These days, after work I am mostly confined to home, looking after Vasudha - my pregnant wife who is in her 8th month now. It's been a long wait for both of us. And why just both of us! For all of our families. This 28 December we'll be celebrating our eleventh marriage anniversary. It sounds magnanimous that we've spent a decade together. It's been very eventful otherwise. It's full of ups and downs. We've literally seen all in these eleven years. I became very serious, docile and concerned man. I grew quite well professionally. Vasudha attained maturity too. We both started saving money. And lots more. But there was this big vacuum, which always haunted both of us - vacuum of a child in the family. Now when that vacuum is about to get filled and the everlasting wait is soon to get over, we're both gearing up for a new life. I am really waiting for that moment when I become a father. I've just seen people bringing up their kids and I've (by nature) always been a severe critique of the immaturity of the parents in dealing with a perfect upbringing.
Being brought up in a family where my father has always been very cautious about the balance of culture, modernity, ethics and respect, I am preparing myself to face this daunting task.
Daunting! But why? Because the time is different. I was born in times when Radio was the popular medium of entertainment. There weren't ant TVs, Computers and Internet around. Today, its different. We are a technologically superior world now. Even classrooms are going virtual today. In my times, it was a low-cost schooling, with little or no peer pressure for luxurious life. Today, the situation is different. I see kids wearing trendy clothes everyday. They want to go abroad for spending their vacations. As a father with a middle-class orientation and upbringing, it would be damn difficult for me to cope up with these changes.
I have seen days where market was just 'once-in-a-month' affair till the time I learnt to ride a bicycle. Today, the kids want to routinely visit malls, eat outside, and celebrate their birthdays in style at McDonalds or Pizza Hut. I don't remember celebrating any of my birthdays after class three. Even before, my mother used to call a lot of family friends (and fortunate me to have their kids) for a home party...mostly Lunch (not so lavish) and that was the party. We had this sweet shop called 'Brijwasi' at Ganga Mandir (a market in Bharatpur) from which we got 'Chocolate Barfi' and 'Gulab Jamun' and that was the pinnacle of this fiesta. Today, ask any kid to settle with anything less than a up market McDonalds or Pizza Hut party and you'll face the ire of your own kids. Amidst these hostile and untoward situations, we're waiting for our child to come into this beautiful world.
Without making it public, I spend time with myself to prepare myself to grapple with this situation and make efforts to keep my child away from these distractions. I am not averse of the children using technology to their advantage but we all know a tender mind can be the easiest target for getting lost.
Anyway, that's still a very futuristic thought. For now we are waiting for our angel to come to us on this earth and hope that time is not too far.
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Bloodbath in Delhi
On 28th July, precisely a month and a half ago, I wrote about the blasts in Ahmedabad and Bangalore ("Deals, Deaths and Democracy). And yesterday Delhi got bombed. Not one, two...there were five severe explosions in the crowded market places - the pulse of Delhites especially on a weekend. We (I am Vasudha) went out too but for a movie (The Last Lear) but that was in Gurgaon and not in fateful Delhi. It was 7:00 PM. I was in the kitchen preparing food when my father called up and told about the TV reports on serial blasts in Delhi. I was shell shocked and so was Vasudha. We'd got a movie DVD to watch but the terror strike was so intriguing that I got hooked to it and the movie was a passé. But once the gory details and the scary pictures started coming in, it was soon a sad scenario. 15 Dead and still counting...There were over 100 injured. By the time I switched on the TV in the morning at 5AM, the death toll was already double (30) and there were several severely injured waiting to die in the hospitals all over the city. Welcome to New Delhi, the capital of the future Nuclear Power and the world's fastest growing economic super power. Our entire political machinery is busy licking American ass and feet to make the nuclear deal happen forgetting that there is a huge nation to manage.
