News Channels – a double edged sword

Once upon a time, Indian news channels were all about sharing news. What happened anywhere around our country will be “reported” as is. It was all about sharing news information. An earthquake happened – the news will be shared with the public. A bomb blast happened – it will be shared. Some politicians arrested for some wrong doing – it will be shared. India wins the world cup – it will be shared. Through all this, the news media of those times hardly ever tried to “promote” their views to the public. They were the messengers.

Now, they are transforming into message creators, or should we say in today’s parlance, content creators.

May 3rd was the World Press Freedom day. There’s not an iota of doubt that the press (and in a larger context, news media) should be free to perform their duties. Having said that, news media must have their own ethical standards they need to adhere to, in a humane way. On this day, Nepal citizens took to Twitter and Facebook to express two things – their gratitude towards Indian government for providing selfless help and their hatred towards certain sections of Indian media by trending #GoHomeIndianMedia.

When the earthquake happened in Nepal, Indian news media were immediately on it. No problem till now since speed is one trait the news channels compete on. News channels started showing the destruction caused by the earthquake. No problem here too. News channels asked their viewers to contribute towards the cause of Nepal. Great gesture, I must say. News channels started reporting about people being rescued from the debris. No problem here since it shows the hard work put in by all concerned and the improvements happening since the disaster. News channels started shoving their mic in front of the survivors and asking them how they feel now. Ok, now you guys are teasing to cross the limits. News channels asking people, who have lost their loved ones, how they feel. News channels promoting the help and support of Indians and thereby making it a PR stunt. Guys, now you have crossed all your limits!

A popular cartoon created by @mirsuhail

To Indian News Media – I understand news reporting has changed. Corporates with big money have invested in the emerging news media hoping to make big bucks. There’s high competition for eye-balls now. Rankings matter. Ratings matter. Revenues matter. But one more thing has increased more than what it was a decade ago - and that’s responsibility. Sensationalism sells. And now we have reached a stage where we cannot go back and undo the wrongs. In this age of social media, you will receive instant support and criticism which will spread like wild-fire. So, you need to find a way to balance sensationalism with responsibility. There’s no harm in learning from the past. Perhaps, the news channels of old were more responsible than what we have now. 

To Citizens of Nepal – The loss you have gone through post the tragedy is difficult for us to even comprehend. Loss of lives and property, struggling to come to terms with the loss and braving yourselves at a long drawn recovery is, in itself, a tough ask. Our prayers and our support will always be with you throughout this recovery phase. We got a glimpse of the destruction caused by the Himalayan tragedy and the pain you endured thanks to the news channels (primarily Indian ones). Yes, there are some who cross the lines of ethical and responsible journalism. We have faced the same problems ourselves when we had to endure natural disasters (Earthquake, Floods) and man-made ones (terrorism). The sections of News media you are accusing are the ones who did the same thing to us Indians too. So, we understand the root cause of your concern. In a way, we are glad you brought it to everyone’s attention. News channels need to learn their lessons from this one and accept that they need to change. 

A change is needed here. If the news channels don’t learn from this feedback from Nepal, we viewers should take a stand ourselves. We can choose not to watch such channels, which will reduce their viewership count, which will lead to a reduction in their “rankings”, reduction in ad and sponsorship revenue and finally forcing them to change themselves. It’s a vicious circle and we can play a part too.

Abhor the message, not the messenger

Now-a-days, filming, releasing and sharing 2 minute videos have been a trend – an instant means to increase your “klout” in the social media. Almost everyone is following the trend, which means we have some amazing videos, some boring ones and some that we outright reject. Some of the common responses to such a video would be – 

• Awww, that’s so cute (almost tears moment)
• Wow, I didn’t see that coming (a typical what-he-does-next-will-shock-you video)
• What the hell! Who does such a thing?

The reaction is usually the first two for most of these videos. However, one video was released recently that made most of the Indians go “what the hell!” And for rightful reasons, I might add.

Vogue released a video which they thought would stir the ocean and force people to think and eventually empower women. It achieved its objective, albeit for altogether different reasons! It did stir the ocean; it surely forced the people to think and it empowered women to completely abhor the message propagated by the video. Hey, ends justify the means, right?

When I clicked on the play button, I saw Deepika Padukone describing what “choice” means to a woman. The dialogue writing seemed apt and I began appreciating the video till it came to a woman’s sexual choices / lack of it. I honestly didn’t understand the logic behind the statements the first time and I thought of seeing the video again (that’s my part in making this video cross 3 million viewership). Deepika actually said “having sex before marriage is her choice, having sex outside of marriage is her choice”. While I am no one to judge any person’s choice, doing anything against the law of the land is a choice, but a bad one in the end. Social media decided to act against the video and they have done a good job. Parents are happy their children hate that video. Husbands are happy their wife cannot relate with the video. Kids are happy because umm… well… its vacation time!

For the record, I don't agree completely with the video and its message.

Throughout all the rebuttals, some chose to rebut and, unfortunately, despise the actor who was representing “all of womanhood” in the video. Yes, the video messed up. The characters in the video probably didn’t think of the message the way it was eventually portrayed. I would like to believe that the concept of the video had its heart in its right place – women having the right to make their own choices in a largely male-dominated society. It’s just that the examples shown in the video went against our own ethos, are illegal and something that a right-minded person would never choose. The actors (including the lead actor – Deepika Padukone) probably decided to do this project with a different thought-process and the end product was totally different. Haven’t we seen this in movies too? Actors play certain roles which they think will be portrayed in a certain way and the end result is a total disconnect with the public. It works sometimes and messes up on occasions. Despising the actors for this is totally unwarranted. After all, the same Deepika Padukone recently had an interview discussing the perils of depression and how she came out of it, which was largely motivating and well received by the same audience. Just like adultery is against our ethos, despising someone (let alone a lady) for a choice s/he made is also against our upbringing. It was her choice to do this video and she will live with the repercussions. Personally, I would like to think of this video as a branding exercise for Vogue that went terribly wrong. And they now have to do some serious re-branding to get back in their target audiences’ mind. 

Despise the message. Don’t despise the messenger, Deepika Padukone in this case. It’s my choice. And I will live with it.

Aren't we all the same?

The whole of socially active Indians are talking about “freedom of speech”, “freedom of expression”, right to be heard and having the option to make a choice of deciding what one wants to watch / experience. Post the 3-part episodes of AIB knockout that were released on YouTube, a furore of gigantic proportion erupted over the content of the episode, the language used and how much it is against our culture and the whole concept of “insult comedy”. For those not in-the-know of things, here’s a small backdrop of the incident – Some stand-up artistes decided to have an event that insults stars in a light hearted way.  The stars on their part are sporting enough to be insulted in front of live (and online) audience. So basically, people insulting each other and we, as outsiders, are watching it for fun. Harmless fun, I may add.

Not that my opinion matters compared to the popular ones on the Internet, but I still have an opinion and I have a platform where I can write about it – my blog. I saw all the 3 webisodes and found it quite entertaining. These were not awesome, but good enough to watch. Some of the jokes were really funny, some were ok, some were repetitive and some were not funny at all. But overall I enjoyed it and kudos to the team and the participants to even dare such a concept in India.

