Cheerleaders

For the first time in the history of world Sari-clad cheerleaders will perform in a cricket match.

"The girls will not wear short skirts as has been done in many other places because it would be against our culture and tradition. Our audience will not accept it. They will have modest traditional attire. They will be dressed as per our tradition and culture.", Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) secretary Ashirbad Behera told IANS.

Seems like cheer leading is in favor of their acclaimed culture and tradition but 'cheer leading with short skirts' is not. I wonder what he has to say to bikini clad swimmers. If he had his way, Indian women will have to wear sari in swimming events of Olympics.

And what if a cheerleader with sari has to perform this act?
http://www.lenoircity.com/LCPPFootball/cheerleader.gif

I can totally imagine an Oriya girls lifting her sari up to do the trick.

Remembring Iqbal Bano

Listening to a song like this, makes you actually realise what 'spell bounding' does mean...


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Sung by Iqbal Bano
Title: Dasht-e-Tanhai



dasht-e-tanhaai mein, ai jaan-e-jahaan, larzaan hain
In the desert of my solitude, oh love of my life, quiver
teri avaaz ke saaye,
the shadows of your voice,
tere honthon ke saraab
the mirage of your lips

dasht-e-tanhaai mein,
In the desert of my solitude,
duri ke khas-o-khaak tale
beneath the dust and ashes of distance
khil rahe hain tere pehlu ke saman aur gulaab
bloom the jasmines and roses of your proximity

uht rahi hai kahin qurbat se
From somewhere very close,
teri saans ki aanch
rises the warmth of your breath
apani khushbuu mein sulagti hui
smouldering in its own aroma,
maddham maddham
slowly, bit by bit.

dur ufaq par chamakati hui
far away, across the horizon, glistens
qatra qatra
drop by drop
gir rahi hai teri dil daar nazar ki shabnam
the falling dew of your beguiling glance

is qadar pyaar se hai jaan-e jahaan rakkhaa hai
With such tenderness, O love of my life,
dil ke rukhsaar pe
on the cheek of my heart,
is vaqt teri yaad ne haath
has your memory placed its hand right now

yun guman hota hai
that it looks as if
garche hai abhi subah-e-firaaq
(though it's still the dawn of adieu)
dhal gaya hijr ka din
the sun of separation has set
aa bhi gaye vasl ki raat
and the night of union has arrived
[source]

हवस

1.
कोई और वक्त हो, कोई और दिन हो, तो मिट भी जाएँगे
तुम्हारे एक इशारे पे

पर आज हाथ थाम लो, और समेट लो बाहों में
आज मेरी हवस है किनारे पे

2.
अश्कों को आज पोछ दो, यह मेरी वफ़ा के टुकड़े हैं
चुभ गए तो, दाग ही लगाएँगे, दामन सारे पे

The facets of YSR

For long time I believed that defeat of TDP and rise of congress in Andhra was due to resilence of rural mass.
But here is something to shatter the myth.

Some think that only Biharis and other North Indians are naturally violent, and that South Indians are meek and mild. The exploits of YSR show otherwise (as do the exploits of Prabhakaran in Sri Lanka).

Propaganda of congress in the media is particularly noteworthy. Check out the moron-giri here and here.
In 2003, YSR undertook a three month long paadayaatra, of nearly 2000 kilometer across the state. That helped him to become Chief Minister.

Shocked by the sudden and tragic end of their leader, 14 people died in different parts of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday.

Award shward

I was reading about the Iron Man of India when I noticed that he was given Bharat Ratna in 1991, 41 years after he died. Isn't it ironical that man, who is the reason India stands today as united India, was given this award 41 years while Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi got Bharat Ratna in their lifetime.
And apparently Sardar Patel is not the only one.

Free Electricty and earth water

As long as this happens:
The free electricity was offered as an election gift to the farmers across state. The decision has been condemned in the past by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

that will also continue to happen.

War and Terror

In India I hear 'Hang kasab' from people, I don't hear 'Bring kasab to justice'.
What is so differetn over there at Uncle Sam's?

Delhi Female Births

This is the news in BBC: Delhi female births rise hailed.
>>The news has been hailed as a gender revolution in a country that has been struggling to get >>the balance right.

Calling it a 'revolution' and 'being hailed' is height of exaggeration, as calling it a news(for Indians) itself is too much. I am yet to see this news in any major Indian newspaper or on news-websitee. Indian media believes in 'ignorance is bliss' for every kind of news apart from which concerns gays or Bollywood.

On top of that mere growth in female births doesn't coclude anything. Any conclusion on behavioral change of people's mind related to female birth would also need percentage change in female foeticides happened in that year compared to previous year. And to become 'revolution' the trend would have to continue for a few years more. It could be a mere chance that in year 2008 newly-wed males were abundant in X chromosomes.

The Ugly Indian

"You will feel like sitting in DTC Bus in this flight", humored one of my co-passengers before boarding the flight who himself was an Indian. It was same flight third time in that year and is mostly packed with Indians. I can not deny the fact that Indians indeed are bad travelers.
And no its not a cultural thing as Jason seems to suggest:
“It's a cultural thing,” said Pankaj Gupta, part-owner of Outbound Travels, a New Delhi-based travel agency. “In India, we have servants to do everything in everybody's houses mostly, so people are just sort of used to getting stuff delivered to them.”

It could have been a cultural thing if middle class also would have the same luxury of keeping four maids and five servants. In my travels I have come across mostly middle class Indians or business visitors like me who come from IT industry and mind it, both of them are not affluent enough to have servants who could deliver every little thing at master's bedside.
I guess the hurry, the absence of courtesy, the greed for free stuff - all arise from the fact that India is horribly populated and there are limited resources. Any Indian has to become extremely competitive to survive and live a good life. Whether it's entry into educational institutions or fighting for jobs, Indians need to be fighters of first grade above all. Indians are not born competitive but over time their tendency to competition is fortified by the environment the live in. And this tendency to compete, and to extract every bit of value for one's money is what drives an Indian passenger.