The whole of police machinery, intelligence agencies and the so-called political faces of various political parties were all in action all of a sudden. There were condemnation notes issued by various political parties. Burkha Dutt, the high profile Editor in Chief of NDTV sparked the political blame game by calling the opposition party leaders and forcing them to comment against the ruling UPA. On the other hand, there were other news channels literally arm twisting the government's ineffectiveness and failure of the entire intelligence machinery. Again, welcome to the country, which is fighting more battles with in the nation than with its external enemies. No sooner did the blasts occur, the TV channels started beaming the copies of emails sent to them about the "Game of Death". The so-called Indian Mujahiddins (a new terror outfit supported by Huji and LeT) took the responsibility of these blasts across the city challenging the cops and intelligence 'Do whatever you can, try if you can catch us'. The defiant terrorists are out on the move - freely roaming across the length and breadth of India creating havoc time and again and the alertness of Indian intelligence is just not bothered to pay any attention to the clear and present danger looming large over us.
Who cares? No one! Is it the people of this country who are responsible for their own security and well-being? This situation calls for a national scrutiny from province to province. Not even one province is doing well!
J&K is burning as ever. The terrorism is still not ready to spare this troubled state and to top it all, there are bloody controversies like the recent 'Amarnath Row'.
Rajasthan, the Gujjars barely withdrew there agitation that the terror struck in Jaipur. The Cycle bombs killed over 70-80 people in the walled city.
Uttar Pradesh is forever reeling under mismanagement whether it is administrative failure or civic amenities.
Orissa just saw a very bad incident of ethnic violence, which erupted, with the murder of a Hindu saint. After that Kandhmal and the whole of Orissa was burning and the points of attack were the churches all over the state. The memories of the heinous murder of the social worker Graham Stewart Stains are revived.
West Bengal is otherwise a peaceful province but the unwanted protagonists and not-so-mass leaders like Mamta Banerjee have created a windfall for the state's industrial growth by her never-ending agitation in Singur - the place where Tata were to set up a car factory for the Rupees One Lakh dream car of India - Nano. The whole agitation took a really bloody shape when it became political and started serving the interests of low-grade politicians like Mamta Banerjee, who has little or no base in the state.
Andhra Pradesh is always under a naxalite threat.
In Maharashtra, there is a new type of terror evolving - the terror outfit is Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the so called political outfit of Raj Thakre, nephew of Shiv Sena patriarch Balasaheb Thakre. Although Mumbai is called the financial capital of India and also the hub of all cinematic activities but when it comes to dogmatic style of living, it is second to none. This MNS and Raj Thakre have just one agenda - drive non-Marathi speaking population out of the state. But this is purely a gimmick to conceal the effectiveness of this breakaway outfit. As it is Shiv Sena is losing ground in Maharashtra and to top it all Raj Thakre's MNS has no concrete agenda to follow and pursue so the Marathi plank is the makeshift agenda for the party. If nothing else, Raj wants all the signboards on shops and commercial establishments to display names in 'Marathi'...Ask him if this really solves any purpose.
Gujarat, the otherwise peaceful and prosperous state was again a target of terror attacks and Surat, which was nowhere on the terror hit list was chosen to plant uncounted bombs.
So this is our national scenario. And then there's Delhi - the most sensitive place to live in this country. Three year's back the capital was attacked by terrorists killing over 100 people just before the festival of Diwali. Yesterday again, the capital was compromised.
But as ever, Rs. 5 Lakh for the kins of dead and Rs. 50,000 for the injured and a few statements from our thick rhino-skinned politicians - "It's a moment of national grief", "We shall stand united", "The terrorists will not be spared". What does it all mean? The terror gods know its India. A place where the law of the land is taken for ransom and everyone knows that it is not only easy to escape after committing the crime but also easy to escape the judicial system.
