Calamity implies Political Mileage

The attempt to gain political mileage out of a national calamity is disdainful.It makes no sense what so ever when the opposition is gunning for the neck of the Home minister,while on the other hand,the HRD minister supports the cause of the Jamia University,to defend its students accused as terrorists.On one side the Govt says they ll come up with tough terror laws,and hence the statement on the part of Mr.Arjun Singh needs to be viewed with suspicion.

A blast occurs, Govt, and political parties condemn it saying 'cowardly act' and so on.It sounds like 'words are all they(I) have to take ur heart away'. Will the people of the country feel comfortable when top leaders condemn terrorism.We all condemn it and is a known fact.Once they finish condemning the blasts,the political games begin.It was quite funny,when a senior member from the BJP made a statement saying the 'blasts were part of a conspiracy to divert attention from cash for votes scam'(i believe it was with reference to Ahemedabad blasts).The party distanced itself from 'her' view point,and it clearly indicated how far politicians would go.Maybe the politicians should stop mud slinging and instead sit together to work out a strategy to root out this evil.

Terrorism, is the menace of the modern world.A cowardly act,against humanity.Innocent lives are lost,many injured.The time is ripe for a 'community policing',like initiative.Finding terrorists from among a hundred thousand people is more like searching for a needle in a hay stack.People have to be alert,and any suspicious activity needs to be reported.It is not only the responsibilty of the police,but we too have a role in it.

Having paid careful attention to the nuances of Indian politics for over a decade,I can say politicians have become more ruthless,in their accusations.There seems to be a leadership crisis in our country.Senior leaders from the congress party suggesting Rahul Gandhi,as Prime ministerial candidate is a clear indication to that front.BJP is facing the worst crisis,having to field a pro-hindutva leader in Advani as PM candidate (no wonder the party has decided to maintain its hindutva agenda).The third front,as the media puts it,had to resort to choosing 'Bahanji' as their leader,in an effort to woo dalit votes (though the left is still beating around the 'bush').The left parties have resolved to an Anti-America campaign.The economic crisis in America should be an example for the Central Govt,says the left.They seem to have grown over the failure of communism in various parts of the world.

The attack on Christians in Kandhamal in Orissa, indicates the growing religious extremism among Hindu's.Action against the Bajrang Dal activists were initiated after the centre evoked article 355 on Karnataka,and Orissa (coincidentally BJP ruled states).The top brass of the BJP,criticized the central govt, for the interference in the affairs of the state.The major concern in this case is the state backed violence,be it the Bajrang Dal,VHP, and of course 'left' organisations in WB,and Kerala

I had started on a simple topic,but seems to have overdone it.All i wish to say is,extremism in whatever forms is the root cause.Hindutva, Jihad,etc fall on the same wavelength.It is high time the younger generation start to think over religious barriers and perhaps work on a peaceful world to live on.We can't change the politicians,but we can indeed make sure that we are not puppets in their hands..
Feels gr8 to have written an unbiased article,on politics..

Finally i answer the big question...!!!!

The debate over the motion of trust moved by the honorable Prime Minister,say some fiery debates and sharp exchanges.Democracy was for sale,and angels were born.Elected representatives with 'doubtful' credentials coming to the floor of the house with bundles of cash.No wonder CNN-IBN restrained from airing the 'cash for votes' tapes.My allegiance to a particular political party is well know among my friends.
The debate in parliament was on 'Nuclear Deal',and it was quite disdainful to see none except Rahul Gandhi speaking on the nuclear deal.Nuclear Deal had taken a back seat,and the opposition was using the chance to severly criticise the Government which had done a commendable job on the economic front.I dont intend to make a pro-govt lecture here.
Coming back to the debate,Heated exchanges and disruptions were ruling the roost in parliament until our Honourable Railway Minister,Lalooji,spoke.There were smiles in the air,despite him making scathing attack on the opposition.His sense of humour seemed to ease the parliamentarians,and one of his sentences still rings in my ears.,"even i wish to be PM"(cited while scoffing Mayawati,Mr.LK Advani).
Having being born and brought up in a family of hardcore Congress supporters,i always allegiance to the congress party.The inspirational leadership,and will power of Smt.Indira Gandhi always motivated me.My father used to talk about his meeting with Sanjay Gandhi,the historic speech in parliament made by CM Stephen while Indira Gandhi was jailed,and my mother had told about posing for a photograph with none other than Indira Gandhi(the copy of which, is in the possession of her friend).I had idolized them since my childhood days,and hence i still remain a loyal supporter of the party.
I had contested for college union elections twice and i keep my head held high when i say,i was defeated on both the occasions.I did what i was asked to do,from the party leadership.I had contested as the face saving candidate for my party and in that sense,i did my bit for my party.I have no remorse or repentence.I can't be a full time political activist,owing to multitude of reasons.I never contested for grabbing office.My speech as part of 'meet the candidate' was perhaps one of the greatest lows in my life.I was overawed by the support for the opposition,and it was heart breaking to see many of my friends booing me,and trying to put me off.Indeed my oratory skills on that day was way below par,and i still remember standing in front of a bullying crowd like an idiot.Despite that hiccup, and minimal campaigning ,I was delighted to see the number of votes i had received. Thanks to my dear voters,who voted on a losing cause.I had faced numerous scathing remarks from my friends for contesting a losing cause.I was threatened to withdraw from the election by the opposition camp,who threatened and then even offered me their party ticket in the next elections,"Ticket for withdrawal scam"....:D..If college union elections can see such forms of 'rigging',what could be the situation at the corridors of power.
Politics is a game and democracy in India is for sale,even at the grass root level.
This writeup is dedicated to my dear friends who keep asking me why i contested the elections....

