Stupidity II

With malice came last with the stupidity of an individual and the ignorance of the rest. This time it again, it is to share something similar.
Ever thought if the Golden Temple was not golden, wat would it have been like?
I mean will there be any decline in the fanfare of the Golden Temple if it was not golden?
For that matter, do our dedication and respect towards God, the Almighty, depend upon His riches? Is the God sitting in those fancy temples, with all the hi-tech facilities, more powerful than His counterpart sitting in the small corner of my single BHK flat?
If not, why bribing them?
Just the other day I read a report about two brothers planning to donate a Rs4 crore gold mandapam to Lord Balaji (read it here: http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/jun/230609-Janardhan-Reddy-45-cr-diamond-studded-gold-crown-4-cr-golden-mandap-Lord-Balaji-Bangalore.htm).
This comes on the back of Karnataka tourism minister Janardhan Reddy crowning the Lord at Tirupati with a Rs42 crore, 32kg diamond-studded gold crown the priciest offering by an individual so far (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Richest-lord-of-Kaliyuga/articleshow/4651438.cms). I can't believe that the God has total offerings of close to Rs50,000 crore.
Do the God want that? didn't he had enough visitors without that? Or will He have more fllowers after the nonsense? And I feel bad to say that this is not the first time this is happening.
According to the economic survey 2007-08, some 27.5% og the country's popultion languishes below the poverty line. The poplulaayion of India stand at around 1.14 billion today.
The UN development programme has placed India at 128th place below many South American developing countries in its Human Development Report for the year 2007-08, just above few starved African countries and some war-torn neighbours (http://hdrstats.undp.org/indicators/25.html).
Imagine what good the amount of money would have done for the lives of these poor creatures.

I just can't help myself but remember these lines:

छोटा बच्चा देख के बोला मस्जिद आलिशान
अल्लाह तेरे एक को इतना बड़ा मकान?
अन्दर वेदी पर चढ़े फल, फूल, मिष्ठान,
मंदिर के बाहर खडा इश्वर मांगे दान.....
---निदा फाज़ली

Wake up people. The exhorbitant amount of money we spend on our such stupidities can feed an entire country, at leastone meal.

Stupidity

I wonder to think sometimes that the country is so full of self-obssessed idiots. The other day as I was reading the newspaper, I came across a news piece which reported a senior leader will unveil six statues of her own on 3 July.
The Times of India said Uttar Pradesh chief minister and the Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati will unveil on 3 July 40 statues, including six of her own, at different places in the state (read: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/India/Mayawati-to-unveil-40-statues-six-of-them-of-herself/articleshow/4694772.cms).
The 40 statues has cost the state exchequer some Rs6.68 crore. Also, she is going to plant 60 marble statues of elephants at Ambedkar memorial, which is set to cost some Rs52 crore. A sum of around Rs 70 crore, I will say, is wasted.
The state government, in the budget for fiscal 2009 had allocated at least Rs194 crore for building statues of "great leaders". The entire amount was spent. And ironically, I don't remember any statues pf great freedom fighters being unveiled that year.
I don't really know if the state has ever spent so much cash on the welfare of the public.
Anyway, I think this idea of putting one's own statue is completely absurd. Write to me if you differ.
Last time I remember a politician putting up his own statue was Saddam Hussein. Sadly, that statue was pulled down by an angry mob after the US attack on Iraq. Worse people greetad the face of the statue with footwear and washed it off by urinating on it. I wish these statues don't witness that bad a future.
That she is a self obssessed woman, is well known. Not so long back, she joined the so-called Third Front before the 15th Lok Sabha elections, was also an act of self-appraisal. I wonder if she had not been projected as the PM candidate of the group, she would have ever joined the team.
Why don't the people of the state get rid of her, is a question that remains unanswered. Guess the next best alternative the poor public has, is Mulayam Singh.
I don't blame the janta.

Hungama hai kyon barpa?

I somehow wonder about the sort of mindset we Indians have developed over the years. We are not bothered by a house getting demolished in our neighbourhood because we don't know its owner. We choose to shut our doors to the world and spend careless evenings in our armchairs sipping our Scotch.