Ask those thick-skinned politicians if they are moved at all by such instances. We have a few ministers like Shri Prakash Jaiswal (Minister of State for Home Affairs) who shamelessly accept the defeat of government machinery and say, "I agree the terrorists were able to dodge the intelligence. But we are still just bothered about 'Nuclear Deal'. I am sure you’ll all agree with me that the state of affairs of this country and the problems of the nation are more pertinent and to be looked into rather than just running behind this coveted nuclear deal, which god know will ever be able to do any good to India.
The whole of police machinery, intelligence agencies and the so-called political faces of various political parties were all in action all of a sudden. There were condemnation notes issued by various political parties. Burkha Dutt, the high profile Editor in Chief of NDTV sparked the political blame game by calling the opposition party leaders and forcing them to comment against the ruling UPA. On the other hand, there were other news channels literally arm twisting the government's ineffectiveness and failure of the entire intelligence machinery. Again, welcome to the country, which is fighting more battles with in the nation than with its external enemies. No sooner did the blasts occur, the TV channels started beaming the copies of emails sent to them about the "Game of Death". The so-called Indian Mujahiddins (a new terror outfit supported by Huji and LeT) took the responsibility of these blasts across the city challenging the cops and intelligence 'Do whatever you can, try if you can catch us'. The defiant terrorists are out on the move - freely roaming across the length and breadth of India creating havoc time and again and the alertness of Indian intelligence is just not bothered to pay any attention to the clear and present danger looming large over us.
Who cares? No one! Is it the people of this country who are responsible for their own security and well-being? This situation calls for a national scrutiny from province to province. Not even one province is doing well!
J&K is burning as ever. The terrorism is still not ready to spare this troubled state and to top it all, there are bloody controversies like the recent 'Amarnath Row'.
Rajasthan, the Gujjars barely withdrew there agitation that the terror struck in Jaipur. The Cycle bombs killed over 70-80 people in the walled city.
Uttar Pradesh is forever reeling under mismanagement whether it is administrative failure or civic amenities.
Orissa just saw a very bad incident of ethnic violence, which erupted, with the murder of a Hindu saint. After that Kandhmal and the whole of Orissa was burning and the points of attack were the churches all over the state. The memories of the heinous murder of the social worker Graham Stewart Stains are revived.
West Bengal is otherwise a peaceful province but the unwanted protagonists and not-so-mass leaders like Mamta Banerjee have created a windfall for the state's industrial growth by her never-ending agitation in Singur - the place where Tata were to set up a car factory for the Rupees One Lakh dream car of India - Nano. The whole agitation took a really bloody shape when it became political and started serving the interests of low-grade politicians like Mamta Banerjee, who has little or no base in the state.
Andhra Pradesh is always under a naxalite threat.
In Maharashtra, there is a new type of terror evolving - the terror outfit is Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the so called political outfit of Raj Thakre, nephew of Shiv Sena patriarch Balasaheb Thakre. Although Mumbai is called the financial capital of India and also the hub of all cinematic activities but when it comes to dogmatic style of living, it is second to none. This MNS and Raj Thakre have just one agenda - drive non-Marathi speaking population out of the state. But this is purely a gimmick to conceal the effectiveness of this breakaway outfit. As it is Shiv Sena is losing ground in Maharashtra and to top it all Raj Thakre's MNS has no concrete agenda to follow and pursue so the Marathi plank is the makeshift agenda for the party. If nothing else, Raj wants all the signboards on shops and commercial establishments to display names in 'Marathi'...Ask him if this really solves any purpose.
Gujarat, the otherwise peaceful and prosperous state was again a target of terror attacks and Surat, which was nowhere on the terror hit list was chosen to plant uncounted bombs.
So this is our national scenario. And then there's Delhi - the most sensitive place to live in this country. Three year's back the capital was attacked by terrorists killing over 100 people just before the festival of Diwali. Yesterday again, the capital was compromised.
But as ever, Rs. 5 Lakh for the kins of dead and Rs. 50,000 for the injured and a few statements from our thick rhino-skinned politicians - "It's a moment of national grief", "We shall stand united", "The terrorists will not be spared". What does it all mean? The terror gods know its India. A place where the law of the land is taken for ransom and everyone knows that it is not only easy to escape after committing the crime but also easy to escape the judicial system.