Quest for Glory

Having read numerous detective stories,and short stories,i had always longed to write a book.The question in hand is,short story or detective novel??..:D.After due consideration i thought of writing a crime thriller.So,how do i begin??..
The commercial success of similar novels,inspired me to create a character who solves the puzzles.Maybe i thought,i can write sequels and earn a fortune.I needed a name,something catchy like 'Hercule Poirot' or 'Sherlock Holmes'.I couldn't find any convincing name.The Ramu's, shyamu's,Ravi's etc were inhibiting my thought process.So i put on hold the name issue,and moved on.The next in line was a theme.Murder Mystery; unanimous choice.So one down,and many to go....
I needed a back drop for my story.Should i create something like a 'Malgudi',the indianness in me was becoming the true villian.I remained inconclusive.I had to create many characters and with them names.The journey was becoming more and more tricky.I had no solution to the issues that had cropped up and so i decided to put my quest on hold...Four years had gone by,and the tide hasn't turned ever since.A premature death to my quest for glory..

Lost Love

Famous Five,Nancy Drew,Hardy Boys....these were the names that thrilled me while i was a kid.I used read over a hundred books a year,until i reached the tenth standard.No one ever tried restricting me until then.Maybe tenth std had its due importance 'then'.My parents enforced a tough restrictions on my reading habits.I was forced to spend more time on tuition's and text books.I really missed those thrilling adventure stories,and was gradually moving into the scientific world.The tenth std board exams went by,i did reasonably well and the results too were satisfactory from my point of view.
Things got worse in 11th and 12th std.It was those never ending days of tuition's,test papers,assignments and what not.Reading a book(i graduated to Agatha Cristie's,& Alistair Maclean's), an absolute luxury for me.I never had time for any,except on vacations.So i was slowly transforming from a voracious reader to a part time reader.
The story was no different,after i joined engineering college.There was a marked difference here.Time was at my disposal,but i believe i had lost the drive to read more.I was spending more time in front of the TV.I wondered whether i had lost my love for books.I was worried,and so was my parents.Things took a paradigm shift last year.I had made a trip to Delhi,and there i found some wonderful collection of books.Angels & Demons,by Dan Brown,The Harry Potter series got me started,and there was no looking back.Books were gradually becoming my companion.I had found my lost love......

U are a Slave

Before you start reading,I wish to tell you,I am not a radical.My thoughts, at times maybe radical,but I don't dream of changing the society......

