Independence. Yay!

Independence Day for us has always been a synonym for 15^th August, a holiday, PM’s red fort speech, sweets and a fluttering Tri colour. In fact, as we have moved on from school, it has just become a welcome day off in our busy lives and if you happen to be outside India you don’t even have a day off to remind you of this historic day. Hardly do we think about the sacrifices of our martyrs that has allowed us to lead such a convenient life. But does Independence just means breaking free from the shackles of a super power and running one’s own country? No, Independence means a lot more!

 

Independence is when you are not bound by the liabilities of home loan, personal loan or car loan, which in turn forces you to pursue a job for a living, even if you are not buoyant on pursuing it. If one can make a living out of something he/she really loves doing, that for sure is Independence.

Independence is when a wife can shop whatever she yearns for without a frown on his Husband’s face. Husband’s might get uncomfortable and not buy this philosophy but if they can let their wives do what they wish to, they will not only make their wives happier but will also earn for themselves some Independence credits, that they can leverage for their benefit in futureJ.

Independence is when an employee has a free hand to do his job his way rather than doing it his boss’s way. No wonder managers who give their employees this independence are the more successful and popular ones. Some may argue that employees can misuse this independence but this is a trade-off which surely reaps benefits in the longer run.

Independence is when a husband has the liberty to enjoy his boys night outs without the fears of his wife’s repeated calls and painstaking interrogation. However, this level of independence is very tough to achieve and hence can be graded as the highest level of independence :P.

Independence is when you can go out on a vacation whenever you want, wherever you wish for, without worrying about your work, family or any other commitments. Howsoever, enticing this idea seems, our social and economic obligations make it a very arduous and an unviable one.  

Independence is when you can gulp your favourite ice cream without worrying about the associated calories. Independence is when you can be in the playground for ever without caring about your studies. Independence is when you can drive on the highway without worrying about the maximum speed limit. Independence is when you can read your favourite book without losing sleep about being disturbed by anyone. Understandably, there are lot of rules and ethics that have to be taken care of but in a nut shell Independence is a state of mind. A free state of mind to be precise.

An Independent state of mind allows you to unwind, rejoice and pursue life with an assertive perspective. So one should not only refrain from treating his Independence for granted but should also value and respect it to the core. And for the price we pay to achieve any form of Independence, we should celebrate and cherish it every single day.

Happy Independence Day!

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kin…

PS - And in present day context, Independence is when your wife happily allows you to be active on your WhatsApp groups J

Last seen at.....WhatsApp!

I still remember my high school days when internet was a new phenomenon and internet cafes were popping up all across the town. Although, the superficial motive of the visits to these cafes was to keep a tab on several entrance exams application dates and their results, the real motive was to explore  the exciting world of chatting, surfing and testing the newer avenues of recently found  adulthood. As a matter of fact owning a mobile phone was considered to be a luxurious proposition, forget about making outgoing calls,  even the incoming calls were chargeable. STD/PCO booths were the only medium to unwind oneself and to keep ones teenage romance bloomingJ. 

Howsoever exciting, these were not so cheap options, more so being a student. An hourly slot at any internet café costed an upward of  Rs. 50/-, a black and white print out of the hall ticket amounted up to Rs. 15 per page and an incoming call on your rich friend’s mobile costed Rs. 4 per minute, local outgoing being over Rs. 8 per minute.  The world though was still very beautiful despite such high communication tariffs and life certainly was a tad less complicated. 

Those were the days when we used to wait in the internet cafes for our turns to log on to the yahoo messengers and start chatting with random girls with the customary Hi, asl (age,sex,location)please? messages. Any responses with ‘As’ under 25, ‘S’ being ‘F’ and ‘Ls’ being Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore were the most cherished and treasured ones. Romance, friendship and love were the most sought after chat rooms, obviously notwithstanding the more popular adult chat rooms. As the times passed, the internet became cheaper, newer medium of socialising came in and Orkut became one of the most talked about platforms of those times. People were valued by the no. of scraps in their accounts and ones with a handful of testimonials on their account were considered to be the god’s chosen souls. Queues for late night calling at STD/PCO booths also dried up with free incoming and cheaper outgoings on the mobile phones, as if the telecom ministry itself now wanted every youth of this country to have a flourishing and hassle free love lifeJ. 