However, we cry foul when something similar happens in the outside world. Something that has global dimensions unlike the dead neighbourhood house. Though like that house, we have nothing to do with these events as well.

Why the double standards?

The past few weeks have been disastrous for some Indians living in Australia. They have been attacked over and over again. At least a dozen Indian students have been assaulted in the so-called “racist” attacks in that country and many have left Australia since.

The question is, “Does it change much in the life of around the 1.1 billion population of India?”

Australia is the most preferred destination for Indians (who can dream big and send their kids overseas to study), with over 9.7 million students opting to pursue their higher studies in Australia every year, followed by some 9.4 million who choose to go to the US (read it here: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Special-Report/Our-worldwide-web-of-students/articleshow/4626017.cms).

To be sure, attacks on Indian students must be condemned. And they have been. Thousands-strong groups of Indian students have taken to the streets in Oz to protest against these attacks, claiming themselves to be the backbone of the Australian economy (go through: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/271088,indians-march-to-protest-racism-in-australia.html).

Protests have escalated in India as well. It reached a point where the Indian government as well as its Australian counterpart had to issue statements condemning the attacks (read: http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Australian+assures+Indian+students+safety&artid=gdEK2mCBPjU=&SectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&MainSectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&SEO=RACISM,+AUSTRALIA&SectionName=pWehHe7IsSU=).

Even a public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed seeking the security of Indian students in Australia (go to: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lucknow/PIL-seeking-security-for-Indians-in-Australia/articleshow/4668916.cms).

That’s not all. Arguably the most celebrated actor in the Indian film industry, Amitabh Bachchan, declined an honorary doctorate degree from an Oz varsity to register his protest against the attacks (have a look: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hhC2Ycy4I9dhKjDvtFpqxlQ-WC9Q).

However, isn't this too much fuss over an issue which could have been solved easily?

No one is sure if all those attacks were actually racist. Many agree that this is not new for the large Indian community living overseas. Maybe it is a cost one has to pay in order to achieve something big in life.

And what are we complaining about? Indians should be the last to complain about ill-treatment for we ourselves are not far behind. How many cases of abuse do we read about everyday in the newspapers? And in how many of them, we find a foreigner as the soft target?

Federico Brasola, an Italian photographer, seeking entry in a Delhi pub, was beaten up and his hands were broken as he was not properly dressed. Now, that is a joke. In a country where at least thousands of people have nothing to wear, we are thrashing a foreigner who was sporting a basketball tee and a cargo!!!!!

The two bouncers involved in the case have been nabbed, a report said the other day. Good, I would say.

Every other day, some foreigner, in some part of the country is abused and worse, murdered. How humane is that? Here is another case I got to know about today (see it here: http://www.mypopkorn.com/news/two-arrested-in-foreigner-rape-case-in-himachal-pradesh.html). This is heinous.

Do you remember how in college when someone took admission from the north-east and by default got the name chinki? Remember, how lowly the chinki girl was described and how plans were made in the canteen of getting her laid as soon as possible. For she would not mind it and getting her laid would be easier. Or when someone from the south came and would become a matter of ridicule because of his accent. Haven't we all done that? How humane was that? Has this stopped? Well, from where I stay, I see this happening every day.

Remember, that Maratha Manoos cry by the loser? I think we all know who I am talking about. In the end, all that crap turned out to be just another political gimmick. The person, who broke hell loose over bhaiyyas from Bihar and UP for eating into the space of the Maratha Manoos, did not even have the balls to come out in the open when bombs were hurled by some suckers in his neighbourhood.

He chose to hide himself in his momma’s lap and lick his finger. This time as well, he is nowhere, it seems.

Remember Biharis being beaten up in Assam when they had gone there for their Railways exam? Remember the atrocities on Christians in Kandhamal in Orissa? The examples are endless.

While all the examples cited above were a result of the growing intolerance towards fellow beings, the last one was also motivated politically and on the grounds of religion.

Another thing that has gone unnoticed is the feeling of insecurity behind such incidents. I am pretty sure that out of the 10-odd attacks in Australia, some would have been just criminal and not racist. The intolerance has only aggravated in the backdrop of the lingering financial crisis in the world.