Ask those thick-skinned politicians if they are moved at all by such instances. We have a few ministers like Shri Prakash Jaiswal (Minister of State for Home Affairs) who shamelessly accept the defeat of government machinery and say, "I agree the terrorists were able to dodge the intelligence. But we are still just bothered about 'Nuclear Deal'. I am sure you’ll all agree with me that the state of affairs of this country and the problems of the nation are more pertinent and to be looked into rather than just running behind this coveted nuclear deal, which god know will ever be able to do any good to India.
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
The New Sporting Super Power
The recently concluded Olympics in Beijing must be both an eye opener and a threat to America. There emerges a new sporting super power and that's none other than China. I distinctly recall the backlash and hatred towards this only surviving communist power (there are many more but not as powerful as China)just before the start of Olympics on two fronts: One, the much coveted Tibet issue and a worldwide protest and false propaganda against China. Once the Tibet Issue got a little sublime, the whole of sporting community (mostly from the nations opposing China Americas and Europe) stood against the dragon nation on the pollution front.
There were many heads of the nations (sitting in the Bird's Nest - the national stadium as it was popularly known) who either threatened to pull out of Olympics completely or showed their unwillingness to join the opening ceremony of the games. But ultimately it was the might of the China which reigned supreme over any other wish. Hu Jintao, the Chinese President hosted a banquet lunch for some 80 state heads - many of whom must be feeling high and dry in the absence of any strong point to criticize him and/or his country. These heads of states included every possible strongest leader one can recall. India, though not represented by its PM, also saw Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the ruling UPA coalition standing in the VIP stands and waiving her hands to cheer the Indian contingent. Hu Jintao, in his speech said, "holding the Olympics is the long-cherished wish of the Chinese people."
And then started the saga of Chinese dominance in the 29th Olympic games. From the day one till the end, the country didn't disappoint over 1.3 billion Chinese nationals and at the end it became clear that China and not the USA or Britain or any other nation, is the new sporting super power. Winning 51 gold medals (total 100) was still not a big deal but with the mission of defeating every possible opponent on their soil, China gave a perfect example of a nice host and the most competitive nation.
Look what Washington Post has to say about this success: Indeed, the 2008 Games seemed likely to go down as a political as well as an athletic victory for China, reinforcing the image of party leaders as adroit managers of the world's largest nation on a double-step march toward greater prosperity. In the view of the Chinese, the appearance of dozens of foreign leaders during the Games, including President Bush, meant the world had effectively endorsed the Communist Party's rule, despite its continued political repression (this is the true American view on China).
The praise to an otherwise enemy nation doesn't stop there. "The party state was clearly a winner in the eyes of the people," said David Shambaugh, a George Washington University China specialist who was in Beijing for the Games and who wrote a recently published book on the Chinese Communist Party.
"The emphasis on China's national achievements was intense, responding to guidance from the Central Propaganda Department as well as spontaneous pride. The U.S. lead in the overall medal count was nearly ignored, for instance, in favor of China's winning tally of gold. In another example of the tone, the headline over a story on the success of Australia's Matthew Mitcham in a diving competition Thursday read: "Mitcham Ruins China's Clean Sweep in Diving." concludes the Washington Post article posted at (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26374226/).
