Wisdom Cliche'd

An infrequent writer I may be but to think that I have given up expressing myself would be incorrect. Well to update my last few months have been filled with triumph and tribulations. More tribulations than triumphs but each one has in its own way taught me something. I say all this at the cost of my thoughts being labeled as cliche'. Cliche' they may be but the relevance of each of these cliche's has just hit me and I am a perturbed by the incapability of man to learn from old wisdom falling on his ears until having faced the situation himself. Had the homo sapiens been able to learn from past glories and fallacies then may be the history and course of events of the world might have been different. Hitler might not have lost WW-II learning from the fate of Napoleon's army in Russia and the world would certainly have been very different from now. The German empire would have reigned supreme.

Would the world have been better or worse? For one Europe would have greatly flourished but in a selective fashion. US would have to play second rung to Germany and considering that the Nazis would have won over Moscow they might well have had the might to make US succumb too. The possibilities are endless and on another perspective India would have gained independence through military battles rather than non violent means as the Azad Hind Fauj would have got support from the advancing Germans. What they would have done with the won India is certainly beyond the realms of my imagination. Japan would still have been very strong as it is today but not only financially but militarily also. But the fate of the Allied nations and its inhabitants would certainly have been horrendous.

Well just another line for you to think upon. I will continue with my personal story in the next post.

Till then...
Adios
SM

The Paradox called Life

Striving to be someone. Going after something. It is the same with everyone's life. Everybody is out there to prove something. But prove what. This unsatiable thirst to achieve and prove leads to what people call growth. But the only point is it is unsatiable. But it is so in only the successful ones. The commons have a philosophy and thinking of their own. They seldom think of big things and are happy if they had a stomachful each night and night after night.
So who is better?
This question is like two sides of a coin. Both has its pros and cons. One who wants to grow is ever perturbed and discontent. He rarely sleeps soundly in the night. Nothing seems to be up to the mark to him and excellence is a habit for him. So he seldom rejoices at the common joys of life as they are too commonplace for him to lower his guard and show his emotions. And to be very true to him, he doesn't feel much emotions at such prosaic occurances. He sees the best, tastes the best, feels the best but the best is just a matter of habit for him. It is nothing to be elated about. How could he ever but settle for the best?
While on the other hand, the simpleton is buoyed by the thought of receiving his salary at the end of the month and thinks of all the wonderful things he would buy out of it. The simple and cheap meals at the cornerside restaurant and roadside cloth shops seem like Armani to him. He cannot help but smile through the day at the thought of paying his next months rent and going out of the house with some pride at last. He cannot afford to visit any of the tourist spots as the journey would be too costly but he is very happy that finally after months he will finally be able to visit his native place to see his parents and family as he can afford it out of the salary that he would be getting.
Who is better and who should be followed? Please do implore a bit and share your thoughts on the subject.
Truly Yours,
SM

Are we killing Hindi?

Just a couple of days back I was watching one of the leading hindi national news channels, the story was about leaders of BJP using very tough Hindi, the clip that they showed to back their claim left me absolutely flabbergasted. I mean have our general sense and understanding of our mother tongue stooped to such abysmal levels that we as literate beings having passed out of a school system which teaches us Nirala, Dinkar and Pant, can't even understand our own mother tongue. I mean I don't expect a lay man to be familiar with that language but when a political leader addresses a gathering of reporters who thrive and earn their living mincing and manipulating language and words, he is well within his rights to use language and terminology which should not be foreign or alien to a literate mind. I find it actually shameful that such a thing was being shown by a leading channel on national TV.

As I have always said, Hindi needs protection and we should be proud of our language and not mock people who actually know it and are using it. Any developed nation has a thread binding its people. In most of the developed world it is religion and language. If not religion then let atleast language be the binding force. Only then can India rise as one.

Signing off....
SM

The Rejuvinated New Government

Finally the portfolios have been allotted and the new ministers are raring to go. It is really heartening to see some new faces which were badly needed in key ministries. The appointment of Mr. Sibbal in the HRD ministry is particularly welcome as the ministry was tottering and badly needed some drastic change of guard.