But there’s a problem. The ‘who’s-who’ of India perceived it differently. Some found it offending. Some compared this to porn. Some found it against Indian culture. Are you surprised by this reaction? Not me, for sure. 

To be fair to the AIB guys, the video started with a statutory warning and the way AIB roastmaster was introduced should have set the platform for what we are about to watch. The people who found it offending should have seen it coming. The people who compared this to porn, well, are ignorant. The people who found this against Indian culture need to test the ground reality by being a silent spectator to any teenage group conversation anywhere in India. During my teenage days, it was a fine balance between constructive discussions with a few cuss words thrown in between. The balance was maintained those days. Now the balance has tilted. 

So much enrage has happened on this issue that even FIRs have been filed! Wow, tough times ahead.

But that’s just one side of the problem. The other side of the problem is the reaction of ‘freedom-of-expression’ supporters towards those who are opposed to it. One Khan from Bollywood voiced his opinion and we pounced on him, called him a hypocrite for producing a movie “Delhi Belly” which had an objectionable song. Aamir Khan used his freedom of expression and we found it objectionable. A certain Khanna, ex-actress and now a writer, wrote about the hypocrisy of Khan and we commended her! So, what does that tell us? We will appreciate those who are in line with our thoughts but will also pounce on someone who does not support our version of the argument. Aren’t we also hypocrites in that regard? When a movie on god-men (demeaning them) hit the theatres, some of us silenced those who opposed the movie using the “don’t-like-don’t-watch” card. But when another movie on god-men (promoting them) was released, some of us went ahead and made fun of it. Isn’t the whole AIB-controversy also on the same line? Maybe what we fail to realize is that “The best way to explain our point of view is to walk the talk”. 

So what’s the bottom-line of all this? I genuinely felt AIB was good, it had an interesting concept and should not be a one-show wonder. The show must go on. People who like / support this concept, let’s show the other group how to support freedom of expression by practising what we preach. People who don’t like the concept, please close your YouTube window or watch some other video. The choice is yours.

So an apology actually works!

I don’t think there’s anyone who can confidently say that they expected such a verdict from Delhi. Probably, except the staunchest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters. Post the elections, all the exit polls were anticipating AAP to win the elections. BJP spokespersons had more or less conceded defeat. Post mortem started even before the results were declared. 

And then, the results were declared – 

Even Arvind Kejriwal commented – This win has scared me too! And he is not the only one who was taken by surprise. Most of the Indians across the globe were surprised / shocked (based on which party you support). No one expected such a “tornado” from Kejriwal that encompassed the wave that Narendra Modi was surfing on. Congress has been decimated in Delhi, which was more or less expected considering they had already given up before the voting day. It was always going to be a BJP v/s AAP battle. But AAP went one step ahead and did what Narendra Modi did in the Lok Sabha elections – decimating and nullifying the opposition!

So what does all this mean? Has the BJP wave run its course? Is this the new AAP 2.0 / Arvind Kejriwal 2.0? Where does that leave Kiran Bedi and BJP? Is the Congress still relevant after another whitewash?

In my opinion, here are the 4 important takeaways from the Delhi Election Results – 

1. An apology actually works – AAP always knew they were in for a tough fight in this election. They literally ran away from responsibility the last time they were in power in Delhi. And that too in 49 days. It was always going to be an election for BJP to win compared to any other party. But AAP made their weakness into their strength as they started their election campaign by apologizing for their “mistake”. It takes guts at that level to admit your mistake and apologize. When was the last time a political party actually “apologized”? Conceding defeat is not apologizing. All we have heard till now were mere excuses for losing / anti-incumbency factor. Now that we know the result, we can safely say that an apology can go a long way in correcting the wrong. All that AAP needs to do now is to live up to their promise and fulfill their commitments made in their manifesto.
2. Has the wave run its course? By all means, no. The non-BJP parties are sure to jump on the no-BJP-wave bandwagon. But it will merely be a “spokesperson’s brief”. The fact remains, BJP messed up the strategy for Delhi. In retrospect, they should have immediately called for Delhi elections post their Lok Sabha sweeping. They didn’t. They should have focused more on the issues Delhi faces rather than the personal attacks on opposition parties. They didn’t. If at all anything, the personal attacks gave Kejriwal more support than what even AAP had anticipated. BJP have lost Delhi. But their strategy to win state elections will more / less remain Modi-centric. Delhi simply didn’t like BJP’s proposition. Delhi wanted an alternative and they got one.
3. A frustrated common man actually has the power to invoke change – In more ways than one, Arvind Kejriwal did what Narendra Modi did in the Lok Sabha elections – bank on the frustration of the people sick of politics without growth and offered them an alternative. The people of Delhi bought that proposition from AAP. Delhi has its own problems they face every single day. Here we have different political parties pitching for solutions. They elected one of them without any hindrance. Ironic as it may sound, elections are the only place where aam aadmi executes their power. For the rest of five years, it’s just a case of power imposed on them. AAP might change that scenario, at least they look most promising to bring about change.
4. Congress needs a makeover, asap! Congress are just few steps away from being history. And its a scary proposition, not only for the Congress faithful but for Indian politics in general. We need at least 2 national level parties to keep the other on their toes. Decimation of Congress means BJP are the only one left at the national scene. This can bring in complacency (Delhi elections being one such example). AAP is still years away from a national level fight. Third front won’t cut the ice in today’s India where people want a stable government. That leaves only Congress. And they are in a mess – a lot of which are self-inflicted. They have to go for a serious makeover. Change something big – maybe the top echelons of the party, maybe the way they function, maybe the way they position themselves. Anything. Just anything under the sun, but bring it!

Narendra Modi will acknowledge the fact that he now has a competitor and a battle to fight. Generally such a scenario brings out the best in people. Any upsurge in the performance of the Indian Government will only be beneficial to the country in general. Expect a flurry of positive events happening soon (cue: national budget 2015, for one). Kejriwal, on his part, now has a mandate he could not have dreamt of. Not delivering on his promises will ensure a similar mandate in 5 years, albeit against AAP. People don’t have much patience now. “Perform or Perish” is the new mantra. It’s time the rest of India adopts this mantra too.

AAP may have won Delhi, but India is the clear winner.

Different ways to interpret a statement

“We Indians love a good debate” blurts a news channel that has been promoting debates on time slots they describe as something bigger than prime time. They claim to know about cases or scandals more than the people involved in them. They claim to have copies of written emails / circulars that were supposed to remain confidential. They have reporters who travel to the nook and corner of the world to search for people who are usually absconding / left previous life to start afresh. No one knows how they do it. Logically thinking, maybe they have access to mail servers or are in touch with postmen who transfer confidential letters. Maybe they have access to smartphones of every individual with a mobile phone and track the whereabouts as and when needed. And sometimes, maybe, just maybe, they are in touch with souls or do some type of Ouija to gather information that police or investigation agencies don’t have access to. Either ways, the technology or method they use can benefit the country immensely and can fast track India to become the next super-power!

