Kat le varna vaat lagegi

Mumbai has added another feather to its cap. That of being the rudest city in the world. Come to think of it arent all of us Indians rude ? Infact whenever I visit Mumbai I marvel at the discipline of its residents who stand in proper queues for all the buses. Back here in Gandhinagar we need to shove and push so hard for that elusive window seat that even the Mumbai trains seem like a cakewalk.

I love to quote this anecdote when I talk of according respect. Once a blind sage was meditating in the forest. A horseman asked him the way, followed by another. Soon the king of the land had a similar question. To the surprise of the king he told him that his soldier and his headman were already on their way ahead. The king asked the sage how he identified their ranks correctly. The sage replied that the first horseman called me a "Bava", the second addressed me as a "Sadhu" and you said "Rishi Maharaj". So undoubtedly you are the Maharaja of the land. The respect one has for oneself is reflected in our actions to others. Also our station in society determines our communication to our peers.

In our country the individual and his ego acquire a place more important than anything in his life. This mentality also stems from the fact that people devoid of all material superiority tend to look for the the spiritual one. Hence the one upmanship. As another popular story goes - if u put a lot of Indian crabs in a cistern and leave the top open, not one will get out as they all will be busy pulling down the one at the top.

The genesis of the problem I believe lies in our hierarchical mindset. The hangover of our caste system has manifested itself in the creation of the classes. Indians love classes - the more the merrier. The seniors love ragging the juniors. The head peon loves giving a tongue lashing to the peon. And the supposed junior would take it all without protesting. Times are changing and India is sobering from a lot of hangovers recently. In a global village such impunities won't and shouldn't be tolerated for long and that I believe will help us metamorphise to possessing a sweeter tongue and a helping hand. Hope globalization brings in the required "Videshi Maal" that helps us sober faster.
RD Mumbai

BJP - Heading for Nowhere

The BJP started out as a flagbearer for the Hindus. The party that had the Ram Mandir as its sole agenda succeeded in gaining ascendency by fuelling the emotions of Hindus and failed in securing any progress towards the resolution of the issue. They had in their folds another so called Hindutva party-the Shiv Sena which added a militant flavour to the concoction. Alongwith the Shiv Sena and several other self styled Hindu organisations like the Bajrang Dal and the VHP they partially succeeded in becoming the Hindu Taliban. Until of course they came to power. With numerous other secular allies in its folds which it dare not ruffle it wasn't able to fulfill its promise to the Hindus. The spectacular success and the ensuing debacle of the BJP in Gujarat after the riots and in India respectively, divided the party much more sharply in two lines. The hardliners and the moderators. So Dhobi ka Kutta na Ghar ka na Ghat ka. They lost the Hindu vote and they earned the Muslim wrath. The successes of the Vajpayee government in bringing the economy back on track after the dotcom bubble burst and the subsequent recession went unheard of in the din of its failure to contain the Modi government excesses. And after the debacle in the Loksabha elections they were completely outmanoeuvered by Sonia Gandhi and her fine politics.

Infact the current scenario positions Narendra Modi as the bridge between the hardliners - who love him as one of their own and the liberals - who commend his excellent work in Gujarat. Yet Modi is unacceptable to any ,nay - to all of the other coalition parties of the erstwhile NDA. A large part of their losses in the general elections can be attributed to the "Indian Hitler".

The basic problem that ails the BJP at the current period of time is the lack of a solid ideology. They have nothing to use as their poll plank and this makes them into a typical opposition party which opposes for the heck of it. Time and again it has been proved that a cause , a just and a supposedly higher cause motivates individuals to great heights. A cause is all that the BJP requires in this hour of darkness, a cause that will lead them to light and glory.

Aamir's Garibi

In my field full of nincompoops I am considered an intellectual. I am loved and respected for my theatric talents. My word has a strong effect on the public psyche as acknowledged by the various companies who hanker after me for endorsing their products. I believe that free speech is my birthright and so I am entitled to speak anything that I wish to. The interpretation of my statements is left to the discretion of the listener. Under no circumstances am I supposed to be held responsible for my statements. They are just statements. If someone buys the products I endorse then its credit to me and my talents and on the other hand if my statements offend someone then I don't give a damn as I am entitled to "Freedom of Speech". It is my commendable bravery that helps me succeed in withstanding all the atrocities meted out against me by the unjust society and its rulers. It is my commendable bravery again that helps me fight all odds and speak all that comes to my mind - right, wrong, foolish, illogical. Hats off to me and my real life bravery.

He is so pathetic and we are even more so defending his excesses. Instead of urging him on we need to create more awareness in the society with regards to the Narmada issue so as to ensure that his statements don't spawn more ignorants like him. I under no circumstances subscribe to the view that the film should be banned but I would love to see to it that a person of Aamir's standing is made to realise his responsibilities as a celebrity.

Vacations Bore

Haven't read a single book since my exams ended. Didn't have the time. I was so busy providing the unheeded and yet seemingly much needed "Moral Support" to all the candidates appearing for placements that I barely had the time to eat and drink. It was a hectic and yet not an entirely absorbing schedule. The sole beneficial outcome of the whole exercise was that I saw all of my friends getting placed in different companies of repute all around the country. The pitfalls of not 'reading' infact 'doing' enough are that you dry up while blogging and then you have to resort to writing trivia as I am doing right now.

Just joined a gymnasium and so I have been working out every morning since the last one week. In the beginning it was really painful but now that pain has given way to finely tuned muscles and slowly but steadily my body has been responding as it gets transformed into a well oiled machine walking, working and moving with that subtle prowess. Seemingly like a lion on its haunches.

I have also brought a collection of books from the college library to read as I intend to blog every single day of my vacation. Those are my grand plans for the vacation. Hope I do everything I intend to and more. I hate studies and yet I agree vacations bore.