'An idle mind is a devil's workshop'.I was expecting to churn out a topic from that 'workshop'.Much to my dismay, I found nothing worthwhile to blog on,until yesterday night.While 'channel surfing',I came across a verse from the Bhagavad Gita,which meant,Everyman is bounded by chains.I pondered on the intricacy of that verse.
"A dog is tied to a chain,while the dog ties us to our home,without a chain".Think about it for a while.I have heard many people saying,they can't leave their house owing to the fact that they can't leave their pet dog unattended.Maybe you too would have come across such situations.You may not like to skip your favourite TV show to attend some function,and many such circumstances.There are people who are slaves to money,alcohol etc.Knowingly or unknowingly we are slaves to something or somebody.We are slaves to societal laws.We tread a familiar path,and anyone going off beat is a pervert in our society.The only people who 'live free', are the ones who have lost their mind.They are not aware of the rising inflation,fuel costs,laws and norms in society etc.They are happy in their world.
There is a thin line between what can be said as a moral obligation,and slavery.In school we are made to sit in a class,with 60 odd students,and forced to take tests,and assignments.Is this slavery??.
We seek permission from parents to go for tours and the like...Is this slavery too??..
I can present a big list of similar situations.So what is slavery??.I don't have a precise answer,but I feel,as long as we believe that we are not bounded to 'chains',we are no slaves.A key point here is,it is subjective.Interference in personal issues by our parents can be disturbing to one,while not to another.
Humans are not instinctual creatures,and hence our actions are modified by the various norms in society.If we start acting out of instinct then there would be utter chaos,in this world.So being subjected to law,though to an extent is slavery,but is highly preferable.Too many arguments and counters can be given in this regard.I am rest assured that nothing will come up with an exact solution.
All i wish to say is,never be slave to things that are immaterial in our life.One should be able to set a threshold and be capable of demarcating between good and bad.After all we need to be slaves to our own mind,for surviving in this world.

The 'little' party

There were numerous suggestions on the date for our farewell party and a conclusion seemed elusive.Finally,after weeks of speculation and parleys we decided on a date,20th June,2008.
The venue was Sindhoor palace,Kowdiar,TVM.
Time:5.00pm-8.00pm
We invited all the teaching as well as the non teaching staff of the EC department and most of them had agreed to turn up..hmm...
A number counting session ensued and we were keeping our fingers crossed on maximum of 50 students.There were many who had not made up their mind.This really worried us.So we decided to collect a sum of Rs 210/- from each student,and we decided to hand over a souvenir to everyone who attended the function.A DVD that contained all the photos and videos that were taken during our entire stint in college.We made some frantic calls to some guys asking their confirmation for the event.When the number touched 40 we decided to go ahead;come whatever...
June 20,2008.
A sudden turn of events,reinvigorated our spirits.An educational bandh declared by the Kerala Students Union,was a blessing in disguise.The university exam slated for that day was postponed and as result many confirmed their participation.We were mighty relieved,and was looking forward to making this 'little' party,a memorable one.
By,5.30pm,almost all the students had gathered at the venue,and it was time for chit chats.A never ending photo session ensued,with some 'handsome' guys trying to 'muscle' their way into every photo that was clicked.
Everything seemed to be going according to script.But there was a problem.There was no sign of any teaching or non teaching staff we had invited for the function.We ringing up everyone and reminded them of the function.We were glad to know that many were on their way.Finally they arrived,and much to our dismay there were only five of them.Enough was enough and we moved into the hall.

It was time for speeches.The teachers spoke on the transformation that happened to our batch over the years in college.
Now,it was the turn of the students.The onus was on our 'class rep',who made a wonderful speech,and the good work was carried forward by my friend who spoke next.There were some guys who were suggesting,I should speak next.I was not prepared for any speech.My mind was full of numbers...How many??..How much??..I had to give in to the pressure,and i really don't remember what i blabbered.To quote my friend;"sandeepinte election pracharanam(campaign)".Perhaps the fact, that i was seen as the 'last samurai' of KSU,among my classmates coerced me into being a bit political.

It was time for food,and there was the routine chaos associated with any buffet,hosted for students.It was fun for us,but not for the guys who were serving food and desserts.The souvenir was distributed in haste and it was time for us to vacate the hall.I paid the bill(55 students attended) and it seemed a burden was off my shoulder,and heaved a sigh of relief.We bid goodbye to the teachers who attended the function,and all of us stayed on near the parking lot.I wondered;the people who had raised objections on hosting the party in the evening were staying,despite it being so late.Maybe i was missing a point.The 'numbers' perhaps made me 'numb'.There were many around me who were crying,many were at the verge of breaking down,and i realized a bit too late that it was the one last time we all would be together.There were many who were bidding farewell to the city,and i realized,college life had come to a culmination.'Stay in touch','all the best' ruled the roost during the latter phase of our 'little' party,and i returned home after ensuring that almost all of them had left for their homes.
I lay in my bed,with a heavy heart,pondering on how 'big',the 'little' party actually was.......

Back From Hibernation

Two months of exams has drained me out.I ve no topics to write on.Today marked the end of an illustrious four years in college.A well deserved break is in the offing,and perhaps i hope to blog more frequently than before.
If i start writing something now,all i would manage would be something on the exams,how tiring and disturbing they were..
So expect something new in few days time...
I ve lot of things to tell u...:-)