The commercial aspect of Jason's solution will not work in this context:
What's the multicultural secret to a tranquil flight, you ask?
Five dollar whiskeys.
Because 'yeh pyaas hai badi, bhaiaa'

परदा

परदा था तो कभी वो भी मुस्कुरा के चले जाते थे
हसरत ए मोहब्बत ने परदा गिराने पे मजबूर कर दिया

अब वो भी देख लेते हैं तो कतरा के निकल जाते हैं
बेबाक इश्क़ ने हमको ज़माने की जागीर जो कर दिया

परदा था तो कभी वो भी मुस्कुरा के चले जाते थे...

Wretched State

First this(Kargil) and now this(Lal Bahadur Sashtry) , and I thought my jokes were bad...
Could any rant justify the wretched state of Indian diplomacy?

Strategy of an Economist

Perhaps ypu remember when the chocolate hero of INC saga gave the proof of his intellectual shrewdness when he called the Kandhar Hijack drama - buckling in front of terrorists. Perhaps lives of 178 people on the board didn't seem very crucial for India's future.

But then who cared that foreign strategy is not very much a game of an economist. Putting the whole nation's reputation and strategy at stake could be termed as strength of decision making, isn't it?

Or maybe sometimes it becomes difficult to understand simple things.
"A country does not become great by engaging other countries on their terms, particularly when those countries are waging war against it."

Rifts in Religion

The recent violence in state of Punjab once again has resurrected the issue of internal clash between sikh sects. Just two years back there was huge riot situation due to the controversy of impersonating of Guru Gobind Singh by Sacha Sauda leader Gurmeet Singh.

I believe the basic problem is the political influence on religious institutions and vice versa. The religion itself has never promoted caste or favorism to one kind of people over other. But then again, the influence of religious doctrines has been until the religious line; the doctrines were not successful in impacting the social and economic aspects of religion.[link - Sikhism as a ‘caste less’ religion] There was gap in Sikhism preachings while defining the socio-economic aspects of doctrine. Over the time, this gap has given rise to politcs and power-play between the different sects.

The attempt is to monopolise the master narrative of Sikh tradition, to eviscerate its diverse imaginings, and to concentrate power in organisations like the SGPC. You take all of these aspirations, and align them with religious politics and you will get the combustible mix that we are seeing in Punjab. [link]

The solution to the problem lies in the root of problem itself:

It is a truism that the conditions for generating an enlarged and liberal outlook are less a function of the doctrine of a religion, but more a product of the fragmentation of authority. When any tradition is comfortable with the idea that there is no monopoly over authority, over interpretation, it is more likely to be comfortable with internal dissent. [link]

Punjabi-isation?

I rarely see Vir Sanghvi's pieces in good air as his writings tend to be of simplistic approach in my view. But I guess he has made a good point in his this piece: A Punjabi-dominated popular culture has swept all of India. The reason might be because he has not made any point, but merely an observation.
When I think about people I meet from south India who know about Bhangra while my native Punajbi people don't know a scintilla about katha-kali or kuchi-pudi, I cannot but accept the fact
"I believe that the change in dress habits is part of the growing Punjabi-isation of India."

Sanghvi is also right in saying that
"But equally, I am not prepared to say that Punjabi-isation is necessarily a bad thing. But it’s worth thinking about, isn’t it?"

I think 'cultures' evolve rather than dominate one another. Like Punjabi culture is a mess of Mughal, Sikh and Hindu culture constantly invoked by invaders who came to India via Punjab. Yes, it is a mess and there exactly lies the richness of culture. Maybe intrusion of Punjabi culture in others is actually evolution of other cultures and that of itself too.

And by the way, the essential Punajbi culture is not about Indian Punjab but the bigger Punjab region.

Happy Vaisakhi


~~ਤੂੜੀ ਤੰਦ ਸਾਂਬ ਹਾੜ੍ਹੀ ਵੇਚ ਵਾਟ ਕੇ~~
~~ਲਾਂਬੜਾਂ ‘ਤੇ ਸ਼ਾਹਾਂ ਦਾ ਹਿਸਾਬ ਕੱਟ ਕੇ~~
~~ਕਚਹੇ ਮਾਰ ਵਂਝਲੀ ਆਨੰਦ ਚਹਾ ਗਯਾ~~
~~ਮਾਰਦਾ ਦਾਮਾਮੇ ਜੱਟ ਮੇਲੇ ਆ ਗਯਾ~~

~~Toorhi tand saamb haarhi vech watt ke~~
~~Lambrhaan ‘te shaahaan da hisaab katt ke~~
~~Kachhe maar vanjhli anand chhaa gya~~
~~Maarda damaame jatt mele aa gya~~

The above lines are sung by Dhani Ram Chatrik, a great poeat and lyric of Punjab. There was a time when a few words of his, like above verse, could describe the whole of Punjab. Today world seems to have forgotten those people who can be considered father of modern punjabi poetry and father of punjabi publication. I take the festival of Vaisakhi an opportunity to remember him.

Article from Tribune :

A proud legacy lies in dust
Punjabi’s greatest poet Chatrik’s house in a shambles, converted to marriage palace

Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

Public memory is short. And, Dhani Ram Chatrik, who earned the title of “Punjab’s greatest lyric and poet,” seems to have been forgotten by Punjabi language lovers just after 50 years of his death.

Chatrik was the first to standardise the Gurmukhi type. He had the honour of publishing the first volume of Guru Granth Sahib and Bhai Khan Singh’s “Mahan Kosh” (the first authentic dictionary of Punjabi), by using modern technique at his Sudarshan Printing Press.

He was unmistakably the maker of modern Punjabi poetry. Many celebrity singers have earned crores of rupees by singing his songs. He was one of the seminal figures of the literary renaissance in the country at the turn of the last millennium. And today he’s a forgotten hero!

Chatrik became the founder-president of the Punjabi Sabha, which worked relentlessly to get Punjabi language an honourable status at the time when Urdu enjoyed the official patronage. A versatile and prolific writer, he used his pen in experimenting with different genres of Punjabi language. His vocabulary was fresh, and metaphor, tone and style employed by him were refreshingly new. Unmistakably, Chatrik was a towering personality who lived for Punjabiat.

