Ironically, there are very few who actually make a living out of something they love to do in life and even fewer actually indulge in something they love doing in their lives. But the idea of a happy life is not about doing something extraordinary or out of the box, it’s just about reinventing ourselves and pursuing something that we have loved doing all our life.

Life is after all  not as hard as we perceive it to be but is rather what we make out of it!

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Aam Aadmi Party - An Ordinary Party?

What a sensational debut! Of the kinds that can even leave the most successful sportsmen, musicians or actors gasp in awe, leave apart just the politicians. Nobody, quite literally nobody, would have given Arvind Kejriwal half of what he has achieved through his baby, AAP in the Delhi assembly polls. Political opponents laughed them off at every possible opportunity, media didn’t pay much attention to their on the ground histrionics and none (except one) of the exit polls projected anything substantial against them. So to achieve what they have achieved in their first outing is not only historic but brave and commendable too. Hats off Mr Kejriwal! Well done AAP!


What is even more heart warming is the fact that whatever success or popularity they have garnered is not just due to a strong anti-incumbency wave but also because a fresh bout of progressive thought process they have brought in for the common man. They have not just campaigned asking for votes but they have also gone out of their way, deployed their time, effort and money and worked for the common to make their lives better. They have not just promised freebies and big sops in their election manifesto but have also delivered some of them soon after taking charge. No wonder people have so much faith in them now, not just in Delhi but also across the nation. Everyone wants a piece of AAP infused governance in their lives and surprisingly politics isn’t a dirty word anymore. There is huge influx of people across all walks of society queuing up to join AAP with a vision to contribute towards the betterment of our nation. Such has been their impact, such has been a sense of hope they have inculcated in a common’s man mind.

But is it actually all so rosy and meritorious with AAP, as it looks? Certainly not. But then there is nothing that is picture perfect in this world and also we do have a knack of fault finding in anything and everything, howsoever good it might be. And if we compare whatever vices AAP/Kejriwal have, it would seem minuscule in comparison to other political players in the fray. Technically, they (AAP) have just started their journey and will naturally commit lot of mistakes and take at least some time before they substantially achieve any of their stated objectives. But personally I have found some of their moves post assembly poll results as shocking, not to undermine what they have achieved so far through their good work and bravado though.

At the first place, what was the hurry to form the government? The lamest excuse or explanation for that could be to avoid a re-election and save lot of public money. But I think they would have done much better or learned far more being in the opposition than actually sitting in the government. They have anyways done a great job by winning 28 seats in their first outing, they would have only become stronger had they chosen to sit in the opposition and act as a very strong and constructive opposition instead.

Secondly, why this alliance with Congress? One may say what’s wrong in allying with any party, if the overall agenda is focussed around progressive governance. But surprising, when the very basis of the formation of their party was to free the people from the shackles of so called corrupt and ineffective Congress (& BJP) leaders. Also when, AAP’s entire poll campaign revolved around abhorring the mis-deeds of Congress leaders by virtue of innumerable scams, exorbitantly high inflation and several other failures on all fronts, it seems all the more shocking. And most surprisingly when their leader (read Kejriwal) publically swore on her daughter that come what may he will never ally with Congress, it baffles one and all beyond understanding. One political defence around this could be that every politician backtracks on lot of such things post-election results. But wasn’t Mr Kejriwal supposed to be different from current breed of politicians? Wasn’t AAP supposed to be a party with a difference? I think a Congress free governance was one of the reason why a majority of voters voted for AAP. So isn’t this a cheating of a familiar sorts? Amusingly, Kejriwal went ahead and defended his alliance stating that we never went to Congress and asked for support, they came on their own and supported us. And that I believe is one of the most immature and hilarious statements he would have given in public till date.

And then a flurry of bloopers to add to it. In the lead up to the Delhi polls Kejriwal/AAP kept on emphasizing that they have enough proofs against Sheila Dikshit to frame her for corruption as soon as they come to power. But after taking charge when the leader of opposition Mr Harshvardhan asked Mr Kejriwal to take action against the former CM, Mr Kejriwal blatantly asked Mr Harshvardhan to provide him with the proofs against her and he will act on them. So where have your erstwhile proofs (that contributed in your coming to power) gone Mr Kejriwal?

A week after the oath taking ceremony, there was a press release from AAP that they will push for more reservations in colleges and government jobs. But weren’t you preaching about meritocracy all this while before coming to power? And then why this haste in providing freebies like free water and cheap electricity? Of course, it’s a welcome change for the common man but will it not impact the overall state budget or is it just to lure the people outside of Delhi towards them and increase the enrolments before the LokSabha polls through such popular antics.

On one hand their austerity moves like coming for oath ceremony by metro rail, not taking up government bungalows and vehicles, doing away with the ‘red batti’ culture is a refreshing change for the Indian politics but some of their outrageous bloopers make them look like any other political party of the past. But it hurts in their (AAP) case because as per them the very basis of their formation was to do away with such age old back flips and short sighted populism based politics.

But with AAP’s and Kejriwal’s growing popularity across the nation one thing is for sure that AAP will have a big impact in the upcoming 2014 general elections. And the biggest loser out of this AAP phenomena would be BJP, with Congress all set to enjoy this even in their downward spiral. And the way AAP has shown no reservations in allying with Congress in Delhi, don’t be surprised if we have a re-run of a Congress led government for another 5 years. And we all know what good Congress/UPA has done to our country in the last 10 years. Not that with BJP coming to power things will be all hunky dory but at least we will have some hope and may be a semblance of satisfaction that we have done our best in not repeating our mistake by re-electing the same government against whom we have been cribbing for a long time.

So if AAP & Kejriwal can stick to what they have promised through their idealist and pleasantly surprisingly refreshing manifesto and campaigning, it will not only do a lot of good to them in the longer run but more importantly, will also do a lot of favour to the people of this country. Otherwise it will remain to be Indian politics as usual.
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