The new ministry looks reassuring and somehow the confidence in the team rises on seeing some very prominent and able people in key ministries. Also the step of moving Mr. Kamal Nath to the Roads and Highways ministry is a welcome step as it would certainly improve the kind of roads which have been neglected during the past tenure of UPA. Call it the Rahul effect or whatever but somehow I as a citizen of India feel more secure by seeing the current group of ministers at the helm and am optimistic of India rising and growing during the next 5 years though my optimism might soon fade away as it generally does when the thing comes to action. Politics is a dirty fabric and somehow or the other even the extremely effective and efficient tend to get self indulgent and defensive. It is due to this that the work on the ground suffers.

I certainly do wish the new government well and hope that it presents a tough stand on the Australia racism issue. It is extremely necessary that something is done about the blatantness with which racist attacks happen in Australia and the world community as a whole should condemn it. Even more condemning and shameful is the prosaic attitude of the Australian government towards the issue. The world should work as one against the problem.

The US also wants India to sign the NPT. The response and the course of negotiations would certainly be interesting. Another major issue is the obvious, which is the Recession.

Thus, there are numerous issues facing the government and it needs to be very meticulous and methodical in its handling. Good luck to them...

Signing off....
SM

'Mohan (60%) + Man (40%) = Manmohan' - Back again

Finally India will have a relatively stable government after such a long period of conundrum. The fact that the Congress has emerged on top is quite astonishing. Finally it will be a single captain boat which can sail in a particular direction without being diverted. The emphatic win has certainly raised the hopes of the commoner and the elite alike. The stock market gave a resounding bow to the new leader by making a historic day on Monday when it closed twice due to positive circuit breakers. 2100 points is what the Sensex gained. The industry is certainly hopeful which was also quite evident from the interviews of many industrialists on TV. The key portfolios in the government are getting decided and it is being assumed that selection for ministership will be on the basis of qualification and ability rather than armtwisting by allies. The cabinet will have to be inclusive but certainly this time the Congress will have a greater say.

Lets see who gets what. A lot of names are in the reckoning and I wish and believe that ability and performance should be the only bases for getting a cabinet berth. India will certainly have a better and safer future if common sense prevails within the CWC.

Wishing the new government the very best...

SM

My favourite TV show

Well what could be better? For a TV buff like me who watches loads of crap and a bit of useful stuff on the ibox (I prefer intellingent to be used in place of idiot for i), it would be quite an ordeal to single out a single show and call it my favourite. I mean I just watch so many of them and like so many of them. But for this show it certainly would have been a tough choice but having this show play on the TV makes it almost a no contest. So folks here and now I announce it... My favourite show on TV is BOSTON LEGAL.

Now that I think of it I just can't seem to find anything else which could change my mind. I mean how can it be something else. The show has got everything, a protagonist who loves to play with the law and has wicked ways of dealing with wicked people and takes twisted ways to get the law to go straight and get the guilty punished, we have a voyeuristic and promiscuous lead who brings the funny side and adds spice, we have a female lead who is the most sought after woman in the office, then we have numerous psychologically challenged people. All in all its fun and in all the fiasco and chaos the court cases and the closings by the famous lawyers from the 'Crane, Poole and Schmidt' firm are certainly enthralling. The judges are pure characters and all these ingredients make up an hour of extremely lovely and intriguing TV watching.

For someone like me who is an avid TV watcher it is hard to find something which really interests me besides the news, sports and comedy and here we have finally found a show which I love. I strongly recommend the show to everyone of you but obviously with an advisory that don't watch it with your parents or your children 'coz there would be moments when you would find yourself extremely uncomfortable.

Have a wonderful time watching it on Saturdays and Sundays at 10 PM on Star World....

SM

Thank You readers..

Dear Readers,
I would like to express my sincerest of gratitude for your encouragement. It is only through your constant feedback and encouragement that I can carry on with this endeavour. It is really nice to hear about you people reading my blog.

I will try to be more regular in my postings. Guest writers and requests for articles on specific topics are always welcome.

SM

Elections Ahoy!!!!!