Unfortunately, the palatial Chatrik House on the Amritsar- Lahore road, which should have been a pilgrimage centre for Punjabi writers, is in a shambles today. A marriage palace — Chirag Palace — has come up on the major portion of the house. The issueless youngest son of the celebrity poet — Prem Kumar Monga (71) and his bed-ridden wife Lalita — now live in the remaining portion of the house. The house itself has witnessed many alterations.

Hardly any literary aficionado knows that the couple lives in the house once constructed by Chatrik. The house is a few yards away from Khalsa College and Guru Nanak Dev University, which were established to promote Punjabi language and Punjabiat. But both these institutions never bothered to invite the couple at any of the literary functions.

It was a chance meeting with Dr Harbhajan Singh Bhatia, Professor, School of Punjabi Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University, that revealed some interesting facts. Dr Bhatia, while expressing his disgust at the construction of the marriage palace after demolishing the major portion of the Chatrik House, said that it was unfortunate that Punjab had failed to exploit the potential of “literary tourism”.

Dr Bhatia, who recently visited the birthplaces of Shakespeare and Lord Byron in the United Kingdom, said these birthplaces attracted a large number of tourists from all over the world.

The poet’s youngest son, who himself could not read the books authored by his father as he had not learnt Gurmukhi, owns the responsibility for having failed to preserve the Chatrik House. He sold the property in a phased manner, unmindful of its heritage value. It is learnt that he suffers from depression. His wife admits that Chatrik would have regretted that his own sons could not read the literature he had produced with painstaking efforts.

All four sons of Chatrik — Mr Balwant Rai, Mr Brij Mohan (both are no more), Mr Jaswant Rai and Mr Prem Kumar — decided to donate their father’s library to Punjabi University, Patiala, after Chatrik’s death. The old couple (Mr Prem Kumar and Ms Lalita), however, still possesses parts of the Gurmukhi letters prepared by Chatrik and some rare pictures. These letters, made of metal, are worth keeping in a museum.

Meanwhile, Mr Joginder Singh Ohri, who had purchased the major portion of the house in 1987, now plans to demolish the remaining part of the Chatrik House, which is in his possession, to expand the Chirag Marriage Palace. Earlier, he had felled more than 50-odd trees to construct the marriage palace. Mr Vivek Kumar, son of Mr Ohri , however, agrees to preserve the remaining part of the house if state or district administration shows any interest. “I know the heritage value of the portion, which could be preserved for creating a museum in the name of Chatrik,” he adds.

Born on October 4, 1876, Chatrik breathed his last on December 18, 1954. At that time, the social and cultural milieu was fast changing. In his biographical note, Chatrik gives interesting information about the Gurmukhi type and his contribution in its modification. He writes that Christian missionaries brought “Punjabi letters” from England in the year 1875 and published the Bible in Gurmukhi at the Mission Press, Ludhiana. But the type, invented by the Christian missionaries, was not up to the mark and required modification.

Lala Hira Nand improved the type with the help of writers from Amritsar and published beautiful books in Lahore by 1880. Later, Munshi Gulab Singh & Sons, Lahore, prepared another Gurmukhi type with the help of a Muslim worker, Munshi Noordin, who was instrumental in introducing the Gurmukhi letters in different parts of Punjab. He was later employed by the Wazir Hind Press, Amritsar, and more varieties of the Gurmukhi type were introduced.

Six BIG drivers of my vote

1. Indian Democracy:
The Gandhian(rather Nehru, or actually Khan, ok, I don't know) dynasty that runs in the congress is blatant, in-the-face mockery to whole concept of democracy. All the later generations of Nehru(Indira, Rajiv, Sanjay, Sonia, Rahul) have reaped the benefit of family name without having any actual potential of their own. They didn't rise from party heirarchy but they were/are gifted with highest of ranks in party just because they have their family name. On top of that, Gandhi name is sold like a brand in India, making educational institutions, government policies, government schemes on Gandhis' names. The choice will be ours to decide if we want a rule of democratic party in democratic India or a rule of royalty in democratic India. At least I won't encourage any dominance of autocracy over democracy.
Case of Gandhi Nomenclature


2. Political Interference in Indian state:
Election Commission and President are two unbiased institutions of Indian state. If these are politicized, I wonder, in what manner Indian state could be called a free democracy or why cant Indian republic is not a failed one.
The case of Chawla/EC and election of president, politicized by UPA, points nothing but an institutionalized interference of congress in Indian state.
Even though BJP continuously campaigned against Pratibha Patil, UPA went ahead with making Pratibha Patil, the president of India, more so when her credentials were in a fair doubt.
Even after Shah Commission declared Chawla “unfit to hold any public office which demands an attitude of fair play and consideration for others”, the UPA let him continue the most unbiased(should be), critical-for-democracy office.
On the other hand, there is NDA(so called pro-Hindu) nominated a scientist, think-tank, muslim Abdul Kalam as president.
Credentials of Pratibha Patil
Chawla Must Go


3. Economic Front:
Not diluting the phenomenal change in Indian economics brought by Manmohan Singh during Narsimha's government, I have no hesitance to say that it was only congress's pro-communism (allying with socialism in Nehruvian regime) that delayed this much-needed revolution. Lets not awake the dead from grave, but current UPA has done no better job in economic front. Sometimes I wonder if P Chidambram and Manmohan Singh are really worthy of being called competitve economist or is that just an myth created by media. UPA always has been high on its pro-poor governance but when there was chance of fiscal consolidation the UPA missed the mark. And let me tell you that fiscal consolidation is not a small issue. It is the basic reason why India could not fight with current recession effectively and the basic reason of inflation at these times even when crude oil has dropped in to the well from a high ceiling. P Chidambram has his own view of economic policies, and he himself agrees that fiscal deficit actually reduced in NDA's regime. In 2004 elections NDA has fiscal consolidation as its major economic agenda which UPA completely overlooked for sake of minority appeasement.
On top of that again minority appeasement has always been bugging the UPA economic policies in form of expensive useless schemes like 'farm loan waiver'.
Another point to consider here is that BJP has always been pro-development and there are people like Arun Shourie in BJP who have a concrete economic policy for India.
Tough times ahead UPA
India's Need for Fiscal Consolidation
An analysis on PC's deliriums