Sarcasm aside, I am not arguing with the concept or the content shown in the news show as I watch it almost every day and find their way of ‘investigative journalism’ quite interesting. What I don’t like, however, is interfering with personal issues of individuals, who happen to be popular figures in India. One such incident is happening every evening these days and is getting too personal to anybody’s liking, let alone the family. Those in support of the public debate on personal issues justify by saying that the crime happened because the victim was going to reveal something that could have had grave repercussions to some people with power and the country at large and the victim should be given complete justice. Personally, I am all for the “complete justice” argument but not at the cost of causing grief to the victim’s family. Imagine their plight! They are facing baptism by media! They are followed by media everywhere for their sound-bites. And what about their acceptance of the loss? Are we even allowing that to happen?

One way media understands / misunderstands what powerful people say to them is called “reading between the lines”. One statement is made and is interpreted in multiple ways – some more bizarre than others. Here’s one statement and how it can be (mis)interpreted in different ways – 

Statement – “I have said everything I wanted to say and I have nothing more to add”.

Interpretations – 

• He is hiding something. And that something can be a critical piece in this crime mystery.
• His statement says he said everything ‘wanted’ to say, which means there are certain things he doesn’t want to say. What could that possibly be?
• His body language was defensive, why did he avoid the media if he has done nothing wrong? There’s a chink in his armor. 
• The question asked to him was – did he commit the crime. He made a safe statement without denying the accusation.

It’s on these above (mis)interpretations that some media houses bank on (financially and content-wise) which further excites the audience, especially those who are opposing the person under media trial. It may be a discussion point for the neutrals and the audience at large, but just think about the family who are going through the trauma months after the unfortunate event. 

I repeat that I like the new form of “investigative journalism” and trial by media provided we are dealing with scandals worth crores etc. Just when it comes to personal space, we need to have a self-restraint. There’s a thin line in every event that shouldn’t be crossed and in today’s day and age, that line has faded away. 

Of Religion and Tolerance

Every religion claims to help us seek salvation. The ways may be different, the means different too; but the destination remains the same – a safe and peaceful afterlife. But at what price? Sydney and Peshawar attacks are still fresh in our memory and now Paris joins them. Is religion really that weak to accept satire / critic? And if yes, is death the only solution?

All religions teach patience, love for one another and tolerance in the face of adversity. Aren’t these the traits that we desperately seek in today’s world? What happened in Paris is deplorable. Every rational thinking person will heavily condemn it. But this isn’t an isolated incident. We, in India, have been facing the same issue, but not at a “terrorism” level, so to speak. Books have been burnt, authors forced to leave, their private properties destroyed – all this simply because we are not tolerant towards what these authors have written against our religion. Same is the case with movies and cartoons. 

It’s wrong to judge a religion based on certain religious fundamentalists. First things first, not everyone in a particular religion gets offended by satire / book / movie / other published work. Only a handful of them gets “hurt”, others simply chose to ignore it and move on. Which, in my opinion, is completely understandable as people react to similar circumstances in different ways. People who are hurt, will respond differently to this situation – some will chose to provide feedback, some will stop reading the newspaper or stop watching movies made by a certain hero / director. Which is also fine as people are entitled to decide what they would like to read as there are a plethora of options available. What is not fine is when some people take it upon themselves to uphold the sanctity of their religion and cause physical harm (like destroying homes or even killing) others. 

People’s interpretation of religious scriptures play a part too. Interpretation of a book / movie / cartoon lies with the audience. These products have a shelf life and will soon die and be forgotten. But the same cannot be said of religious books. The scriptures transcend generations along with its interpretations. Why do we have caste, sub-caste, sects within a religion? And why are the traditions different within a religion? It’s primarily because certain people chose to read the holy book differently and were eventually separated as a different sect altogether. Interpretations change even when a holy book is transliterated from one language to the other. 

From the media perspective, it’s difficult to comprehend what can be safely published and won’t harm any religious sentiments. In a football stadium, if a section of the crowd starts shouting at a player referring him to an animal or even gesticulating, it is considered a racial abuse. But a renowned comedian visits the same place and cracks racial jokes, people who belong to the same race enjoys it. A city, subject to a terror attack, is condemned by one and all but the same city restricts one religion to follow their tradition is brushed under the carpet.

India is a country where its too complex to adopt “free speech” or freedom of expression. I don’t think we will ever have free speech in its entirety. We currently have free speech within the confines of religious walls. As long as you don’t encroach upon the zone where it hurts a particular religion, you are free to say what you like. The moment you cross the line and its noticed by the fundamentalists, then you are at their mercy.

Religion came to this world to show us a way of life and how to live within the predefined boundaries of patience and tolerance. Ironically, their followers have chosen to be impatient and intolerant to protect their own identity that was once defined by their religion. 

PK debate - arguments and counter-arguments

PK was expected to be the most talked about, much awaited movie of 2014. Now that its released, we can safely say it lived up to its expectations. Despite releasing on 19th Dec, it still is the most talked about movie – for different reasons altogether. 

(Spoiler Alert) - For those not in-the-know of things happening around them, “PK” is a movie of an alien landing on Earth but losing his remote to return home. In his search for finding the remote, he tries learning the behavior and culture of the people around him. That’s when he realizes that only God can help him find his remote. He starts searching for God but meets people from various religions and confronts godmen and religious beliefs in the process. Post confronting the belief system, he wins back his remote and returns home. That's all about PK in a nutshell.

Any film that provokes debate (healthy, I might add) is a good movie. PK has polarized the Indian movie watching audience like few other movies have in the past. Significant number of people wants to boycott the movie and equally compelling are those who feel the movie actually makes a lot of sense. Some of the arguments for boycotting PK and my counter-arguments – 

• PK is an anti-Hindu movie. PK has various scenes that hurt Hindu sentiments. The scene with Lord Shiva’s character was in bad taste. The movie attacks the belief system of Hindus, especially those who travel long distances on bare foot to visit and pray in a temple when PK argues that God is everywhere. It states that religion is becoming a business in India with little investment and huge returns even on the first day. The movie safely left other religions aside when they are also in the same boat. 
  Counter-argument: First of all, PK is not an anti-religion movie. It’s not attacking any religion. It is satirically addressing the belief system prevalent in every religion. There is a scene where PK brings coconut to Church and breaks it in front of the holy altar. PK then brings wine to mosque. The final debate between PK and Godman is a healthy one with both putting their best foot forward (while I personally feel the movie failed to grab the potential of a healthy final debate). I think all of us agree that there are selfless as well as selfish godmen, the former a diminishing lot and the latter increasing in number. I don’t see anything wrong in attacking the latter lot. And by the way, every religion has these two types of godmen.
• The release of PK is wrongly timed. A certain section of India is boiling over forced conversions in various parts of the country. Rates are being quoted for converting from one religion to the other. For all the “unity in diversity” strength we as Indians have, this comes as a big blooper for our constitution. During these times, releasing a movie that attacks religion was uncalled for. 
  Counter-argument: Fair argument. It’s wrongly times. But I don’t think it’s the movie’s fault. A lot of background preparations go into making a movie. Even the date of release plays a big role in the success of the movie. Dec 2014 had only one big budget movie releasing and it was “PK”. Pre-poning was not an option at all as no one can predict the forced conversion scenario. Postponing a movie will result in the movie losing out on a huge revenue base (holiday season). 
• Ohh My God (OMG) was better in addressing the concept. 
  Counter-argument: No counter-arguments here. I completely agree. Although I feel these two movies should not be compared as PK turned out to be PK’s personal story of finding the remote to return to his home. Religion was just a sub-plot PK encountered in his search for remote. If PK is raking negativity, OMG should have had a nationwide ban!
• PK got its funding from Dubai and ISI. 
  Counter-argument: Let’s not even debate this as no one apart from his “source” knows the facts. No facts, no argument and hence, no counter-argument.