Though I am against any kind of violence against anyone and feel sad for these fellow Indians who have been attacked, I think there is too much hype being created about an issue that could have been easily solved by the Australian authorities.

Moreover, what has happened so far whenever we have cried foul? Has the infiltration from across the border stopped after passing so many legislations? Are the women safe in the capital going back alone at 11 in the night from office? Do we not think of laying a chinky chick every time we see one? Do we not make fun of a south Indian colleague or classmate?

Why are we crying so loud? It’s time to change the mindset towards the bigger issues of life rather than spending our energies on the mere beatings of some of the million students in some foreign land.

With love

So folks, here I come again...after a long break I should say. Blame it on my laziness. Actually, this is after a lot of push. Thanks to The Lady. I wonder what I would have been without you around Honey.

And actually, let me use this public space today to thank you. I thank you for coming out for dinner with me today. I was late and you went mad. But you came. Thanks for all the consideration I have enjoyed over the past few weeks.

Times have been tough, more for you than for me. But I am thankful that after all that happened, I can still proudly say, "You are with me". Thank you God and thank you Honey.

I am really, really thankful and fortunate that I have you with me.

Thanks a lot for being there...

Sorry, I could not make it poetic, don't know how effective it is...but this is the natural voice that came out as soon as you asked me to write something.

I love you Honey and thanks for being there...

Dunno where to go

Damn… Messed up again… How many times now???
Have committed one mistake too many and have repeated them once too many as well… She also chose the different way today… Enough to qualify for crucification.
So get ready all…take your turns and pour the soil…
PS: I spoke, and I did, and would have done even if, this time, You had said nothing…
And she heard it…

Swinging moods

I am in a bad mood today. Part of it has to do with the fact that the new cooler has successfully given me terrible body ache and fever.
But most of it is due to the situation in which I find myself today. Ten months back I left my first job to come to city I fell in love with, 3 years ago. The decision to quit the first job was a painful but strategic one.
First, I wanted to come to New Delhi. Second, I wanted to learn more about the job I was doing and I felt the new place would be a good place to learn. Right or wrong, but I took the decision and here I am today, sulking.
The cribbing, however, is not permanent. I am prone to these mood-swings at times. And it was frustration and anger, which took over today and forced me to key this down.
I still remember the time we (I and The Lady) disclosed our decision to leave the first company, our boss said, “You won’t get the kind of responsibility and power that you enjoy here in the next company,” and so true it has turned out to be.
I don’t know if he meant it when he said that we were turning to be the assets to the company, but over here, in the new firm, I certainly feel I am not one of the assets.
People over here are nice but too professional to my liking. The irony is that I don’t know for myself if I am improving or not. Tough I have got around 70% in the evaluation process, but somehow, I am not satisfied.
You have all the rights to say that I am confused, and well, I might be.
I miss you nuts and your company…

The art of blogging

Why do people blog... I dont really know.

But “with malice” is the place where I take out my frustration towards one and all. So, it would actually be asking for too much if I expect people to read, and even more, comment.
As The Lady said the other day, “ I to just go through the blogs when I have time। I never bother to leave a comment. It is too tiresome for me.” So true, na??

Even I thought the same way a couple of months ago। But I have read far too many blogs since, many of which make sense to me. So I can’t help but poke my nose in to leave a comment on those.

As for myself, yes, I also want to be known। And yes, when I see certain posts with 40-odd comments on it, I feel jealous (true and human). I don’t know if all the people who comment on a certain blog, know the blogger, but trust me, even if you ask your friends to comment on something you have written, they might or might not do that (I have had that experience already).

So that means either I can’t write or can’t write something that will compel people to key in a few words.

Never mind, "with malice" will keep coming even if there is nobody to notice me.

Begging for a better future

What do we do when we have to clean our drawing room? Do we throw the shit in our bedrooms?

That is what we are going to do if the Delhi high court directive gets into effect.

“It is as if we are cleaning our drawing rooms for the guests and throwing the garbage in the bedroom,” The Lady said the other morning when we were discussing the HC directive of creating a “no-tolerance zone” for the beggars at places such as the India Gate, South Extension, Cannaught Place and Greater Kailash among others.