4. Communalism/Minority Appeasement:
BJP is often looked as a communal party. The reson for that in my view is our minority-biased media. I dont deny BJP is communal but other parties including congress are no less communal than BJP is. Congress is communal in favor of minorities. Take for example, to appease Muslims UPA removed POTA but then again was compelled to bring back POTA(in form of NSA) after Mumbai-attacks. In my view, as much BJP has been communal in favor of Hindus, congress has come communal agianst Hindus. In both of these fights, minorities dont get any benefit except for a false belief of appeasement. If Babri Masjid or Godhra can be counted as BJP communism then 1984-Sikh-riots and Nandigram are congress/left given communism. There is another point to consider here that in India almost every party has a coomunity base. Whether its Akali Dal(Sikh community), BSP(Dalit community), Shiv Sena(Mahrashtra community), BJP(Hindu community), congress(every kind of minority), the political base that these parties have made has been because of appeasement each give to their targetted group. There is absolutely no party who considers India as whole.
In this case I dont conisder any party better than the other.

5. Security and Foreign Policy:
If NDA had been succesful in Kargil War anf Pokhran tests, then UPA also has success of Nuclear Deal and handling of Mumbai Attacks in its pocket. UPA handled Pakistan (post Mumbai) very well through dipomatic pressure and was not provoked into direct confrontation on border. I believe I will have to go with equal points to both NDA and UPA in this criteria.

6. Coalition Corruption:
As I had explained the dilemma of diversity and corruption, UPA has been a fortress of corruption cases in its last tenure. For the forthcoming elections UPA has already seen disappointment from its allies only because allies like Lalu and Mulayam see a better opportunity of negotiating in post-poll-alliance than pre-poll-alliance. In this regard they even dream of becoming prime-minsters. And with UP being the the fort of Indian politics, (to me) there seems to be no chance of UPA coming to majority in its present form, which will only ensure that it will have to succumb to post-poll alliances. If conditions in coalition itself are so aggravated, one can imagine the corruption that will erupt during the tenure. And there will be great deal of chances of disagreement in these parties (kind of congress-left divergence on nuclear deal) the price of which will have to paid by Indian people only.
NDA is not entirely devoid of corruption, but the gap is wide between UPA and NDA.

In nutshell: I view all the political parties in current state are noncompetitive to run a government in India. But we have to accept the fact that for the sake of India we have to make a choice out of these given parties. In my view NDA is relatively better option than others and I would have voted for NDA(if I could have). You should, too, make your choice without bias, on basis what is good for India (not what is good for my community).

Note: I have not considered possibility of third front. The reason being, in my view practically third front as an electoral victory is not viable. Even if third front comes into existence and wins, even then I reject it as an option on the basis that a fragmented(ideological point of view) coalition can not deliver at national level on any(economic, plitical, social) issue. Secondly, any involvement of left is not acceptable to me. I consider left(or any communist ideology) a threat to any kind of progress(I am using word 'progress' not 'development'. Left is anti-development is easily understandble, though.)

Nano and Environment

This link - Why CSE says ‘NO’ to has been forwarded to me a friend on google reader. I came to know there exists something called Centre for Science and Environment and from this article it seems they are completely dorks living in a whimsical world, how can they associate themselves with science - an institution of logic and reasoning.

A king walking on the road slips on banana-peel, next day he bans eating banana by anyone in his kingdom. Try subverting the irony between symptom and cause.

"Cars may drive growth and aspirations, but they can never meet the commuting needs of urban India. Cars choke cities, harm public health and guzzle more oil."
If Indian regulation for car-pollution are low or the road infrastructure in India is bad it doesn't mean cars can never meet the commuting needs. Cars are the major means of commuting in developed countries whether it's USA, Europe or Japan. If in India cars are not able to meet that requirement then its not cars which are to blame. The blame lies with infrastructure that exists in India. Rather than chalking out need of infrastructure, blame the cars, because that is more like environment-friendly, isn't it?

"as all cars -- small or big -- are heavily subsidised in Indian cities. But the hidden costs of using cars are enormous."
Does car-manufacture put state-governments on the edge of knife, when they negotiate for subsidies? No, state-governments happily shower their subsidies to lure these manufacturers so that state can have another mean of employment, jobs and gross production. If some widget/product price is reduced according to principles of trade then there is nothing wrong with it.

"Thus, we are certainly not paying the full cost of manufacture of our cars, let alone the cost of running or parking them."
Do they even know the concept called business or trade. First of all how are they measuring the full cost? On what parameters do they decide full cost? Just because there is lenience in taxes to manufacturers, reasoning is that it's not full price? To tell you the truth of economics, there shouldn't be unreasonable obstacles and taxes in the first place that businesses in India have to face.

"Public transport, on the other hand, gets a step-motherly treatment: our government penalises buses by taxing them higher than the much-pampered cars."
Public transports pay more because they are in business. How difficult was it to understand? They are making money from usage of buses. Individual cars do not make income from the usage. They forgot to mention the taxes imposed in taxis or cabs.

"Cars of today are truly akin to dinosaurs. They are not part of the solution to the pollution and climate mayhem."
Of course, cars are not solution to pollution problem, they are solution to transportation problem. What kind of statement is that?

"the major car companies are lining up for bailouts worth billions that are forcing Western governments to inject more money into the business – this, in turn, is fanning more greed and greater car dependency."
I was of the view that we were talking about India, how and when did USA enter into picture, is strange. The bailouts are result of bad business choices and dependency of employment on those industries. It has nothing to do with 'fanning greater car dependency'. In fact, the present conditions of bankruptcy to these industries will be a lesson to car-makers to make pollution-efficient cars.