I, for one, believe the movie has raked up unnecessary debate for various reasons, some of which are mentioned above. Personally, I was not too pleased with the ending, the love angle to be precise. The director kept the debate open without any credible conclusion. Maybe it was the director’s way to avoid controversy or maybe the director intended the movie to be based only on PK, the character, rather than religious belief angle.

India has always accepted diversity and diverse opinions. If someone likes a movie, watch it again or promote it by word-of-mouth or simply enjoy and move on. If someone doesn’t like a movie, please don’t watch. If you are having a counter-argument, have a healthy debate through lawful means. Vandalizing property is not justified under any circumstances. If at all anything, calls for banning the movie is proving counter-productive as the curiosity of people who haven’t watched the movie only increases. PK will only stand to gain financially.

Of Terrorism, Religion and Forced Conversions

The world around us is buzzing off late. And not all are for the right reasons. 

Sydney Café attack started it all. Customers of the café went in for their breakfast ended up running out of the café to save their lives. What we saw was absolute irony of the life we live. On one side, there was an armed man, who was out on bail for assault on his ex-wife, terrorizing the customers of the café. On the other side, police and paramedics alike were trying their best to save as much lives as possible with least amount of damage. And then, bizarrely, there were some who were more interested in taking selfies in front of the terror site! Like it or not, this is the kind of world we live in.

We thought we had seen the worst. And then we immediately changed our perception the very next day.

Peshawar attack will go down in history as one of the most brutal and dastardly terror attack. Terrorism is bad and there’s no sane justification for the actions, but targeting kids and that too in a school? More than 130 kids have died and those who remain will carry the psychological scar throughout their life! We know there is no religion in terror and this attack proves just that. Killing innocents is not promoted in any religious scripture. Misinterpreting the scripture and brain washing young folks will not lead them to salvation / a peaceful after-life. And worst of all, the terrorists are fine with the incident with absolutely no remorse. The kind of world we live in.

Terrorism has united the world. But I wonder why did we wait for such a disaster to happen?

Nearer to home, a different but significantly less important fight is going on – conversions. No wait, forced conversions. The present government is rooting for development, which is good and beneficial to the overall growth of the country. There’s another section of the ruling government who are forcing non-Hindus to convert to Hinduism. They call it “ghar-wapasi” or homecoming. It’s like a tug-of-war between the forward moving forces (development) and the backward moving ones (forced conversions and communal statements). Considering the background of the people involved in the conversion initiative and the current political scenario (elections due next year and polarization), all this makes a lot of sense. Personally, I admire what our PM is doing at the national and international level. There’s serious optimism in the country faith-wise and money-wise. We can also anticipate inflow of funds from international entities. But what’s happening o the other side of the rope is taking more precedence in the media – and for rightful reasons. Development should be inclusive, should involve all religions and states. Development should include smaller sections of the society as well with no discrimination. Unfortunately, that’s not what’s happening. The kind of world we live in.

Image background - thumbs.dreamstime.com/

Personally, I have a different take on conversions. Whether we like it or not, conversions have been happening since the dawn of time. A new religion is formed when a leader rises and shows his followers a way of life and truth. People who were initially of a different religion, “convert” to the newer one. Jews converted to Christianity. Many religions converted to Buddhism post Buddha-era. These are conversions and this will continue. What some sections from the ruling party are doing is “forced conversions” which is totally against the constitution of India. No one can “force” anyone to join their religion. What is this – a race to be the biggest religion? The beauty of India lies in her diversity, let’s not destroy it. There are statements that convey all people will be converted to Hinduism by 2021 or so. Please don’t believe such statements and spread hatred. This will simply not happen and even our own friends whose religion is Hinduism won’t allow it.

None of the above mentioned problems are linked / can be compared. Some are very serious (terrorism) and some are naive (conversions). Big and small, but problem nevertheless.

These internal problems will eventually pass. Sanity will prevail. And India will remain as a country where diversity is applauded. That’s our USP and no one will “forcefully convert” it.

Where "Eaten Alive" messed up?

I finally got to see the video that made headlines for all the wrong reasons in the past one week! That “Eaten Alive” broadcast on Discovery where a naturalist and a wildlife filmmaker, Paul Rosolie, was supposed to enter the belly of a giant Anaconda and yet survive. If you haven’t heard of this, you are seriously missing something! Whether he entered the belly or not is another story altogether!

If you enjoy watching wildlife channels like Discovery, Nat Geo or Animal Planet and you were completely oblivious to the promotions, you would have loved this show. Seriously! This show starts with Paul Rosolie and his team of experts searching for what Paul claims to be one of the biggest Anacondas alive in Amazon. Their hunt passes through the dense forest of Amazon right up to the floating forest (which, by the way, is awesome – not for a vacation, but for viewing purposes). On the way, they come across relatively smaller Anacondas, Alligators, Electric Eels etc. Later, they realize they could not find that giant Anaconda and had to make-do with a relatively smaller one. Paul, in his hi-tech suit, tries to grab the Anaconda’s attention. Anaconda gives it, grabs the head of Paul, starts swallowing and slowly reaches his shoulders when Paul snaps. His team comes to his rescue and, well, that’s it. To be fair to Paul, he attempted something unique and he and his team deserves due credit (assuming you still haven’t seen the promotions). Technically, Eaten Alive lived up to its name. Paul was eaten alive. 

Now see how they promoted the show - 

This is exactly where they messed up – promotions. They heavily promoted eaten alive to the extent where curious viewers (me included) were expecting Paul to be inside the belly of the snake and will remain there till help is called for / snake decides to push him out. But neither happened. Instead Paul called for help immediately when the Anaconda reached his shoulders. With due respects to Paul for even attempting such a feat, fooling viewers was just not what the doctor ordered! When the promotions were being aired in November, I initially felt they were crossing the invisible line which they are not supposed to cross and decided never to watch / support such an initiative. But these promotions totally gripped me like an Anaconda normally would do to its prey.

Discovery also got some serious negative publicity (but publicity, nevertheless) from various wildlife conservationists / organizations. They were contemplating banning the show altogether. Entering the belly of any animal alive, let alone a giant anaconda goes against the basic right of the animal to live. The animal may get killed during the “stunt”, may be seriously injured and in any ways, won’t be benefited at all. Paul Rosolie defended the stunt claiming they are doing this to generate awareness on reducing numbers of Anaconda. Quite an ironic argument, I must say. If you want to generate awareness, you could have done it with anaconda facts and figures, reasons why their count is reducing, and how viewers can contribute towards this cause. 