I completely agree with her thoughts. Can creating a so-called “no-tolerance zone” for beggars be a solution to the menace of begging? Certainly, not. Beggars will still be there; not probably at these places, but they will still be there at other places.

Problem is that the authorities are tackling the entire scenario in an arbitrary manner. We need to weed out begging, the mafia who force people into the trade. And I am not ready to hear that the authorities don’t know the whereabouts of the mafia, or even worse, don’t know if they even exist.

Begging is a social evil. A few years back, beggars were found at the religious places and tourist spots in large, but in the past couple of years, the problem has compounded. A lady with dirty clothes; carrying an even dirtier kid in lap, most probably a malnourished child whose saliva dripping mouth makes him a more pitiable object, or a physically challenged man seeking alms, are a common sight at the traffic lights these days. And the problem is not of Delhi alone, these poor fellows are omnipresent.

I don’t have the census of beggars in India, but I can’t help myself thinking that if the billion-plus population of the country donates, say Rs50 each, this problem of rehabilitation of beggars can’t be tackled. Only hurdle is that I am not sure if the money will be able to find its way to the needy hands instead of going directly into some unknown bank account in some far-off country.

It is high time we wake up to this growing problem and find a proper solution to it instead of issuing some half-hearted measures to tackle the plight of these poor fellows who are languishing at the bottom of the social ladder.

Heartbreak at Stamford Bridge

As it turned out, Barcelona booked a date with ManU on 27 May at the Stadio Olympico, Rome.

It was heartbreak at Stamford Bridge, when Barcelona won the game on away goal as the aggregate score stood at 1-1 after the second leg. As they say, it came down to the wires and past the regulation time, it looked as if the blues were all set for a rematch of last season, but it was not to be.

A stoppage time strike by Iniesta (the goal was scored in the third minute of injury time of the allotted four minutes) did break millions of hearts. To be fair, Barcelona defied all odds. Till the injury time, it looked as if they were badly hit by the absence of Henry and Puyol. The second half dismissal of Abidal rubbed some salt to the wounds. But Josep Guardiola’s men had to show their mettle and they did it in style.

Of course, there could be some arguments about the performance of the Norwegian referee (red card to Abidal, denying a handball appeal against Pique, denying Drogba a penalty in the first half itself are a few instances), but no doubt Barcelona was the better team on the field. And that too across both the legs. Chelsea seemed unable to keep the ball and complete at least three passes a time. Not only that, the blues missed too many opportunities. The post-game shouting got a yellow card for Drogba, and his outburst against the camera also would not go unnoticed, but he was the first culprit. Missed one chance too many.

Essien’s goal in the ninth minute and the Chelsea’s tails were up, but they did not keep the ball in possession and Drogba missed at least three scoring opportunities.

Bottomline: Chelsea has only themselves to blame for the defeat.

Will it be an all England final at Rome???

The red devils have struck form at the right time and look ominous. The last few matches in the UEFA Champions League, Sir Alex’s boys have played wonderfully well. The quarter final 2-2 draw at Old Trafford against Porto was when they shed all inhibitions and went all out at Porto in the second leg, and thanks to a stunning Ronaldo goal, they found themselves in the final four.

If you had seen the first leg of the semi finals, Manchester United played at home, you would not believe that the final score-line was 1-0. The devils missed one too many opportunities and only went up by the John O’ Shea goal. But boy, what an answer at the Emirates ground. Three goals against one (that too an unfortunate penalty). Eight minutes in the first half, a brilliant ball by Ronaldo, which caught Gibbs on the wrong foot, and Ji Sung Park made no mistake. Wonder what Almunia was doing.

Hardly three minutes had gone by; when a low, in-swinging Ronaldo free kick found the back of the net. No wonder they call him the magician. Shirt no. 7 also seems to do some tricks for him. Devils go 2-0 up against Arsene Wenger’s gunners, who looked to be in complete disarray.