Imagine how the country prepared itself for this mega event and how they made it a good occasion to plan a showdown for the western world (specially the countries opposing China and its so-called Anti-people government). Very smartly China managed the Tibetan protesters too. China designated three parks for approved protests during the 2008 Olympics and officials say they received 77 applications. None were approved. And why should it be approved. Tibet, I strongly feel, is an internal matter of China and it has all right to manage its territories. Millions of people in India will disagree with me on this point. I have been always of the opinion that Tibet is one bone of contention ruining the Sino-Indian relations. We have given shelter to the Tibetan government in exile (The Dalai Lama and his gang) and look what's happening in Dharamshala (the seat of Tibetan government in exile in Himachal Pradesh) and areas adjacent to it. Indians are treated as outsiders there. I have personally experienced it. What do we want to tell the whole world? On Tibet issue every country, including the ones like France and the US tried to pull the strings. So much so that the Olympic Committee was feeling threatened of sponsor back out. But what came out after the games was not only a flawless arrangement in a free-from-pollution environment but also a triumphant China which one most gold medals - a tight slap on the propagandists who told the world in as many words that China can't do it.
There were many heads of the nations (sitting in the Bird's Nest - the national stadium as it was popularly known) who either threatened to pull out of Olympics completely or showed their unwillingness to join the opening ceremony of the games. But ultimately it was the might of the China which reigned supreme over any other wish. Hu Jintao, the Chinese President hosted a banquet lunch for some 80 state heads - many of whom must be feeling high and dry in the absence of any strong point to criticize him and/or his country. These heads of states included every possible strongest leader one can recall. India, though not represented by its PM, also saw Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the ruling UPA coalition standing in the VIP stands and waiving her hands to cheer the Indian contingent. Hu Jintao, in his speech said, "holding the Olympics is the long-cherished wish of the Chinese people."
And then started the saga of Chinese dominance in the 29th Olympic games. From the day one till the end, the country didn't disappoint over 1.3 billion Chinese nationals and at the end it became clear that China and not the USA or Britain or any other nation, is the new sporting super power. Winning 51 gold medals (total 100) was still not a big deal but with the mission of defeating every possible opponent on their soil, China gave a perfect example of a nice host and the most competitive nation.
Look what Washington Post has to say about this success: Indeed, the 2008 Games seemed likely to go down as a political as well as an athletic victory for China, reinforcing the image of party leaders as adroit managers of the world's largest nation on a double-step march toward greater prosperity. In the view of the Chinese, the appearance of dozens of foreign leaders during the Games, including President Bush, meant the world had effectively endorsed the Communist Party's rule, despite its continued political repression (this is the true American view on China).
The praise to an otherwise enemy nation doesn't stop there. "The party state was clearly a winner in the eyes of the people," said David Shambaugh, a George Washington University China specialist who was in Beijing for the Games and who wrote a recently published book on the Chinese Communist Party.
"The emphasis on China's national achievements was intense, responding to guidance from the Central Propaganda Department as well as spontaneous pride. The U.S. lead in the overall medal count was nearly ignored, for instance, in favor of China's winning tally of gold. In another example of the tone, the headline over a story on the success of Australia's Matthew Mitcham in a diving competition Thursday read: "Mitcham Ruins China's Clean Sweep in Diving." concludes the Washington Post article posted at (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26374226/).
Imagine how the country prepared itself for this mega event and how they made it a good occasion to plan a showdown for the western world (specially the countries opposing China and its so-called Anti-people government). Very smartly China managed the Tibetan protesters too. China designated three parks for approved protests during the 2008 Olympics and officials say they received 77 applications. None were approved. And why should it be approved. Tibet, I strongly feel, is an internal matter of China and it has all right to manage its territories. Millions of people in India will disagree with me on this point. I have been always of the opinion that Tibet is one bone of contention ruining the Sino-Indian relations. We have given shelter to the Tibetan government in exile (The Dalai Lama and his gang) and look what's happening in Dharamshala (the seat of Tibetan government in exile in Himachal Pradesh) and areas adjacent to it. Indians are treated as outsiders there. I have personally experienced it. What do we want to tell the whole world? On Tibet issue every country, including the ones like France and the US tried to pull the strings. So much so that the Olympic Committee was feeling threatened of sponsor back out. But what came out after the games was not only a flawless arrangement in a free-from-pollution environment but also a triumphant China which one most gold medals - a tight slap on the propagandists who told the world in as many words that China can't do it.
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