Another area where I feel they goofed up was that the “eaten alive” part of the show was smaller in comparison to the “search” part. The search for the biggest Anaconda was shown for almost an hour and the actual stunt was just about 15 minutes. They could have easily reduced the viewing time from over 90 minutes to less than 45 minutes by just concentrating on what they intend to show. As a viewer, you had to go through virtual treks and informative discussions on Anaconda to reach the climax, which was primarily the reason why you decided to view this.

The first show of “Eaten Alive” turned out to be more like “Tasted Alive”! Overall, a decent enough show killed by its own promotions! If eye-balls are what they were looking for, they got it right. But will they sustain it? I doubt.

Feed a child. Feed our future..

For the past few months, we Indians wake up to renewed hope. There’s a change in the political landscape that is promising a lot. But that’s how we have always been. We are excellent planners. We understand what is happening at the ground level and make laws and policies in such a way the unlawful and unjust activities are curbed and lawful activities are encouraged. 

Of the many problems, we as a country face, one of the critical ones belong to under-nutrition. According to a recent World Bank report titled “Nutrition in India”, India loses a notional figure of approximately $12 Billion in GDP by not adequately feeding a child till the age of 2 years. Don’t read too much into $12B, it’s a notional figure assuming all other economic factors remaining constant / changing based on previous years’ trend. What’s startling is that this problem is not restricted to people in the lower strata of the society. As per the report, only 7% of children born to the upper strata get adequate nutrition! Now that’s a shocking statistic. Which means the wealthiest lot feed their child a lot of stuff which are not necessarily nutritious.

The problem I have mentioned above is of gigantic proportion which needs continuous focus from the government at the centre and state level and will need a long term plan. It needs meticulous planning which I am sure we will do. It will also involve executing the plan right at the grass-root level including compulsory education to new parents about what foods to give at what age and the frequency etc. What I will touch upon, in this post, is a problem within a problem – feeding school going children thereby feeding our future. Children need to study, they need to be educated for India to enter into an even better future. The child can be from a poor household or from a wealthy family, they all need education. Basic access to meal should hardly be a barrier between their present and a fulfilling future!

Here’s how I feel we need to plan and execute this initiative –

Detailed Explanation - 

• Make one meal compulsory in Schools – irrespective of the school type (Government / semi private / private / ICSE / CBSE etc.). I understand prima facie it appears illogical. But hear me out. As I mentioned that under-nutrition is not the problem of the lower income group, its spread across the classes. Making lunch or a meal compulsory will ensure the next generation will be accessible to nutritious food.
• Government to detail the quality processes that should be followed by shortlisted food vendors. Government can seek help from quality nutritionists to chalk out the adequate level of vitamins, minerals in every meal and how vegetable / food to serve to achieve the nutritional level.
• Schools to have a separate team for meal management. This team will be responsible for shortlisting vendors, having a daily plan for food quality testing before arranging lunch for children. One way to do this is to ensure that one point of contact from the vendor is allowed to eat along with the children. We have had cases where lizards / rodents were found in food that led to food poisoning among children. This is one way it can be prevented to a larger extent. I know it’s weird, but can be effective in the long run.
• Independent auditors to be appointed by state government and will be fully equipped to visit any schools during the meal hours to inspect the quality of food along with how the whole activity is being managed. Any incident should be reported immediately in an online portal and strict action to be taken against the school, who in turn, can penalize / replace the vendor. 
• Monthly check-ups for school children. This can be clubbed along with the Physical Training (PT) sessions. This will cover the basic checks along with comparison of growth over last few months.

Some of these are already happening in our country, but execution needs to happen at a national level where all schools are part of it. Government’s digital initiative can also help track this initiative and provide adequate support as and when needed.

Who will pay for such an initiative? This is where PPP (Public Private Partnership) can play a significant role. For Government schools, it can be a tie-up between government and NGO’s. For private schools, it can be part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and not a penny from parents. I understand that the cost incurred will be significant. Private schools can also take the assistance from NGOs or other social groups. Corporates can also fund / adopt a school in their vicinity as part of their CSR. Government can appraise such corporates / schools by allowing the CSR cost as non-taxable which will encourage more participation. 

This is just my opinion. This plan may be error-prone, but subtle changes can be worked out to reduce those errors. The nuances can then be ironed out at the grass-root level. Gigantic proportion of the problem notwithstanding, I honestly feel it’s not too difficult to fight this problem. All we need is proper leadership and direction at the top and executing this to the “T” right at the school level.

This post is part of my Bloggers Social Responsibility. I will #BlogToFeedAChild with Akshaya Patra and BlogAdda.

When the guilty is not guilty

The society we live in has adjusted to a lot of norms based on how people react “generally” to certain situations. Once a common reaction is repeated by more people, it becomes a trend. A trend may be right or wrong. Example of a right trend could be resisting from littering around supporting our government’s initiative on cleanliness. Example of a wrong trend could be to bypass a red traffic signal. Once the quantum of following a trend increases, it becomes a cult. A cult eventually becomes a generally accepted behavior a human is expected to showcase in certain situations. In some cases, a certain behavior type becomes so normal and universally accepted that questioning / abusing / ill-treating people with those behavior (who are now in the majority) will result in punishment through some legal discourse.

But have we ever wondered if the other side of the coin feels the same way? In other words, what if you actually stop in front of a red signal for a whole minute despite knowing that it’s early in the morning and there’s no one who’s crossing from the other side?

Our society expects us to follow a list of rules / laws that is enacted to protect us. Once we move in the different direction than expected by law, we are liable for punishment. Our society also enlists the severity of the punishment based on the severity of the crime. A petty crime like parking on a no parking zone can perhaps result in a monetary fine of Rs. 100. A serious crime like murder / rape can result in life imprisonment or in rarest-of-rare case, even death.

Assume someone has committed a murder. Our legal system punished him by imposing life imprisonment. A punishment as severe as Life imprisonment ensures justice to the family of the deceased. We expect the murderer to feel guilty of the crime, repent while being in prison and possibly come out a better man. The whole “guilt factor” involved in punishment of the murderer is possibly the best possible outcome the family of the deceased can expect, that the murderer should suffer in jail, should realize the gravity of the crime and lose his most productive years in jail. 

Here’s the twist – assume the murderer is actually enjoying his stay in prison. Not that the police are supporting him. He is going through everything that a criminal needs to go through in jail. He needs to toil hard for in-house work, gets simple staple food almost every-time, has a small cell to live in, gets beaten up occasionally. But instead of the “guilt factor”, he is actually enjoying all this!

How will the family of the deceased feel now? Is this actually justice? Who decided that a jailed person should feel guilty and repent for his crime? Our society, of course! And for all the reasons I mentioned in the beginning of this post. Society probably thought that once a person is isolated, deprived of his living style and made to experience a tough life will make him repent. We are also conditioned to think that way and there’s no one to blame here.

What I am trying to drive here is a thought process involved in enforcing a punishment to the culprit who doesn’t feel punished. In my example, one person died, his family has to live with the pain and the murderer shows no remorse in jail. Probably, that’s the loss we have to take for all the goods that society gives us. But then, probably not!

PS: Murder as a crime and life imprisonment as a punishment are cited as examples here. It could be any crime and any punishment.

How will Kerala celebrate now?