The 61st minute ball by Rooney, which Ronaldo guided to the back of the net, sealed the deal for the devils, though I personally feel Ronaldo should have got his hat-trick. The spoiler, however, was Darren Fletcher’s send-off. Robert Rosetti got it wrong though, as it was clear in the replay that Fletcher won the ball first before hitting Fabregas in the wonderful tackle. The silent contributor will miss the finals.

So, who will join the devils in Rome? It will be clear tonight but I can’t help myself supporting the blues. Guus Hiddink’s boys denied Barcelona at Camp Nou, which was a rarity this season. And, at Stamford Bridge, with a 0-0 score-line to start with, Chelsea looks more than likely to book a place in the finals.

Gosh, I am eager to witness another mouth-watering, ManU-Chelsea epic encounter for the European Championship. Or would it be the repeat of last season’s semi finals, when the devils bettered Barcelona, thanks to the Paul Scholes goal.

Come what may, it is going to be a great match tonight folks. So tune in to Ten Sports at 0000hrs for the Chelsea-Barcelona encounter.

The temperature in Europe is certainly rising. What say???

The Red world order

Socialism looked like such a distant dream…yet again.

I was watching Hararon Khwahishen Aisi the other day, in which the son of a rich retires judge tries to lift the red brigade after seeing the agonizing condition of the fellow countrymen. He later succumbs to other pressures and drops the idea all together. And like all rich brats—who can take a chance in life because they were born with a silver spoon and have a solid support system—changes his course of action. It is not his fault if by then it was all over for his beloved (he said so) and another fellow student.

Why does socialism seem like the artwork of some rich spoilt brats—who basically have nothing else to do to get ends meet since all their needs are already taken care of? They, then, go about bragging socialism to the down-trodden, who feel food about this new found idea of equality nonsense.

Just an example. In a scene in the same movie, a comrade sings praises about socialism and tells people how Hitler was also a socialist. Suddenly, someone from the audience asks a fellow sitting alongside—Yo Hitler kaun se (Who is Hitler?)— and , in reply, the other one says—Pata nai bhaya, mhare gaon mein to koi na se (I don’t know, no one from my village).

Another, more real-life example. Just a few days ago, I saw Brinda Karat stepping out of her car to address an election campaign. I wonder how much her driver could relate to this so-called equality.

Well, to be honest, socialism has found some kind of success. Maoists in a little known village called Lalgarh in West Bengal, are running parallel governance and one, which seems to do better than the actual government. They are running hospitals and people in the area are flocking there because they know they will get a better and cheaper treatment over there. To the contrary, the government-run health centres in the area are lying vacant in absence of doctors and medical equipment.

But the irony is that these Maoists have been declared outlaws and are called naxals by the fellow comrades in the Communist government of West Bengal.

Wonder how long this socialism will go? Any suggestions???

Life in a Metro

Saw the award-winning movie 36 Chowranghee Lane a couple of days ago. It was perhaps the first movie that portrayed the helplessness of the young couples who try to find out some time for themselves amid the good-old joint families in a bustling city such as Calcutta.

On the other hand the story also depicts the loneliness that one faces in such a city.
Two extremes, both so very realistic even in the contemporary society, some 18 years after the film was released.

I, having left home some three, three-and-a-half years ago, have been through both the extremes; and guess most of the people in my generation who have been living alone in a city, away from home, would have felt the same.

So as I was telling you, I have passed the phase of loneliness and am blessed with The Lady I have in my life. The problem, however, is that having the same routine, same work hours and work pressure, we are so exhausted by night, that we can't even talk. No, I am not in a live-in relationship (though I would have loved to be in one with The Lady). We have time for each-other, but the problem is, as we always discuss, we dont talk to each other much.

Of course, I am the prime culprit, and should be thankful to God that She still bears me and loves me as much, but I would confess something here—after a long hard day in the office, when you return to your top-floor, 1BHK furnace, you dont feel like talking much. But no excuses, I should be talking more.

I am trying to be a better man and for the soution of the woes, I have written my way out through this samll piece:

एक कटोरी चाँद लाया था आज बाज़ार से हमारे लिए,
दिन कुछ जल्दी ढल जाता है आज कल...
रात के सन्नाटे काटने को दौड़ते हैं...
चाँद को खूंटे से टांग दूँगा मैं...
उसकी रौशनी से कमरे में तो उजाला होगा...
दो पल और मिलेंगे मुझे तुम्हारे साथ
एक लम्हा ज़िन्दगी और जी लूँगा मैं...