Cities need mobility, not cars. Says Roychowdhury: “We need to re-design public policies to promote mobility for all -- scale up efficient public transport and implement effective tax policies to restrain car use.”
I agree with what they have concluded, but there is a way to reach at some conclusion. The way in which CSE has opted to reach this conclusion is fatally flawed. Cars of course, result in more pollution and more so in India(given the infrastructure). Most of people don't use cars(and stuck in traffic jams) just for funsies, they do it because there is no choice. The present infrastructure of transportation in India is not appropriate enough for a good-earning man who has option for car. The blame lies with infrastructure and improve, it should be.
Just for example, recently Delhi metro system has been a success in transportation. Why is it a success? - Is it because metro system was efficient as transportation or did they banned car-usage for people who lived near metro-stations?

ਜ਼ਿੱਦ

ਮੁਹੱਬਤ ਦਾ ਬੇਡ੍ਡਾ ਸੀ, ਜੋ ਜ਼ਿਦਾ ਕਾਰਨ ਬਹ ਗਿਆ
ਦਿਲਗੀਰਾ ਦਾ ਦੁਖ, ਖਾਰੇ ਨੀਰ ਦੇ ਬਾਵਜੂਦ ਰਹ ਗਿਆ!!

Retrospection

ਕਈ ਚੇਹਰੇ ਸੀ ਜੋ ਮੇਰੇ ਨਾਲ ਖਿਡੇ ਸੀ
ਕਈ ਹੰਝੂ ਸੀ ਜੋ ਮੇਰੇ ਨਾਲ ਵਗ ਤੁਰੇ ਸੀ
ਰੋਗ ਕੁਝ ਮੈਂ ਦੇ ਬੈਠਾ, ਕੁਝ ਰੋਗ ਮਨ ਦੇ ਮੈਂ ਲੇ ਬੈਠਾ

ਮੈਂ ਅੱਜ ਵੀ ਕਦੀ ਹਸਦਾ ਆਂ, ਮੈਂ ਅੱਜ ਵੀ ਕਦੀ ਰੋਂਦਾ ਆਂ
ਪਰ ਜੋ ਰੋਗ ਵਕ਼ਤ ਨਾਲ ਚਲੇ ਗਏ, ਓਹ ਮੁਡ ਕਦੇ ਖੁਲੇ ਨਾ

Birth of third front

Third front is born with Left(CPI) at its helms. Below is how I see Left as a hypocrite anti-development bunch of politicians with no ideology except power hunger.


"He said the non-BJP, non-Congress coalition would stand for the interests of the vast majority of Indians, defend secular values and fight for social justice."
Need I remind of Nandigram

"Perceptions will change. In states where our coalition is running governments much development has taken place and industry has grown. I don’t see why industry or corporates should feel that this coalition will be less favourable or hostile to them,"
"Karat, whose party withdrew support to the Congress-led government in July last year over the India-US nuclear deal, said successive governments had failed to resolve grave economic problems confronting the country."
Resolution of Tata Plant issue is a mockery to above statement

"What does 9 percent growth mean for common man? We still have farmers committing suicide. We have shortage of food items, which makes life miserable for common man"
Talk about suicides(suicide by a farmer or a common man)


"I don't think there is any leader or party in the Third Front who would not want to be PM. When the time comes to select the PM candidate, the Third Front will split," said Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress leader in charge of the party in Karnataka."
I hope the situation of third front choosing a PM never arises.

News delayed by one year

This is Mar 11, 2009 news from CNN-IBN:
24 indians make it to forbes worlds richest list [link now removed]
This was the content of the news, anyway.

This is news from BBC on same day:
Rich list hit by economic crisis

These are the actual lists:
Forbes 2009 list
Forbes 2008 list

IBNlive is an Indian news channel. There isn't any mention whether list is 2008 or 2009, but 'now'(as on Mar 11,2009) is mentioned.

Colorful Holi to all!!

अनेक रंग में जन खेला
तो एक भारत वर्ष बना!!


हरे रंग से उपजी रोटी

मानव का भुज - बल बना!!


सफ़ेद रंग के सूत से

लाखों का संग्राम बना!!


केसरिया सा इक चोला पहना

तो इक जवान, शहीद बना!!


गुलाब एक कली खिली थी

वोह झांसी का नर-सिंह बना!!


लाल लहू ने दी कुर्बानी

तो सदिओं का इतिहास बना!!


नीले रंग की चाद्दर हटा

देश मेरा सवाधीन बना!!


श्याम रंग के वरन लिखे थे

एक अछूत से गणतंतर बना!!


अनेक रंग में जन खेला

तो एक भारत वर्ष बना!!


English Transliteration:


anek rang mein jan khelaa

to ek bhaarat varsh banaa!!


hare rang se upaji roti

maanav ka bhuj-bal banaa!!


safed rang ke soot se

laakhon ka sangraam banaa!!


kesriyaa saa ik cholaa pahnaa

to ik jawan, shaheed banaa!!


gulaab ek kali khili thi

woh jhaansi kaa nar-sinh banaa!!


laal lahoo ne di kurbani

to sadion kaa itihaas banaa!!


neele rang ki chaaddar hataa

desh meraa savaadheen banaa!!


shyaam rang ke varan likhe they

ek achoot se gantantar banaa!!


anek rang mein jan khelaa

to ek bhaarat varsh banaa!!

Diversity and Democracy

Diversity is important for a healthy democracy. Whether in demographics or in political representation diversity plays an important role. A diverse demographics ensures that there is free flow of ideas. Diverse political representation ensures that people's(minorities and ethnic) rights are being taken care.

The very essence of democracy is changing governance, and this comes as direct result of difference in ideologies. Whether it is change of power from one political power to another or it is change of ministries from one person to another, both are equally important.
Take here example of Pakistan and India. We both essentially are same people (or more appropriately 'were' before 1947). Both are sprouts of one entity. A lot of culture is still shared between Pakistan's Punjab area and India's Punjab and Delhi region. But then came a difference.
Pakistan's demographics restricted to one culture, that of Islam, as a result the political representation and governance also became mess of altering phases of dictatorship and democracy. India celebrates her history of Maurya rule, Mughal rule, British rule and democracy while Pakistan has no such history. Six decades afterward, Pakistan is a failed state while India celebrates its democracy and dream of becoming super-power(dream it maybe, but can Pakistan dare to see same dream).