India has just won a match – an overseas ODI, not an overseas test you optimist! You have just received a job or a promotion. Your child has just got admission in a school / college. You have just won a state lottery. Sachin Tendulkar has just visited your state and you were in attendance for his felicitation. Your outstretched arm barely scraped past Sachin’s shoulders while he was leaving. It’s a festival / Sunday / any personal occasion like Birthday, Anniversary etc. Your blood test has proved everything’s right in your body. Your liver’s fine.

In all the above mentioned occasions, don’t you feel the urge to celebrate? If yes, then how? Not sure if most of us will buy a cake / have a quiet dinner with the family. It must be a lot of buzz and booze! Speaking of booze, wouldn’t you like to have a dip in the alcohol pool? Well yes, of course.

Not if you are in Kerala. Most Keralites residing in Kerala will be devoid of such “luxury” from September 12th. That’s because their government has decided to ban over 700 liquor bars in Kerala in a phase-wise approach. Around 418 bars are already closed since 1st April 2014. 213 bars currently functioning will be closed on 31st March 2015. From 1st April 2015 only 5 star hotels, approx. 23 in the state, will legally sell liquor.

Why such a ban? – Statistics don’t lie. Kerala is the one of the leading consumer of liquor in India. So much so that 1/6th of the total liquor consumption comes from Kerala. To put things in perspective, India’s per capita consumption of liquor stands at 4 liters whereas Kerala is twice that number at 8.3. So, excessive alcoholism is a major issue in Kerala, at least most of the female population and religious groups will testify. Some analysts have also linked alcohol consumption to domestic and social violence. While the link appears logical, there’s a separate school of thought that believes a drunk drowns his problems / frustrations using alcohol thereby reducing the chance of domestic / social violence. Kerala is not the first state to implement such a step – Gujarat, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland have all tried it. 

Will a ban be successful? – Let’s get one thing out of the way – if the intention is to have a healthier and a safe Kerala, then it is worth applauding. While the jury is out and there is no clear prediction if the ban will be successful, I personally feel it’s a step back for the Kerala government – economic damage notwithstanding. I can understand the political pressure imposed from the religious allies of the government – perils of a coalition government. But the solution will not do much good. Instead, it will force the regular drinkers to “procure” their spirit from neighboring states. Illegal liquor business will flourish, which is more harmful to government and individuals. Just to quote a metaphor, if murders have increased dramatically in a region, you don’t ban knives / ropes / other common weapons right? You devise a mechanism to have a stringent law to fight the culprits. Same applies here too. If alcohol is leading to an increase in crimes, you introduce and implement stringent laws to fight the crime. Generating awareness is also a solution – albeit long term. Banning alcohol, even in a phased manner, serves no purpose.

Alcohol is not the problem here. Excessive alcohol and its effect on individuals and society are. We need to fight the problem from its root instead of barely attacking the leaves.

PS: I am a teetotaler and this issue doesn’t matter to me at a personal level. But Kerala is my hometown and I am afraid this ban will be counter-productive towards Kerala’s cause. 

An unforgettable experience

She came across as one who’s happy, content with life and living the way the Almighty wanted us all to. No ill-deeds, no past regrets, satisfied with the present and a hope within to continue the same in the days to come. She gets up in the morning full of praise and thanksgiving. She completes her daily chores so that she can start serving others. She does her work diligently and with complete responsibility. In more ways than one, she's like just you and me, sans petty tensions. And yes, there's one more difference. She has something we don't. She has AIDS. 

The "She" I am referring to can be anyone and use of gender is just for illustration. 

The other day I, along with some friends, had the privilege to meet and interact with people suffering from AIDS in a care center. There were about 25-30 women inmates in the care center. They welcomed us, sang songs with us, taught us new songs and shared their experiences. We had lunch together. We took group pictures before leaving. They humbly asked us to share the pictures with them the next time we visit them. What took us by surprise was their humility and a zest for life. Among the inmates, some of them were rejected by their families as they felt the victim has brought disrepute. Some of them didn’t have anyone outside to look forward to. Everyone had their own problems in the past and are living with it and will probably live with them forever. 

But a brave face and an attitude to live every day as it comes has made them stronger. Imagine their problems – an ailment that’s life threatening, virtually banned and ignored by the same society they were a part of, challenge to have nutritional food every time where millions in our country die of hunger, easily susceptible to contagious diseases due to lower levels of immunity. Difficult to imagine, right?

The learning class amongst us wants to earn degrees – graduation and post-graduation – so that they get a better career along with a better pay package. The working class amongst us yearn for the double-digit salary hikes every year, so that we can look forward to "living happily". We work hard, extra hours a day to optimize our monthly intake so that we can probably buy that elusive dream house in this city. The inmates don’t have a job to look forward to, don’t have a house – their families have left them – yet they are more composed than most of us! Why? Probably, they haven’t forgotten to thank and praise their creator during these testing times, something very few of us do. Probably, they know we are all here to live and not simply exist.

Here are some of the statistics on AIDS – More than 35 million people are living with HIV of which just less than 10% are children under the age of 15. Every year, more than 2 million people are infected with HIV which translates to almost 240 every hour. Since the beginning of the pandemic, nearly 78 million people have contracted HIV and close to 39 million have died of AIDS-related causes.

We as a society are responsible for the plight of AIDS victims – the emotional plight they experience. We look at them with disdain. We chose to ignore their problems. Despite being “educated”, we are unable to be sensitive towards them. We fall prey to “reputation in society” so much that we conveniently distance ourselves from our dear ones who has unfortunately been infected by AIDS. It’s only human to help someone in need / pain. But when it comes to AIDS, we chose an alternate path. As humans, it’s within our right to show our concern towards those with ailments, let alone a life threatening one.

We entered the AIDS center wanting to know more about them, their lives and the problems they face every day. We left the center with renewed hope and faith. Renewed hope to emerge victorious despite any form of trail that befalls us. Renewed faith that things will change for the better. The victims need our support, emotional and financial, and an acceptance in the society. That’s the least we can do.

PS: I am deliberately not mentioning the name of the care center here. The intention here is just to make each one of us aware of the problems these victims are facing. Proper awareness is the first step we need to take. A good beginning is half the job done!

As India wakes up on 16th May 2014..

Welcome to the most awaited day of the year! Oh no, it’s not an India-Pakistan match. Nor is there any IPL match today (IPL doesn't matter if you are a Mumbai / Delhi fan anyway). It’s not the day of your appraisals / promotions. In fact, it’s much more than that. More than 6 months of campaigning throughout the country has brought us to this day. A day that will decide who rules for the next 5 years (or possibly more). A day that will decide if we will move forward or remain still or worse, move backward as far as growth is concerned. A certain interview question will have a lot of significance and a lot of confusing answers on this day – “Where do you see yourself 5 years down the line?”