And in the last decade or so things have changed drastically. Today, one can’t imagine a life without a smart phone and 24*7 internet access. Howsoever, nuclear our lives have become, mediums like Facebook enable us to know all the tits bits of every individual’s life. One might have not spoken to his graduation batch mate for over a decade but he is well aware of all his dates, vacations and promotions very precisely. Thanks to Facebook, thanks to the new age internet. And things are moving so fast, that what Facebook and Twitter did to Orkut might happen to them tomorrow. WhatsApp being the flavour of the last few seasons! Forwards jokes, personal messages, school groups, college groups, hostel groups, office groups, family group have made people so engrossed in this app that they hardly have any time for themselves. Thankfully, WhatsApp now provides the option of disabling ones activity tracking by opting out of ‘last seen at’ display, much as a relief from those annoying snoopers. 

Some may argue that these advances in technology and information industry has had a lot of detrimental effect in our lives, largely true as well unless we leverage them in the right proportion. But personally it gives me a lot of joy when my Dad & Mom, who were once sceptical about accessing internet or handling a smartphone over their hammer-esque mobile phones, can today confidently call me anytime for free using the Vibers, Skypes or other VOIP apps of the world. So much for the Rs. 4/- incoming and Rs. 140/- ISD calling of yesterday. 

And we just don’t know where we would stand, say 5 years from here. Probably we would be laughing over these WhatsApp days, as we do today for our not so old SMS daysJ.

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London Diaries 3 | The Lords Extravaganza.

Right from the beginning, one of the high priority items in terms of To Dos in London was a trip to Lords. Not just for the sheer love of the game and the rich history associated with Lords but more so with the kind of perception we have had while growing up and watching the Lords matches on TV. For instance, we were quite sure that there is a clear mandate here of 4 claps for a boundary, 6 for a maximum, 10 for a wicket and may be 15 for a half century and so on. Similarly, one couldn’t enter the stadium in anything but formal clothes and naturally the idea of taking off ones shirt and twirling it in air by some Bengali (not so) gentleman has been documented as the darkest day in the history and sanctity of  Lords – The Home of Cricket! So with such a rich baggage of perceptions in mind, who would not want to visit the Lords sooner than later, with a lot more fervour though, if India is playing a test against the hosts here.

The Build Up. I teamed up with one of friends for this match and booked the tickets a week in advance for the 3^rd day of the test. Assuming it to be the most riveting day of the test with a high probability of getting to watch both the teams batting that day. Although, the 90£/- billing of the ticket did cause a minor earthquake back home but for me it was all inconsequential keeping in mind the excitement attached to the overall experience. The build-up to the match in the media wasn’t in the favour of India, mainly due to our horrendous record here, having registered just a  single win here, that too around three decades back. That however didn’t had any bearing on our unbridled excitement, as the key focus was on experiencing the Lords magic.

The Apprehensions.  Once we got the tickets we countered a set of unique apprehensions. The instructions in the ticket spoke about not turning up for the match in fancy dresses, a subtle way of saying that be formal, its Lords. Not to carry any musical instruments like drums, trumpets or siren, a polite way of saying behave yourself, its Lords. The instructions also clearly stated about not moving from ones allotted seats between the overs, a mild way of saying we mean real business, its Lords. And many such uncharacteristic instructions like not to carry a camera, the hats should not be bigger than the prescribed limits, not to carry more than 2 pints of beer bottles and so on, again a very English way of saying, Gentlemen its Lords! We were confused on the fact that are we actually going for a Cricket match or for a Viva-Voce, nevertheless the excitement to experience the Lords magic was overpowering.