Well finally its that time of the year again when the country is abuzz with campaigns and slogans eulogizing the governance and initiative of the government in power on one end and the opposition trying to bring forth the mismanagement and incompetent administration of the incumbent on the other.
Well it has to be said that this election as always has once again awaken some very old leaders from their long slumbers and they are once again at it. Manipulating and strategizing their next course of action to achieve the magic figure of 272. Congress has already come out with its list of 23 candidates which contains some prominent former SP leaders. Well treason and defection in the political world is called shift in ideology and hence I respect and empathize with the rapid change in ideologies in this country. Well it is not the thing of the past but rather the present and it is here to stay because the Indian system is a multiparty one and with the growing influence of regional parties and increasing number parties the government is bound to be a coalition and the very base of coalition is built on compromise and manipulation. What this in turn means is that no single manifesto will give the clear direction of governance to be followed and not even the big two the BJP and Congress could claim to show the Indian people a glimpse into the future through their manifestoes. So governance will once again be a cocktail. Lets just hope that it is a yummy one and that India continues to grow amid all the hues and cries and rallies and campaigns.

SM

My unfateful encounter with an Indian Ignorant Hedonist

A big, fat, OBNOXIOUS, ignorant, happy about nothing guy whose ultimate aim in life is to spoil himself in the petty and frivolous - No, he is no more only an American anymore but rather he has finally arrived... in my dear old India. Today I had the fortunate (read as 'unfortunate') encounter with this very being in my college canteen. He came with a beaming smile and a chuckle ever so nauseating which seemed to arise after every end, and sometimes even in the middle, of a sentence. Happiness and bliss was oozing out from him and somehow he always seemed so compelled to give his own bland solutions to every global and political problem being discussed there and was quite efficient in relating it to his own solutions. I don't know if it was just me or my perception of the person but somehow I ended up analyzing that my friend believed that all the world's problems could be solved if one is happy. Everything else was immaterial, be it the ever so imminent threat from terrorism or the recession looming large in the global economy, if he could get a burger with fries along with a coke in a McDonald outlet on his way to a two star rated movie, the world was perfect. His analysis and comprehension of our overzealous and effervescent debate on the condition of the India was that if you don't have the power, who are you to debate on the issue. He was not only critical in pointing out to us our shortsightedness in having a debate on an issue which we could not change as we obviously did not have a hand in it (and I thank God for it). Our data and information laden rationale was obviously just numbers and it was always in mankind's interest in just shutting its mind, eyes and ears and in looking around to find a TV remote to change the channel of the TV ,which had almost changed to a News channel, and switch it back on to watching the actual idols on the music channels battle it out on a biker show.

Well obviously these are the after effects of passing out of our Hinglish education system Schools where the children are much more concerned and worried about preparing chits for the exam and getting micro xerox copies of a girlfriend's notes than studying for the exam.

May be I am an idealist but these acts of ignorance are intolerable to me. I want people to understand that before any change to happen there needs to be feeling of discomfort and anguish against what is to be changed. There needs to be knowledge of what is the system and where is it going wrong. A mechanic is able to fix and engine only because he knows it inside out. Hence change can only be done if we know and understand what is the actual problem and what needs to be changed. Considerable thought and discussions are a part of the change process. It is these discussions and exchanges that will enrich us and arm us and as and when power is bestowed on us and we become capable we would be able to sort the problems out because we know them. Our friends who think that thought is needed and necessary only when power comes would be caught unawares. Money and power are fickle things and change hands very quickly and frequently. Hence to make the most of it we need to think about it now and act when we get the chance and not lose our chance in understanding the problem during our tryst with power because there might never be a next time....

Signing Off...
SM

Losing their way or Yearning for Guidance - The Indian Gen Next

The much famed Indian Education system seems to have infected with some unknown disease causing virus as it is not infusing and instilling the future of India with what is most dear to it, the basic human and moral values. We have had great reverence and respect for intellect from time immemorial and our education system was based on the premise of teaching children to be good and effective human beings valuing relationships, morality and civility. But something seems to have gone wrong. There has been rapid degradation in the basic behavior of kids which can be seen in their general demeanor and their behaviour. There is an arrogance, a tendency of getting away with things, a know it all attitude, a general lack of respect and condescension. One, many or all of these attributes can be associated with most of the youngsters today.