But the main point is about an additional thing, which if of more to introspect rather than retrospect the history. India is a Federal Parliamentary Republic. Which means there is state-wise government as well as one central government. Some realities in regard to India are that election of MPs is almost influenced by the same lines along which state-government was elected. A single party doesn't have presence in all the constituencies to form central government.
Over time, as influence of congress reduced and there were internal division of congress, these things have given rise to fragmentation of elected MPs to different parties. As a result, in the current scenario, it is difficult for any party to be at power stand-alone without any coalition.
This fragmentation ensures that there is diversity of elected MPs from different MPs. The one thing that can be hoped from this scenario is accountable government as there isn't a single party at the helms. But as it happens in last governement of UPA, accountability was traded off with political benefits. To be in power becomes the sole motivation for main-party and therefore accountability is jeopardized for coalition parties if not for that party. Some examples can be checked out:

Cash for vote - http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/aug/05upavote1.htm
Telecom scam - http://www.indianexpress.com/news/this-is-a-mega-telecom-scam-cries-cpm/400884/
puppet-ism - http://www.dailypioneer.com/155718/Centre-told-us-to-save-Mulayam-CBI.html

In the current political landscape of India, in view of forthcoming general elections, the equations are coming down to impossibility of a single power. Whether it is UPA coalition or NDA coalition or third front(chances for third front look bleak, but nonetheless it has to be counted), the government is bound to be a multi-party coalition at center.

If the next government is dependent to an even greater extent on alliance partners than the UPA, the outcome is a foregone conclusion: ever-greater corruption and much-diminished[link]

Pride and Prejudice

I just was about to write a post on recent celebrations for "victory of India" (Slumdog Millionaire sweep of Oscars). But someone already has caught the essence - "That foreigner's neologism (“slumdog” doesn't exist in real parlance in India, although gali ka kutta, or alley-dog, comes close) is thought to heap more shame on the land than the slums themselves. And yet when that same film, with that same neo-imperialist title, is fêted by tuxedoed Americans at an awards ceremony watched across the globe, Indians burst with pride."

But as response of media was more or less expected, Indian government also wants the piece of pie. This is simply incredible - "India’s ruling Congress party is seeking to capitalise on Slumdog Millionaire’s Oscar victory"

And here is something for bloggers to worry about - Bloggers can be nailed for views

Faltering Obama

I have always considered Barack Obama a 'man with words' since he has been in race for presidency. But if he is a man of his word, was yet to see till he becomes president.
As from the recent news, he has been successfully able to push the stimulus package in face of strong opposition, has banned Guantanamo Bay and has increased troops in Afghanistan. That till now proves him as a good resoluter.
But here is the thing: Though he is successful in passing the bill but he himself has contradicted himself in regards to protectionism. His stimulus bill, as I know, is strongly emphasized in favor of protectionism and yet he has always opposed protectionism.
Secondly, though he closed the jail but torture policies in relation to terrorism are same. Closing a jail doesn't mean anything, in the backdrop of same laws and policies thousand new similar jails can be created.
Thirdly, hard they maybe trying in Afghanistan, Pakistan just submitted to Taliban with the surrender of Swat. That directly means US(not Pakistan) has lost war against Taliban. And till now there hasn't been an action from USA.
Additionally he hasn't tried to clear the air about position on Kashmir. Kashmir is still on agenda and position looks ambiguous. I think as a leader, after becoming president, it was his responsibility to make his intentions clear about Kashmir, not with bureaucratic remarks.


I think times have been taking a heavy toll on 'man with words'.

Note: The above facts are my perceptions of news and opinions I read. Those are not opinion of an expert.

Happy Valentine's Day

For many of us it is difficult to fathom the difference between love and infatuation especially at the time you are of the age, when you seem to love everyone of opposite sex.
I never believed in such a love whether it is platonic or lewd. The only reason is that if ever there is existence of love, how can such a thing be restricted to such a narrowness of material(not being spiritual) things like sex, age, marriage, degree of platonic feelings.
My friends ask me how can you love songs, music and shayari if you don't believe in love. The point is it does not matter. Its not that I believe in love or not, its futile to give a definition to it and then believe in that. Same is the thing with God, it does not matter if it exists or not but its futile to give a definition to God. Its futile to carve out an entity for God.
I think love is just eternal, its all around us. Its the reason we are, not that, it is between us. Therefore it does not matter whether love exists or not, it does not matter if you have to give definition to love or not.

Maybe I will give definition to love when I find one (lame excuse of losers)

Insinuating article: how to get over breakups (its not really about break-ups)

Correction: 1

I apologise for the wrong inferences about a formal address of president in my last post. I accept it was written with a little knowledge. I have modified the contents of post so as not to draw any conclusions.
Thanks Vinod for pointing out.

India's President

I read recent address of president Pratibha Patil to parliament. I drew some wrong conclusions that president is being sycophant. On more inspection I found out, it is actually a formal speech outlining intentions of government, which is identical in nature to a Speech from the Throne.

Though I still wonder why president (the commander of armed forces, above all a neutral body) has to read sycophantic rants of government.

On a more significant note came across this link about history of Pratibha Patil's history(alleged).

Alcohol, Hooligans and India

They had to what they had to do, after all they are hooligans. But it's difficult to digest the fact even the politicians will call it a day in view of political benefits.[Curbing Pub Culture] But ironically the same politicians might realize the dangers of it[Alleged Kidnapping](It is not proved yet, but is it too hard to realize that this is an easy possibility).

Even an idiot can argue that drinking alcohol is strictly one's own prerogative. Yes, if it harms someone else, then there should be strict laws about that. But the story doesn't end here. Apart from gender abuse, religious intolerance and human right violation, it raises more issues to think about.

Myth of Sanskriti/traditional values -
Rather than irritating, it is more of amazing to comprehend the kind of Sanskriti that these hooligans are trying to protect. Is it the Sanskriti that was innate to Hinduism where Gods like Shiva or Indra used to drink liquor of brand Somaras or is it the Sanskriti of Mughals whose religion prohibited them to touch alcohol and so they banned the consumption of alcohol[source]. Literally every person in India has a different definition of the Sanskriti(tradition). What definition will you choose: definition of a slum-dweller, definition of riches like Ambanis, definition of entrepreneurs, definition of middle-class, definition of IT employees, definition of pesants, definition of Shiv-sena, definition of BJP...it can never end. But to see that, there can be a definition of Sanskriti which instigates folks to use the ways of violence, is amazing.