 
Day 3. Finally the much anticipated day arrived, arrived with a downcast morning and wet roads. I had a lump in my throat looking at the dark skies, fearing for the worst that it might actually be a rain curtailed day. Nonetheless, I got ready, put on a shirt to keep myself as close as possible to the Lords code of conduct and set out for THE destination. Thankfully, as the day progressed the skies cleared up and we had a perfect day in hand with full days of Cricket being played. We reached the stadia well before the schedule start of play, giving us ample time to have a look at the magnificent and historic stadium. When we reached our allocated stand, the first look of the lush green outfield, the famous Lords balcony and the grand media stand blew us away. It was all for real! The scene we have been watching for years on our television sets is all there to be seen with our naked eyes. It was certainly a great moment and with team India doing there warm up drills just in front of our stands, added to our excitement. We quickly lunged to the 1^st row, just yards away from the players, where MS was showcasing his great dribbling skills, Virat was as always in full style looking nothing less than a Bollywood star, muscular and tattooed Dhawan was twirling his moustaches with pride, lousy Ashwin was struggling to keep pace with the much fitter members of the team and the lanky Ishant Sharma was struggling to manage his locks in the brisk early morning wind. The fun, camaraderie and the friendly banter among our beloved stars was indeed a treat to watch and promised of a great day ahead.

The Cricket. In the morning session India did well to wrap up the England innings and much to our joy we got an opportunity to see our boys both bat and ball that day. So the ploy of coming on Day 3 worked for us. The post lunch session was a slow progress with Indian batters focussing on consolidating, leaving the spectators on the ground bored to death. However, the third session was a complete contrast with India losing a flurry of wickets and in turn giving away their position of strength and leaving the match in the perfect balance at the close of play. All in all it was a perfect day of Cricket, pretty much to the delight of connoisseurs of Test Cricket and nothing less than what a first timer at Lords would have asked for.

The Epic Moment. The match started with a backdrop of an ugly spat between James Anderson and Ravindra Jadeja in the previous test and hence the focus was naturally on these two players. So when Jadeja turned up to bowl to James Anderson , the English fans booed him vehemently. But the epic moment arrived when Jadeja got his prized scalp on his very first delivery and went on his customary celebratory run after that. It was indeed THE cricketing moment of the day for us, much to the dismay of the English fans.

Fan Club Tussle. It was one of those rare occasions for any India match where the no. of non -  Indian fans outnumbered the Indian contingent, so much so that the ratio actually stood to be around 80:20. So to cheer team India amidst such a sea of English fans was an effort none less than battling Anderson and Broad on the green Day 1 pitch. The stern stares from the neighbouring English fans every time we cheered an England wicket or an Indian boundary  told the entire story. To be honest it wasn’t the most comfortable of experiences but definitely a memorable one.

The day eventually ended and we headed back home with loads of photographs, lovely memories and an experience to savour for life. It wasn’t one of the most electric atmospheres when I compare it my other live match experiences in India but it still stands out. It was indeed a Lords experience. An experience that one can acknowledge and savour only by experiencing it. And two days later this experience turned all the more memorable and historic when India went on to win the match and achieved this unique feat after a gap of 28 long years. Only if we knew that they so desperately  wanted our presence in the viewing arena to win a match here, we would have turned up many years earlierJ.

The only thing that I missed though was the presence of The Sachin Tendulkar on the ground.Looking ahead for my next trip to Lords!
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kin…

 

 

London Diaries 2 | The notorious tendency to convert!

Prior to my UK travel I was getting plenty of very useful tips from my friends on what to take and what not to take while travelling and what to do and what not do while being in this new country. Some of these tips were quite obvious, some were quite new but all of them were surely handy. Some of the tips that are still fresh in my mind are -  to not take loads of warm clothes, as Indian woollen hardly works there, carry a pressure cooker as it is tough to find one there, carry handful of Maggie packets and more importantly a variety of pickles, as that will be ‘THE’ delicacy with the otherwise bland dal-rice. But the most emphatic and unanimous tips of all was to not convert or multiple anything and everything in rupees there.

 

Howsoever, innocuous and trivial this tip seemed at that point, it actually became a mind-boggler ever since I landed at Heathrow. And all this when I have a free hand while spending and almost extravagant ways while shopping, even despite that it’s too much of a task to ignore this conversion mania. And even if you succeed to ignore or by pass this through a strong resolve, your family and friends in India will ensure that you know how much you have spent in Indian rupees on such a trivial thingJ.

