Retirement, A normal step in the cycle of life

I don’t know how to sugar coat things and will not be apologetic about my bluntness with regard to the truth. So I hope no political party leader will be threatening me to apologize; and if they are on their toes to come my direction, here’s a piece of advice, “if you don’t like what you hear about yourself, there must be something that needs fixing!”

Unfortunately, political participants in India are beyond repair and hence should retire, to make room for the pragmatic youth who are both educated and globally conscious. While they lack the experience factor, they live the problems and are aware of the solutions. Sadly, their voices get filtered through the corrupt government system, leaving them either frustrated or on the hospital bed succumbing to extortion injuries.

India is my country, and I would hate for it to be anything less than a global economic and social power. But, unless we heed to young energy and sound judgment, I do not see us making headway in anything but corruption and a failed government system.

Many citizens deem that the problems inherent are beyond repair; that no one who goes into the system is safe from the vice. Have any of these pessimists given a thought to changing this irrelevant system? This can only happen if the current players are entirely replaced by those who more reasonable and conscious of the current state of affairs. We, the citizens, have been given the power to bring about this much needed alteration.

Not wanting to tackle too many issues in one post, I’d like to draw the readers’ attention to one of the most revered parties in the state of Maharashtra- the Sena. They must obviously be loved, or why in the world would anyone in their right mind elect them? Because save for creating divides between Hindus, Muslims and the west, they have achieved very little!

For one thing, they must love the paparazzi. Sometimes I doubt if the Thackerays even form a political party, or just a group catering to media hype; because, I have not been able to connect their actions with anything that is logically sound. The recent events surrounding the IPL and Shahrukh Khan’s comment are exemplary of their preposterous ways. I recommend they take time off from public life, and catch up on some history reading. Perhaps they have forgotten that Pakistan was once a part of India, and Pakistanis are all essentially Indian and vice versa. So instead of promoting unity with our neighbor, they are clearly sabotaging the future safety of the region. Also, some fact checking on their part would do us all some good- there are more Muslims in India than there are in Pakistan. Can we deem an entire country or religion radical based on the actions of some fanatics? If yes, then how would all Hindus like to be deemed coldblooded based on senior leader Bal Thackrey’s position about Muslims? The actions of the religiously inclined political factions do not scare, but rather disgust me. As a human rights activist who has worked on the issues of ethnic cleansing and genocide, I wonder if what the Thackrey’s are stirring toward is genocide of all Muslims. I am beginning to question my impression of India as a country where tolerance, unity and diversity thrive.

Moreover, the threats to ban a movie based on Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan's stance on including Pakistani players in the IPL are wholly baseless. I salute Khan for not dislodging from his position. The Badshaah of Bollywood can be assured that I will continue to stand by him and I invite every member of society to join me. How much longer can we stomach the Sena's unjustified hatred toward Muslims and the west, and their deficient concern for urgent issues? Fortunately for us normal members of society, and unfortunately for the Sena and their alliances, the present generation of both nations comprehend the unity that is both crucial and inevitable. If the party leaders would do so much as to direct their attention, energy, and resources toward more pressing issues like poverty and unemployment eradication, population control, pedestrian safety, universal health and education, development of civil services, cracking down on corruption, and law- enforcement they would be guaranteed of my support. If they cannot do the needful, I suggest they yield the way for others who will.

This leads to another current topic that is clouding the youth in India- the ban on V-Day celebrations. While I am not a proponent of exhibiting love on any single day, I don’t believe it is anyone’s place to dictate terms for someone else. How is exchanging gifts and roses obscene? If V-day is a negative influence of the west, how would they explain the Kamasutra and the sculptures adorning the Khajuraho temples, both symbols of Indian heritage? It is ironic, that India welcomes international BPOs and their business, but when it comes to adopting the west’s social influence, there is a bold NO ENTRY! This is precisely why the ancient generation should say their farewells and make room for the pragmatically driven younger populace who would attack the real problems, instead of thriving on issues that are the product of their imagination.

On a concluding note, I’d like to reiterate, that respect by force is disrespect, whereas respect by deeds is embraced. Hope this wakes some of our snoring officials to the realization that old people need to rest, in their homes!

The Brain that Killed a Mind

This is my account of the Feb 13th Terrorist Blast in Pune. I tried to get it published but in vain. The city papers apparently only publish spam!

My phone buzzed with calls from friends and family. This was the first that this had happened in a span of thirty minutes. The screams of the crowd and the loud music blaring from the speakers were making it hard for me to hear their words. All I could indistinctly hear was, “blast…you ok?”

Then the texts came pouring in, and I was able to piece the puzzle; there had been a cylinder blast at a joint I frequented in Koregoan Park.