Come to think of it, Islam ourightly bans alcohol consumption for any Muslim. But in Hindu mythology even Gods like Shiva and Indra consume liquor. Will these moral-protectors of Indian values, adhere that Islam is a better religion in this context?

The consumption of alcohol isn't restricted to Gods in Hindu mythology. Hinduism has been very open about consuming alcohol as a merry-making necessity of life for poor and king equally. And Hinduism is also liberal on precautions in moderation of consumption; punishing the occasional wrong-doers in effect of alcohol with benevolent curses of Gods. But in modern India we have forgotten the righteous attached to alcohol, but have adopted the extremes: either drink of Gods or a drink of uncultured society. Its a shame that we like to call ourselves liberal because it is favored by America and have forgotten our very own culture of tolerance.
On a slightly low note, I read this quote somewhere:
The dipsomaniac and the abstainer are not only both mistaken, but they both make the same mistake. They both regard wine as a drug and not as a drink.[unknown source]

The excuse -
Now for argument sake, lets say that pub culture is ruining the values of teenage girls as well as boys. Lets say there are incidents of rapes, road accidents etc. because of this culture. Now the glitch is to find who is to be blamed about this.
The reaction of moral-parties is to blame the youth, beat them up and lock them in households so that they can come to senses.

It is naive to think that any teenage(or even adult) will go in right direction with alcohol if he/she is not in proper environment. In cities like Bangalore it is difficult to remain unattached to it with loners of IT industry occupying the most part of city. Rather than teaching the moderate way of alcohol, we take the easy way: blame them.
On top of that if there are restrictions/reservation about alcohol in religions of some families, then also, it lies with parents to guide their children about proper way, not with some third party with sticks in hands.

Problem of terrorism -
The gravest problem of all this hooliganism is that this line of thinking becomes the insinuating base of terrorism. First there is intolerance, then there is hatred, then it comes to moral-war and then it becomes Jihad(taking the misinterpreted meaning). Result is bloodshed. This idea cannot be made clearer than by this blogger - Indiacut: The systematic Use of Terror
I wonder what M.Gandhi will have to say about this now - "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win". Problem is in all this 'they' and 'you' are same people - we, the Indians.


It's the wine that leads me on, the wild wine that sets the wisest man to sing at the top of his lungs, laugh like a fool – it drives the man to dancing…it even tempts him to blurt out stories better never told.[The Odyssey]

Defense

To fight me, you have to know my fears first
To know my fears you have to know me first
To know me you have to love me first

Vanity of Pakistan

However impotent he may be as a chief of a country(unofficially/but not really), there is one thing about Zardari to be appreciated: his art of rhetoric. Some quotes from his latest editorial
"...we need no lectures on our commitment. This is our war. It is our children and wives who are dying."
"...The situation in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India is indeed critical, but its severity actually presents an opportunity for aggressive and innovative action."
"...Assistance to Pakistan is not charity; rather, the creation of a politically stable and economically viable Pakistan is in the long-term, strategic interest of the United States."
In a single editorial he tries to convey a threat of militancy, ask for a charity(politically assistance), justify actions of government and army.

On the other hand, there is USA point of view from Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and columnist David Ignatius:
"All countries have armies, but here, an army has a country."
"...the Pakistani army, with its stockpile of nuclear weapons, may include officers linked to a terrorist attack on the country's neighbor."
"...it's much more opaque than it is transparent... ...it can sometimes be difficult to figure out who did what to whom..."

Apart from what has been said in above quotes, there is a lot that can be inferred from these two essays
1. Civilian society in Pakistan is just there to die either in hands of terrorist or in hands of its own army or in hands of USA.
2. Zardari needs to know the distinction between a corporate house and a state. He cannot make difference between opportunity to show talent or need of security to people.
3. Stable Pakistan is in interests of India not that of USA unless USA needs Pakistan for war with terrorism.
4. USA is unable to comprehend the inter-relation between ISI, army and terrorism in Pakistan.
5. USA is happy just to see just a deployment of some troops for USA's fight(not Pakistan's) on the face. It's unable to learn from sixty years of experience of India with Pakistan.
6. USA is still unable to detach Kashmir problem with that of contemporary form of terrorism.
7. I wonder if Pakistan is rogue state or a state at all...
8. India has another worry to add in its list now, US intervention in Kashmir issue.

Ayye Kancha!!

Come to think of it, if Academy jury sits down to select the one Indian movie out of one fifty [link] movies relesed in 2008 then what will happen. Half of the jury will go lunatic watching the same cliches and same banal stuff over and over in all those three-hour length movies. The other half will join LeT with a vow to annihilate whole of Bollywood (Mumbai) as if 26/11 was not enough.

Big B talks about the entertainment that Bollywood provides,"The commercial escapist world of Indian Cinema had vociferously battled for years , on the attention paid and the adulation given to the legendary Satyajit Ray at all the prestigious Film Festivals of the West, and not a word of appreciation for the entertaining mass oriented box office block busters that were being churned out from Mumbai. The argument. Ray portrayed reality. The other escapism, fantasy and incredulous posturing."

I guess his wits has failed him mercilessly in recognising the true sense of Cinema even after being the legend of Indian cinema(I myself thinks he is the most prestigious entity of Indian cinema). But with all due respect, sir, the problem is not the difference between creating fantasy or portraying reality. Matrix and LOTR and many more are out rightly fantasies but still they are recognised by Academy. But the point here is those are neither cliches nor are those simplistic like Bollywood movies. This is the first point of why Bollywood movies are not recognized.
Secondly, look at the recent choices of Indian entries for Oscars: Paheli, Rang De Basanti, Eklavya, Taare Zameen Par.
Look at the movies which got nominations[link]: Mother India, Salaam Bombay, Lagaan. Now think why those got nominations, were the commercial, or they were stereotypical or those were pieces of cinema free from cliches and commercial aspects.
One movie chosen was Lagaan. Of course it showed a lot of stereotypes of poor India, but think if the movie really was about those stereotypes or was it about the fight a bunch of peasants gave to sophisticated cricket of British. One can think more of Mother India and Salaam Bombay.