For instance, my relatives in India were shocked to know that I will have to pay over a lakh rupees (over £ 1000, considering 1£ = 100) just for my house rent, so much so that out of concern they even asked me to let them know in case I need any financial assistance to lead a good life out hereJ. Though, I finally managed to pacify there concerns but that probably made them believe that I am earning a bomb out here in LondonJ. Unfortunately, I didn’t had the logic and the patience to subside such grave misconceptions.

Similarly, when on one fine Sunday evening I couldn’t resist the temptation of feasting on my favourite samosas (4 for 3 £) and out of excitement I proudly called up my friend to tell him about this samosa binging in London. But rather than being happy about the fact that I have managed to locate a samosa shop  here, he was quick to mock me on the fact that I have spent around Rs 75 per samosa. I was a bit irritated and retorted saying that this is approximately what you pay for a samosa in a PVR or INOX, so why this fuss. Though it’s a different matter that neither at PVR’s and nor here at London, samosas are as sumptuous as they are in any of the local shops in India but then a samosa is a samosa, irrespective of the currency it is bought inJ.

My mom who was understandably worried about my eating arrangements here was delighted to know that I have managed to identify an Indian restaurant that serves home style ghee chapattis that I can eat with whatever curry I cook at home daily. But she was equally curious to know that how much it costs here, when I told her that its costs 1£ for 4 chapattis, she got furious swore and told ‘its costs just Rs 5/- here, I don’t know what is the point of leading such a painstaking life, so far off’. I couldn’t do much other than laughing out loud on this, however she was quick to call me back saying, ‘you don’t worry about money and the high cost chapattis, eat well, as health should be your top priority’J. So much for the London Chapattis!

The other day I casually told my wife that I am planning to go for the India England Lords test, scheduled to start later this month. She encouragingly told me to not miss this great opportunity at any cost but was also quick to ask me the cost of the ticket. I tried avoiding this question, but failed hopelessly as always. I smartly said ‘it’s just for hundred bucks’, to which she said ‘hundred rupees for a lords test match is a great deal’. I was happy that the storm has passed by and hence I tried hard to close this discussion then and there. But much to my misfortune the Sherlock in her woke up and she vehemently enquired again, is it 100 Rupees or 100 Pounds? And it’s a needless task to explain that what her reactions would have been on knowing that it’s for 100 PoundsL. After all, smartness in front of one’s wife is a thing of Chetan Bhagat’s overrated novels!

And the list of such experiences is a notoriously long one and this is something that you just can’t avoid in the first few weeks of your stay in any new country. You tend to compare, you tend to multiply and convert. In retrospect, it’s really funny at times but I have found out a rather interesting way to tackle this tendency – consider everything in £ as Rs. So 4 samosas for Rs 3, a lords test match ticket for Rs 100/-, 4 chapattis for Re 1 and a fully furnished flat for just over a 1000 Rs., makes it a beautiful world and a much easier lifeJ.

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The Magic of 100!

No other number has a similar ring attached to it as the number 100 has, neither 99 nor 101 nor for that matter any other number. There is some magic, some joy, some melody attached to the number 100 that makes it so very special. Be it securing 100% marks in any exam, be it scoring 100 runs in a Cricket match, be it some movie grossing 100 crores at box office or be it achieving 100% in any walk of life. There is a sense of pride, a sense of joy and a sense of accomplishment attached to any form of 100 clocked in life.

Achieving a 100 of any kind not only gives you a kick and immense happiness but it also makes you realize about your own capability and competency in that trade. It gives you a belief that you too are capable of doing something worthy in life, if not extraordinary. And this in turn gives you a strong reason to work much harder towards that trade, not only with an objective of not letting that slip through but also with an aim to maintain and possibly improve upon it, too.