Despite the fact that the band was phenomenal, I was distracted by thoughts of the bakery staff; I knew them. Their faces and smiles flashing before my eyes, “I just hope they are not injured.”

Soon, my friends sent word of media reports announcing that there has been a bomb blast. Let me confess that I wasn’t ruling out the hand of a local faction of the political group that has been behind the banning of Shahrukh’s movie. Neither was I ruling out a terrorist attack by a radical Muslim group. It all seemed unreal and the only thing that mattered was that innocent lives had been lost, and I couldn’t contain my tears and disgust at what had happened. It couldn’t be a terrorist attack, I tried to compose myself and called whomever I knew that frequented the joint or resided in the vicinity.

It was quite a task trying to put these horrifying thoughts out of my mind and to enjoy Parikrama. Following the concert, my friend and I rushed to the sight dodging the road barricades. We noticed the mob that had amassed the area with a curiosity akin to ours.

And there it was, or wasn’t; the German Bakery that served as my hang out for the fresh spread of fruit juices and burgers, and the structure that enveloped a friendly ambience, had come crumbling down.

An onlooker then pointed to us a brain that lay partially exposed under a pile of plastic sheets. While I wasn’t carrying a camera, the sight is engraved in my mind.

This brain, once part of a living body, was now left to be exhibited to the press and curious onlookers. While I was sickened by the pool of blood soaking the brain, I was more disturbed about the brain that dissected this one from its body. This creature’s brain clearly had to have been disconnected from his heart, to have not had any remorse for what he is about engage in.

Lives have been lost; at the end of it all, it is not a matter of knowing the victims or not, it is about humanity- a phrase referred to as “insaniyat” in our national language, which binds us all together. But truly speaking, we are all disfranchised from one another.

The culprits may or may not be identified, but the damage has been done and until we resort to addressing the origins of the problem, let us accept that such events will continue to be a part of the fabric of life. Now, it is for us to decide if we will stand by such deep stains, or work together toward a maintaining a spot-free textile.

There is evidently no logic to hatred, to crime, or to violence. Yet, we have grown to accept them as inevitable. But this need not be the case. Violence leads to more violence and peace is never guaranteed with arms. I fear for the aftermath of the event; my gut feeling tells me that we should be prepared for increased animosity between Hindus and Muslims, considering the unfolding of recent events and both groups playing the blame game. This is not to say that we should overlook the deeply rooted animosity between the two, once united lands.

Instead, a dialogue forum is long overdue. I propose one that would offer all political groups and smaller factions the opportunity to chalk out their differences, and this can be done successfully by first bringing to the table, their commonalities. Clearly, this is not going to be an easy task, but let us not forget that no successful peace accord has been a cat walk. Rome was to take longer than a day to be built, but this didn’t keep the Romans from building their empire!

If only the perpetrator of the blast would have stopped and pictured the consequences of such loathing, the brain that lay in cold blood would have been performing wonders.

Motivation

Saturday Afternoon at the Connecting office

Having had a prolonged break from my blog, I am back. I was struggling to find words to pen, because for the longest time nothing interested me. Now that I am back in Pune, after almost 5 years, I miss Thailand and wish that I was with my students. But due to financial constraints I am compelled to chose my living over happiness. Since my arrival, I was sinking into a silent depression, because everything about being back was frustrating. On the roads, at home, at work- there was nothing exciting and pleasing. I cannot say for sure if this was because I felt that I had betrayed my Burmese students and colleagues in Thailand. What I can attest to was that I was unhappy and I couldn't wait to get away.

Gradually, I began to wake up to a reality, that the selfish nature of people, the corruption, the rusted system, and lack of motivation prevalent in India's youth were the culprits- the cause of my frustration. I couldn't comprehend how people could lead such discouraged lives, where the youth are only considered to serve as a support for their old relatives; the rationale behind India's population growth- More Children = more support for family. But adults who spit out this justification do not give a thought to some other logic that seems to make more sense;

More children = increased financial burdens = poor standard of living and education for the family = unemployment= NO Support System!

And herewith I found my motivation- to empower youth in India so that they can dictate terms for their own future. Witnessing the plight of students in a morbid educational system, there was a need to encourage and enlighten them. This is a huge undertaking, but one that is long overdue. From this desire to shape India's future, YEP- The Youth Empowerment Project was born, and I call on India's youth to join in and shake things from the grassroots level.

I have been part of student organizations and know how exciting it is to be part of change, and I am confident that India's children are no different. So without further delay, I, an offspring of India summon the current generation to assemble with me before the system is left completely dysfunctional.