Your decision and the press of a button is all its needed

Its Election Results day! Just a note – this post is irrespective of who forms the government – NDA / UPA / AAP / Third Front. Whoever comes to power, it will still be a new Government. Even if UPA somehow manages to spring a surprise, I feel they will start afresh and with young potential leaders. For non UPA, it’s anyways a new beginning. So, will it be “abki baar Modi Sarkar” or “Har haath Shakti, har haath tarakki” riding by the end of the day? Or will it be Delhi assembly elections 2013 revisited? Or will Amma finally achieve her dream of becoming PM? Your guess is as good as mine. Or will there be a hung parliament leading to strange allies – the same people who abused each other before the elections. Imagine NDA and BJD combining / NDA and AIADMK joining forces or UPA, AAP and small regional parties coming together to defeat their common enemy – NDA.

Anticipation of the future is sometimes as good as the experience of the result unfolding right in front of you! That’s what May 16th 2014 is all about. The obvious results of certain political biggies winning their constituency coupled with shocks of some heavyweights losing out will make the whole experience worth it. The news channels have increased the expectation of millions of voters into overdrive. Exit Polls are the new norm today. News channels have had their own tie-ups with exit poll agencies and have churned out and analyzed the data and formed their own governments with hypothetical allies. Thanks to the exit polls, the news channels might have achieved their yearly revenue targets in a week’s time. The ad rates have also gone up this week. Though exit poll results cannot be taken at face value, a common trend shows  NDA closest to attain majority and form the government. It also shows Congress will fall to one of its lowest numbers (close to 100) and AAP missing the bus to play the king-maker at the center thereby losing both Delhi and the center. NDA, as expected, have already started the process of government formation. Congress has categorically denied the results of the exit polls citing past failures.

There are 2 things we need from this result – a strong government and an equally strong but constructive opposition. That’s what we didn’t have post 2009. The Government (UPA) appeared too arrogant after winning handsomely in 2009 (which I feel, in hindsight, led to their downfall along with corruption and lack of decision-making). The opposition (NDA) were only interested in disrupting both the houses of Parliament and thereby applying speed-brakes to the already diminishing growth of the country. None of them handled their responsibilities properly. And hence, we crawled and crawled for 5 years. This time the parties / alliance forming the Government and the opposition parties in the house need to pull up their socks to ensure the country doesn’t suffer because of their infighting. We’ve had enough. Not anymore.

By the time you read this, the results may well be out and elation / anguish might have overpowered you!

Whoever wins, here’s hoping for a better, prosperous and a safer future. Jai Hind.

Satire: Guess what's mightier than a Pen?

I am sure we have heard the age old proverb - "Pen is mightier than Sword". Which is to mean a non-violent approach to solving a problem is more beneficial than a violent one. It's a very useful and relevant proverb since time immemorial. Until recently in India, that is.

We Indians have adopted a "novel" and "cost-conscious" approach to take law into our own hands (quite literally). Once upon a time, there used to be something known as Ink. Some intellectuals used long leaflets, dipped the tip of the leaflet into ink-pots and write intellectual stuff that found its way into our School syllabus and we cleared those subjects by mugging the words rather than the thoughts. Since nature missed a trick to store ink in leaflets, humans made ink-pens, which is nothing more than a leaflet type object with ability to store ink. Then someone disrupted this industry - ball-point pens. This was followed by computers where the ink is stored only in the cartridge of the printers! We don't need to use ink to write - just type some stuff and take a print-out!

All this is considered legal and market driven. What's not considered market driven is the below -

Who's responsible for this? These incidents can only be termed as frustration pouring out through ink. Not the frustration of the people who threw ink, but for the people who manufacture ink for a living. Consider this - ink manufacturers are after all - aam aadmi. They need to survive. The technology age has forced their product to enter "decline" stage in the product life cycle. They need to extract the maximum possible juice from their product before being extinct. Now-a-days, many people are maintaining online diaries. Newspaper firms have e-paper as an alternate product just to be in business when newspapers become extinct. So how in this beautiful world can ink manufacturers survive? Where will their next million come from?

Strategy and how it works - Politicians are not missing an opportunity to lower opponents from the proverbial ladder of success. One of the way is to embarrass their opponents at every option given to them. Throwing shoes is one way (they smartly throw one shoe so that the victim doesn't have an option to wear them). Another way is to throw something that can darken the face temporarily and that's where ink comes into picture. News hungry cameras will catch the action live and it will be shown in ultra-slow motion (same technology used in Cricket) with hours of needless analysis thrown in. Ink manufacturers meanwhile get all this promotion for FREE! That's right, everything happens free of cost and the actions encourage potential buyers. A new market in the making. Marketing is, after all, finding a hole in the marker provided there's a market in the hole. Isn't that just brilliant?

There was an era when swords were considered powerful. Then the writers made pen mightier. Who would have ever thought that ink would be the mightiest of them all and that too, in this digital era! 

Book Review: "RIP" by Mukul Deva

First things first. RIP, here, doesn't stand for what it popularly means. RIP stands for Resurgent Indian Patriots. The first thing you observe when you get hold of this book is that a lot is revealed in the cover page itself. There's a shadow of a guy who, we can safely assume, is a commando with a gun. There's a syringe on top with a bullet representing an "I" in RIP. All this with a backdrop of either an explosion or the "Sun". Lots explained from the cover! Interestingly, the author's name (Mukul Deva) seems more prominent than the book's name. This could be a conscious effort by the author and the publishers (Westland Ltd.) for promotional purposes or maybe just the way I look at it. But it sure has an impact!

Target Audience:

1. Readers who love Military thrillers

2. Young Indians, especially those who yearn for change!

3. Readers who love to cross the line between reality and fiction - you guys will enjoy this book!

Plot: The book starts with introducing some members of the K-Team in a wedding party involving the daughter of a businessman wind the son of a politician in Delhi. It's called the K-team as it involves ex-military personnel whose names start with K - Colonel named Krishna Athawale, Majors Karan Singh, Kevin David, Kashif Nadeem, Kamlesh Saikia & Kulwant Singh. Their intention in the party is to kill a pot-bellied politician who is protected with bodyguards. And they actually do it without even the bodyguards and by-standers knowing! Similar incidents happen in cities like Chennai and Pune. Astonishing right? And that's how the plot remains throughout the book. Now when you do something against the powerful people, there are repercussions right? Government appoints teams to track down the K-team and as a result, civilians, involving the family members of the K-team, are killed in this cross-fire. All the K-team wants is to have an effective and transparent governance of our country. Do they achieve it in the end / at what cost? - is explained in the rest of the book.

Writing: The author has smartly named the characters based on different religion to point out the fact that this is not a religious group. The author claims that the book is an art of fiction and events / personalities have been fictitiously used (which means, the events might be true but is still considered fictional - smart again!). As you read through the book, you will be able to clearly recognize the event and the person involved in real life. There's a airplane hijacking incident, an arms-scam incident, scams involving fodder, technology (that's still very much happening today). Also, the author has not shied away from using abusive language. Now, I am not sure if it's part of the military dialect, but even if it is, the frequency of using such words should have been controlled for the larger benefit of the reading audience.

Relevance in today's times: If at all there's a time in India for this book to be relevant, it's now! It's highly relevant in today's scenario. The book depicts the plight of our country as it exists today and offers an alternate (and in my opinion, a bold and somewhat unrealistic - given that we are a democracy) solution to solve them. The author Mukul Deva himself conveys the same about this book:

"This book was born out of an extreme sense of anger and shame. Anger at the appalling, naked greed so shamelessly displayed by the Indian Political class. And shame that they happen to be fellow-Indians"

Overall, this book is a worthy page turner. The precision involved in "correcting the wrongs" in the society is amazingly described. There are different ways in which you will enjoy this book. You can enjoy this book as a thriller. You can enjoy it for it's striking co-relation with the real India.