The point I want to drive is that if your movie has a potential to become a good cinema which can be watched over and again in coming decades(example Casablanca) then it will be definitely recognized. If you don't have potential to make that then stop quibblling about 'your streotypes' of the world and foreigner's stereotypes. I will say Bollywood industry has a huge potential to make better movies but lure of commercial success and playing safe is the easy refuse for them. But I believe the onus lies with Indian audience itself. Recent example is Ghajini. It is amazing how it created records of 200 crore without having a novel idea in the movie, without significant acting, even without good music and compositions. Anyway commercial escapism should in noway mean that you should expect an Oscar or Golden Globe award for it.

Of course he has a point when he says,"Conditions the world over are so similar. Perceptions differ, but the reality of life and existence, unchanged."
But 25% of the population living below $1/day [link] can not be ignored, Mr. Bachchan.
And by the way, a movie having link with reality or fantasy or stereotypes has no relation whatsoever with it being a good piece of cinema.

He goes on to say, "But look how rapidly all that is changing. Retrospectives in Paris and New York. Dedicated TV channels running Hindi cinema on prime timings. Premiers at Leiscester Square, the home of all Hollywood royalty, thronged by hundreds on the street in cold biting weather."

Another piece!! By all this do you mean to say that Hindi cinema is serving good cinema? Or you are just re-iterating the fact that commercial success of Indian cinema is being taken noticed of (Of course every business man in his right senses would want to be part of it). Or few good movies that come out every year are helping to change the image of Indian cinema.

He is on blog!!

Most of people might already know. But this should serve as reminder.

Advani has now his own blog. [link]

This is simply awesome. Will got to know the thoughts and feelings of spearhead of BJP on daily basis. Lets see what he has to say...

In defense of Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is over-rated as well as misinterpreted.

First of all it is a lovely movie with great drama. It has transcended the usual happy ending scenario movies. It has really delivered a great play altogether to show how a man can win against adversities in this cruel world(not so cruel). But in the end, in my view, as USA is all going ga-ga over it, it doesn't desrve that much also. The rating at imdb, I think, is over-rated. The main reason for being over-rated is I think the dire state of USA right now. Every movie which has been about hope and change has been over-rated. Take 'The Dark Knight' or 'Wall-E' for instance. Both are great movies, no doubt in that, but they certainly have been called more greater than those actually are. Both movies touched top ten in imdb at certain point. I won't give both movies that much rating that they can be in top 10.

Some people have loved this movie for showing a very great 'realistic' visual of Mumbai-slums, well first of all the movie has shown only negative aspects of a metro city of India. Though no lie has been made yet reality is not 'complete' in this movie and on top of that reality is stretched to too extreme. Even for showing slum-life who think this is the best movie, I will point out a movie called Salaam Bombay made in 1988. The genuineness Mira Nair could achieve in her movie, I don't think Danny Boyale could go at par with that even after 20 years.
Some people loved it for being a movie that has transcended love stories. This is what I found really weird. Because as far as this movie goes, it has nothing which can be comparable to Pretty Woman or Titanic in that category and there are classics like Casablanca. And these reference movies mentioned are just Hollywood movies, you can find a lot of Bollywood movies out of thousands of melodrama and love flicks for which Bollywood is most famous and I assure you thousands will be far better love-stories than this one.

Now a lot of people have criticised it for having shown a too much of a dark side of India. Well, as it is, the movie certainly has gone beyond boundary about India. But remember it's a fiction. Fiction almost always have come with an exaggeration of general world events that actually happen to be real. This movie is no different.
The laughter of Audience when Anil Kapoor(host of game-show) mocks our hero is not what happens in reality at Indian game-shows but it does not means that it is made to signify the negative aspect of India towards apathy towards poor. But the essence of movie in showing it such a way is that it is a sarcasm on reality shows where audience does what it is told on sign-boards. It is exaggeration on aspect of game-shows not mockery of poor.
Other a few events like jumping of boy into shit-load to get autograph of Amitabh, also has nothing to do with dark sides of India and such. This is Boyale's signature of taking comic scenes into extreme. If you don't believe me, watch Danny Boyle's 1996 masterpiece Trainspotting, in which Renton puts himself pathetically (yet artistically) into the worst toilet in Scotland for two pills of drugs.

The movie is a fiction but one entagled with truths and facade of reality unlike Bollywood movies which contain plethora of fantasy in scene, dialogue, songs and everything of movie. There is difference between three, you see, fiction, fantsay and reality.

Satyam

When you are riding a tiger there will always be a risk of being clawed upon by tiger.
Maybe it was conscience or maybe all doors were closed for Ramalinga Raju that he had to resign. Long stories are being written on how a treacherous animal he is and all that. Few days ago the person who was one of biggest stories of Indian corporate success is now a sham on the face of India.
I just want to explain one thing:
Have you ever wondered that was it Satyam trying to rescue Maytas or was it Maytas trying to rescue Satyam?[link] And it turns out later is true. Satyam would have bought Maytas giving a worthless value to Raju's son thus filling up Satyam's blank balance books. His son would have been happy to sacrifice all his hard work but saving his father's ass. And if that is true, it transpires that Raju was actually doing a favor to Satyam with the sacrifice of his son's property.
Imagine if his plan would have succeeded then Satyam would have finally got clean books and diversified assets. Raju would have cleansed his sins and all would have been well with his corporate governance. He would have been success story for many more years to come.
But no, that was not to be. The same investors who reaped benefits for years from Raju's decisions, now interrupted him for the single most right thing he set to do. And now guess what who is regretting most after Satyam has come crashing down - Raju or those investors?

If I am any judge I will give clean chit to Raju for at least showing courage to face the tiger.

Note: In no way I am implying that he did a great job following those malpractices. Following malpractices or not, is not the point.