In the name of preparing them for a tough world are we giving them the wrong set of values or a gloated sense of the self. Are we showing them the reality before making them believe that you are the best for the sake of making them confident. Do they have the fibre to work hard and then earn it or we are forcing them to take shortcuts?

I do understand that a present day youngster has to face immense pressures. I myself have and am facing them. Be it peer pressure of being the coolest and smartest or the pressure of fulfilling the expectations of your parents and loved ones or even the pressures of measuring upto your own sense of accomplishments. It is a very complex and difficult world and one has to manage himself with utmost composure and self restraint or it won't take long for things in his life to get ugly.

But I also strongly believe that though the pressures are there but we are fully capable and intelligent and reasonable enough to face them. But what if the whole concept of right and wrong in our system is flawed. Our yardstick itself is bent. I see around me lots of people who want to make it big. They are confident and self assured but lack the will to work hard in the right direction. They prefer to take the shortcuts even if it borders around being called 'wrong'.

But is it really their fault?? In today's world the schools are increasingly becoming tolerant to errant behaviour by children. I myself see it in my college and even a school for toddlers. They get away with things and are not punished. This lack of strictness creates a mental attitude in that one can get away with anything and hence the growing unruly behaviour of children. Moreover sycophancy has taken centre stage by being termed as being the lubricant for the smoothening of life. I see it pervading every facet of life. It is a cause of frustration to the real workers but what can be done. The world doesn't care for your work but rather who you are or who your relatives are and how can they help me. This is how and why many children are given 'special' treatment and they grow up with a wrong sense of the self. They have a bloated perception of the self and an equally unreal and minimized respect for the world.

The education system of the old was quite good and children need supervision and discipline. Obviously one does not have to be a Hitler but giving them advice and telling them wrong from the right is also our responsibility. They are children and do not know and in the name of independence should not be left to wander or else there are mazes of paths that go in the wrong direction and very few in the right. We have to guide them and show them the path, just show them and let them decide on their own.

If we become a little more realistic and responsible our next generation would not be a 'bad' one. It is very easy blaming it on the next generation that they have lost the way but we have to ponder about why they have lost the way. It might just be that no one has ever been there to show them the right path. We don't have to repeat our mistakes and have to realise our responsibilities also. We owe it to humanity to make them civilized, moral and ethical beings and if a little stick does the trick then so be it. After all the adage does go, 'Spare the stick, spoil the child'.

Patriarchy or Anarchy

It is a sad period.
Sad for me, you and everyone who does give a damn...

The Noida gangrape case has once again exposed the withering moral fabric of the so called 'Cultured India'. The mere blatancy of the case, as was with the terrorist attacks, leaves one dumbfounded. The parallels are worlds apart but the inherent blatancy drives me to make comparisions.

These people are not humans. At least I cannot presume them to be human as humans are by their very definition social animals, which means animals which have a defined social structure, culture and set of rules. If these guys somehow missed out on the socialisation part, the only part left is - Animals.

So what we are dealing with here is animalistic terrorism within our own boundaries. The threat from outside is not by any means less but how can we survive if we face grave threats from within also. The incident has left its bloody impression on the already lacerated and putrefying stigma ridden patriarchial society of ours and has once again raised questions over the actual state of women empowerment and equality of women in India. Let alone women empowerment, rather the very deeply embedded mindset of inconsiderate affirmation to crimes and hardships given to women by our society exemplifies the sordid tale of a nation slowly losing grip over its very own ethics.

It is not a matter of 'rich vs. the poor', 'the haves vs. the havenots' or of the 'illiterates vs. the modern' but rather it is a stark revelation of the ill health of the minds of young India today in general. Because as far as I know, being an Indian truly, it has never been in our culture or ethics to degrade women or to ill treat them irrespective of the social or economic classes of our origin or existence. Women have always held a great place in our culture and religion and have been worshipped as devis and moreover are considered to be the supreme power, even greater than the Tridev as they have emerged out of the Almighty Maa Shakti.