This happens to be one such stage for me, as this is my 100^th blog post or essay as some notoriously call it. Though, I have always cherished penning down my thoughts on anything and everything since my school days but this exciting blog journey started around 5 years back with the advent of the blogging culture. Exciting, as it not only provides you a platform to share your thoughts on various issues and topics but it also lets you know that how many of your friends/colleagues are actually reading your posts and what are their views on the those issues and more importantly their feedback on these blog posts. And seriously it can’t get any better! You get an instant feedback and that kind of instils you with lot of confidence and yields a chance to proactively do a course correction.

Some of my close friends and critics have often accused me of resorting to Bollywood, Sports (Cricket) and Politics as the key themes for my blog. And in all fairness that is true too, I follow these fields more religiously and hence the comfort level. Also, my interest and knowledge in some of the other fields like art, economics, fiction etc. is pretty limited, so naturally such a bias. Although, I have been trying my best to diversify across fields and refraining from focussing more towards the Tendulkars, Khans and Kejriwals of the world but then it’s not easy to stay away from the such spicier cordons.

Interestingly, every time I read any of my old blogs I feel embarrassed for the very fact that how badly it has been drafted and how well it could have been otherwise shaped up. No wonder that’s the reason I don’t like reading my own blogs, though there are a few of my old posts that I myself find not as bad tooJ. Nonetheless, this feeling of embarrassment hardly deters me from continuing this habit of blogging. In fact, with such a vibrant media, plethora of social networking options and a bevy of well-connected and intelligent friends, it becomes quite easy to choose a topic and share my thoughts on it. So a lot of credit about this special 100 goes to my friends and colleagues for constantly sharing their earnest feedback on my work either online or offline. I hope, I continue to clock many such 100’s, possibly much quicker and with a far better quality.

Till then it’s time to enjoy and celebrate this moment of special 100:)

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kin..

 

 

London Diaries 1 | Heartache of leaving behind your beloved City!

The last two months for us have been very busy, in fact more than busy, very tiring and unsettling to be precise. On one hand  where we should have been filled with unbridled euphoria of relocating to the magnificent city and the global capital of the world, London, these thoughts were certainly not on top of our minds. Not to sound too smart, the thoughts of packing up , wrapping up, winding up and closing shop from OUR city took precedence. 

OUR city? Well, any city where you spend a good bit of time becomes your own city. But what do you call a city where you have a bevy of good friends living, where you got your first job, you have spent most of your professional life here, you started and spent all your marital life, you bought your first car, you bought your first house, you built your own home here, you got the most precious gift of your life, your child here and many such treasured priceless memories? This had to be among the most precious places of your life, easily among the best, if not the best. So to wind up and depart from here, even though for a short while is nothing short of a severe heartache!

And it isn’t just about the emotional connect but equally so about the ease and the comfort related to smallest of the things that this lovely city of Pune offers. The cosmopolitan culture, usually soothing climate and a variety of culinary and tourism attractions around makes it all the more lazily comfortable. And hence, every passing day to the departure day, made it very tough and heavy, it wasn’t just about leaving a city but more about going out of your comfort zone. No wonder when the day arrived it wasn’t any different, was rather even heavier and sombre. 

But over the years, the best part about leaving Pune has been that it calls me back. It has happened thrice so by that logic, hopes galoreJ. But as they say the show must go on, the transition to the new place hasn’t been a bad one. Though, there were scares about early adaptability issues in a city as diverse and huge as London but with a favourable weather, loads of Indians around, variety of eating options, plethora of beautiful places to visit, handful of good friends to guide and above all a cheap India calling facility made it a bit easierJ 

But this doesn’t mean that it’s all hunky dory from the outset.  To gear up to the much famed English school of etiquettes and mannerisms is highly awkward to say the least. Blazers every day? A shave every morning? Cans full of thank you(s) and sorry(s) in every walk of life? And a quick to appear, quick to disappear smile as a courtesy gesture? Boy! That is some change to adapt to. Nonetheless interesting times ahead, a beautiful country to explore and an far too interesting culture to adapt toJ. However, deep down the heart the beloved city and its comforts would still be missed!

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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!

--
kin...

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!

--
kin...