Buy hey, take the story and the solutions with a pinch of salt.

My Rating: 4 / 5.

PS: This review is part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda. A special thanks to the BlogAdda team for selecting me for the review process.

Dear Prime Ministerji..

I took an initiative to write an open letter to our respected Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. It's part of an initiative by Viewspaper. The initiative is called PMji Samjhoji. December 2nd is the day India will write to its Prime Minister.

Click here for the complete article

Please check the article and let me know your thoughts.

A Pawn dies.. Victory??

In the game of Chess, a pawn is considered as the one who's least powerful and its main intention is to serve the King's orders (metaphorically, of course). After the requirement is fulfilled, pawn usually dies. For a better good of the team. The opposition seldom considers this as victory.

On 21st November 2012, Ajmal Kasab was hanged. Rightfully so, I may add. The operation was secretly done to avoid any hostage like situation and backlash from human rights activists. But the bigger question here is, "Did we defeat terrorism?" and "Did we actually win?".  The answer is a plain and simple NO!

Image: Kind courtesy hillpost.in

Let's get the "apparent" victory in perspective. This is truly, and humbly, a victory for all those people who suffered on 26th November 2008 and are still suffering. Many soldiers of our country stood up to face terrorists and went down fighting. Its a victory for their families. Many survived to live the tale but are still not out of the trauma. Its a victory for them. Mumbai witnessed in shock as our city was taken hostage by terrorists and innocent citizens were brutally killed. Its a victory for Mumbai. Its also a victory for our country as we showed the world that despite what these terrorists did to us, we still allowed them a fair trial. We didn't respond to terrorism by terrorism. We showed the world that despite Ajmal Kasab's country didn't come forward to claim his body, we gave him a proper burial in our own soil. This is the country I live in.

However, I am concerned about the 'victory' some people are proclaiming. We still have a long way to go to bring the original perpetrators to justice. Terrorists are hiding in their own land and nothing is being done to catch hold of them. I don't blame the people of that land. They are victims of terrorism too! Unless, we get hold of the 26/11 mastermind and lay appropriate punishment as decided by our legal framework, victory is not ours. As I mentioned previously, this incident is just killing a pawn in the game of Chess. We have responded to our oppositions' moves. We have responded to terrorism. We have shown we are not tolerant and Mumbai spirit has a limit.

We have won the battle, but the war is still there to be won..

Images: During and After the Festival.

During a Festival:

After the Festival:

Please don't get me wrong. I am not against festivities. We Indians love all our festivals irrespective of religion. However, we need to learn to finish what we started. If we are enjoying and celebrating a festival, we need to clean the area before leaving. If we have decorated a particular room, we need to remove the decorations, say a week after the festival is over. If we are bursting fire crackers, we need to clean the road before leaving. I have personally seen people (both big and small in corporate life) cleaning the road and leaving. Humility, to say the least. In corporate life, after a presentation / meeting / conference, we take our stuff with us when we leave the room. We should consider doing the same during and after festivals.

Images - Kind courtesy Google.

What does Gandhi Jayanti mean to you?

October 2nd, ladies and gentlemen! Ideally, this day should mean a lot to us for a certain reason. Or, for a certain individual. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Or Gandhiji. Or Bapu. Or the Father of the Nation. Or for today's generation - Gandhi. Address him the way you want to, he will remain the person who, through non-violence and perseverance, removed the British raj and made us "free". Atleast, we were free those days.

Speaking of Gandhiji, I am sure many people, especially today's youngsters, will remember his (suspected) wild ways. Character assassination is our favorite hobby, after all. And social media has done its part in spreading the "stories" that we ourselves cannot validate. However, we still love to read those stories and make our own judgement regarding people. Gandhiji is one such person. His 'apparent' womanizing ways is very well documented in the social media world. Now, I don't know if that is true and honestly, I don't care either. What he did or did not do in his personal life is none of my business. I only care for the struggles he took along with all the freedom fighters to ensure we have a free life. Which, I don't think, we have anymore.

Kind courtesy: webdunia.com

Anyways, this post is not to defend Gandhiji. This morning, I was thinking how different people from different walks of life would think of Gandhi Jayanti. This is purely my thought process based on what I have seen and heard and may not always be true. You may or may not relate to any one of the below. 

Lets look at the political class first:

• Ruling party: We remember Gandhiji this day as the person whose ideals we still follow and hope the country follows the same too. We would like to pay our homage to Gandhiji. Where's the media? We want this to be captured for tomorrow's front page sponsored article news headline.
• Opposition party: Unlike the ruling party who just follow the ideals of Gandhiji, we truly respect the father of the nation. We walk the talk. We are doing what Gandhiji did during the British raj. That time, Britishers were ruling our country. Now, Italians are ruling. (Sad case of Indian politics. Both the ruling and opposition party knows how to "use" this day for their benefit) 

Let's look at the common man:

• Cricket fanatics: Thank God we have a holiday to watch 2 important matches in the WT20 2012 championship. India is playing today. Why are we having a holiday today? Ohh, it's Gandhi's birthday! Atleast, he did something for this generation by having a holiday declared for his birthday.
• Holiday deprived employees: It's already evening? I slept the whole day without even realizing that I have to enjoy my holiday. Damn it! When is the next holiday?
• Extended Weekend families: Time to return home today. Had a great weekend thanks to a holiday on Tuesday. Gandhi finally did something for today's generation!
• Spirit loving people: Damn it! I hate dry-days.

Now the Social media fanatics:

• Common Twitter users: Happy Birthday #Gandhi! (So that Gandhi trends worldwide and we can "benefit" by gaining some followers and increase our influence)
• Social Media celebrity #1: Happy Birthday to our most dearest bapu #Gandhiji. Its bcoz of u that we are free. Jai Hind.
• Social Media celebrity #2: Happy Birthday #Gandhiji. If Gandhiji was alive, I would've stripped for his causes! (Typical case of sadistic celebrities)
• Social Media celebrity #3: Happy Birthday #Gandhiji. By the way, plz check my latest photos only for my sweetest followers
• Social Media celebrity #4: Happy Birthday to our most dearest bapu. Today, in his remembrance  I will wear only khaki's designed by my fav @RockyGalaxyS3
• Social Media celebrity @RockyGalaxyS3: @Celebrity#4 Thats so sweet of you, sweetheart :) By the way, there's a special discount for that attire, only for the day!
• Social Media celebrity #4:  RT @RockyGalaxyS3 @Celebrity#4 Thats so sweet of you, sweetheart :) By the way, there's a special discount for that attire, only for the day!

If you are familiar with twitter and know how celebrities promote each other for mutual gains, you will understand what I am talking about.

PS: This is purely a sarcastic post on how today's people consider Gandhi Jayanti more as a holiday than remembering the person who made this day possible because of the sacrifices he did to ensure we can "freely" enjoy our bonded life.