In such a country when a village head belittles the dreaded and ghettoic crime by saying that it was just another rape case, it becomes all too clear that something is horribly wrong with the mindset of the person. But it is not only the mindset of this person in question but the mindset of people in general, which is not too different, which is the actual cause of concern and grief. In India we have come to a stage when such unfateful incidents have become a part of our daily lives and do not cause much change in the way we live or the way we are. Is it also not a Sorry state? Should these things be so common to us that we merely look at the headline on the 2nd or 3rd page and turn the page without even giving it momentary notice?

Such acts of lawlessness are a part of us and our lives. The root is in the getting away of kids in school over the bullying of fellow classmates, in being caught on cheating during exams and getting away with it, in trying to always bend rules and not feeling sorry for it, in parents coming to school on even the slightest and legitimate rebuke handed out to their child on indulging in hooliganism, and many many more such cases which we see daily in our lives and have accepted them as normal. Normal are they? Thats the big question.

No they are not normal as all of them have to do with people getting away without being suitably treated or rather ill treated to make them aware and moreover afraid of the consequences of breaking a social and institutional code. By telling them that it is just not Okay to beat up people or to tease and harrass fellow mates or to cheat in exams (although 99% in India have resorted to it to pass their exams) or to break traffic laws or to ask for bribes and favours for doing their paid jobs or several other things that we now normally do as individuals which just make our lives just that bit simpler.

We do not make our lives simpler by these acts but rather send the wrong message across to our ever so fearless next generation. We cannot expect them to be following the right path if we ourselves are not following it. We have to show them the importance of doing things right as they should be done or these incidents will continue to happen and the situation will only get worse. Independence is important but lawless independence makes animals and not humans and hence to make humans out of the free moving animalistic bipedal organisms around us a structure of rules has to be there and should be followed with. The independence of individuals should be respected but lawless behaviour should be severely dealt with so as to set an example to all those who think that they are above the law and society so that we can move about in our world and country free of any fear.

Signing off...
SM

Life - Stranger Than Fiction

Hello Friends,
Am posting after a long break....
Well was confused as always about what to write about as sometimes there is so much and sometimes nothing at all....
This time I thought of just doing it....

So, today I was watching a movie named 'Stranger than Fiction'. It was a wonderful movie and was actually quite thought provoking.

How many of us are not satisfied with our present lives and live to do what we wanna do SOME DAY. Well we wait for it and fantasize about it all day long and through years. Our mind recreates what we wish was and would be... We are elated and there is a quite calm about the world... It suddenly seems like 'Perfect'. But nothing is perfect and this imperfections presents itself in its most ironical fashion when we come back to our real selves. No matter how elating or satiating the thought was, we realise that it was quintessentially a thought and nothing more and we live on to realise it...

This living on to realise something, some day is called HOPE...

'Hope' - The ultimate paradox. It is which makes life worth living. The feeling of impending fortunes. The feeling that we will be 'Someone' of substance or power and that the world would finally recognize us. Recognize us for what we have always been or for what we have become. But it is the same hope that is the ultimate emblem of our current discontent. The feeling of better is also a signage of our present deprivation. Deprivation not only in monetary terms but rather holistically.

Some live on to realise what they hoped for and some... Well let's just say don't actually live on...
So, what if today you learn that you are not going to live on to see the next sunrise. What would a person who all his life has dreamt of achieving something, of being something someday going to do? For all his life he has thought of that day and dreamt of that moment and now he knows that the moment he has been waiting for is not going to come. He has done all he could to ensure a secure and wonderful future but unfortunately for him there would be NO future. What now?

Well ponder on the thought for some time...

For me it would be satisfaction enough that I lived to see TODAY. I would be a bit heart broken as I could not do so much that I feel I should have and could have done...

Rather contradictory thoughts but that is what life is - a mix of paradoxes and contradictions. For some the mix might just be right and others are just not destined to be that fortunate...

With those rather unsystematic and random thoughts (as always), I sign off...

Till the next time...
SM

Happy New Year

Hello Friends,
Wish all of you a very happy and prosperous new year 2009.

Enjoy and keep reading....

SM