Love you Sona...

a little malice towards thyself

With malice comes this time with some malice towards himself. Things haven’t been right for him for some time now. As he lives another day, sulking, cursing the stars, he doesn’t know what the future has in store for him.
Lets rewind. The problems created in his life are all actually his inventions. That she is not happy and his health is going through a very tough time, both the prime reasons of his tension these days, are both because of his negligence.
He is sad. Doesn’t know what to do. Feels she is beginning to feel the weight of their relationship. Her tiredness is apparent. And he can’t do a thing. At least he can’t think of anything to make her happy at this point in time.
It is not only about him being sad or her being unhappy. It is the fact that their relationship is on the line this time. And he can feel it. He just doesn’t want to do anything, lest he takes a wrong step and swoooosh…it’s over.
But his not doing anything; is it conveying the message to her that he is in a lax mood? Is he? For sure, he is not.
He is trapped. Completely. In a web, created by mistakes of his own.
Will he be able to come out of it this time? Will she be merciful enough to grant him another chance? Will he learn from his mistakes this time? Does he have the answers to these questions?Oh Wednesday, when will thee come?

friends and solitude

Friends and solitude are two words, which go together, holding hands. I have felt it many times in the past twenty-five years. In these years I had been with friends, all the time, but the loneliness came creeping in every time I closed my eyes and saw where I was.
Equations have changed in the past couple of years. After I stepped out of home to find my existence, to earn my livelihood, things changed. I lost the company of my good old friends; solitude crept in, but I made many new ones. Got in touch with people, for many of which, I, my existence, become important.
But things changed again. As my old friends lost me when I stepped in the new world of self-dependence, I lost the new ones I made when they moved on. Solitary again...
By now I have been so used to this solitary mood of mine that it comes knocking in every now and then. And then I am forced to close my eyes.
Honey, as I call my soulmate, is co-incidentally my best friend as well. I know she would not believe this, I wish she would. She always asks me why I am silent. I don’t know. This silence has never left me, and it comes with all the more vengeance each time it goes…
Any answers, anyone?

Dance of Democracy

The page11 Times of India snippet a few days ago was really amazing. I just did not know how to react on the news.
The Press Trust of India report says the Congress party may rope in Slumdog Millionaire kids for poll campaigning. Read it here: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/cong-to-rope-in-slumdog-kids-for-poll-campaigning/86938-37.html
The Mumbai regional Congress committee president saying the party might use the services of Azhar and Rubina—who played the roles of Salim and Latika, respectively—if they volunteer to campaign for the party, shows desperate measures the party is taking.
Engaging stars from the silver screen for their poll campaign is not new for the political parties in India (Amitabh Bachchan participated in the election campaign in support of the Samajwadi Party, Govinda did it for the Congress, Saundarya—the late tollywood actor—for the Bharatiya Janata Party; there are several such instances).
But what makes this new endeavour by the Congress unique is that they are volunteering to engage child actors for their campaign.
Will the plan work or not, it is still to be seen (whether they will go along with the plan or not is also not clear), but I just wonder what these kids (who don’t even have the voting rights, because our Constitution thinks one must be at least 18 to understand who to vote for and why) really know about the parliamentary democracy and how are they supposed to move the minds of the billion plus population of our country.
Though this should not come as a surprise to the most of us, who have often seen scores of kids with paper hats, carrying dhols and shouting the name of a candidate, in exchange of some petty cash before every poll.
It can happen only in India.

And as I was writing the post, the National Dalit Front roped in Pinki (remember the clept-palate girl in the Academy award winning documentary) to campaign for them in the run to the Lok Sabha Polls. (Read the agency report here: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/oscar-winner-pinki-to-be-election-mascot-of-national-dalit-front_100163706.html)

P.S.: Azhar was beaten by his father, who is a tuberculosis patient, on 28 February, since he refused to give interview to a foreign media.