The Hangover

That’s what I call a chapter in my life, when I woke up one fine morning and incidentally brushed by teeth with my face-wash, instead of my favorite mint flavored toothpaste.  It’s been exactly a week since I moved to Texas and it’s only now that the hangover kinda feeling seems to fade away slowly from my system. Long extended flights, unbalanced diet, and lack of sleep are certainly not my kinda way of living. Well, thank God I’ve gotten over it now.

 

Besides the jetlag, I still face the ‘not-going-my-way’ kinda challenges in Texas. The one topmost on my list is the helplessness of moving around the city like I did in my home city, Mumbai. Since local transportation is a bare minimum here, it becomes mandatory to hone some left-handed driving skills and drive around the city to make the most of it. Doubly, missing family, homemade food, and friends together sum up to my blues. But as they say time is a healer and I’m sure I’ll get over this too.

 

From the little I have seen of it, I can say Texas is a beautiful state in the United States of America with everything available in super large size. People drive big cars, drink in big mugs, have bigger personalities and also have this bigger than life attitude. The best part about them is that they simply speak their mind. There’s nothing hidden beneath the carpet. And as they say, everything is bigger in Texas…Texas-sized!

 

Apparently Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, with an area of 696,200 sq km and a growing population of 23.9 million, unlike the city I come from, Mumbai, with an area of 603 sq km, but an almost equivalent population of Texas of over 20.5 million. And this is exactly what explains the ‘there’s-no-one-on-the-streets’ kinda feeling that I get here. Like someone said to me in Konkani, “ek khuddo moos pun dischena’, which means, you’ll not even find a blind insect on the streets. How true, I must say :-)

 

Well, one challenge that doesn’t bother me is the Texan weather. The city of Denton's climate is characterized as humid subtropical. With its hot, humid summers and cool winters, the weather is pretty much what I call 'my-type'. Right now, it’s really-really hot in the afternoons, but it gets pretty pleasant in the mornings and evenings, these being the best times to go for a jog down county side.

 

Another interesting thing about being here at this time of the year is the presidential elections 2012 that is churning out lot of excitement in the country. Nobody is really sure of who’s going to be the President yet. There’s a clear fifty-fifty chance between both the presidential candidates - Obama and Romney - this time around. On one side, Obama manufactures campaign mugs with his birth certificate printed on it, while on the other side, Romney fights back going the Hollywood style by producing a movie 'The Hope And The Change' to fight Obama. From what I see, it’s tough competition. Just hope that the best one wins.

 

This is my brief one-week experience of this place for now. I’ll share lots more as I get along.

 

Talk to you soon!

 

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The Reservation Business

Getting straight to the point, does India still need minority and religion based reservation? True that we are a developing country still reeling under the realm of poverty, but how can reservation tackle this situation. If reservation was anyway effective, poverty would have been wiped out by now; our country would have become a developed nation by now; child labour which is still rampant in India would be eliminated; we would have most children studying in school and not dropping out to earn bread for their families. Sadly, reservation hasn’t worked for us and will never work even in future. All it does is it makes people receiving benefits from these reservations languid and laid back. It also increases hatred amongst people from different faiths.

Furthermore, is it right when women demand their right to equality and in the same breath demand special ‘being woman’ privileges. Aren’t women who claim for such special privileges asking for too much. They seem to want to have their cake and eat it too. The controversial Women’s Reservation Bill which ensures 33% reservation to women in Parliament and state legislative bodies is all high drama stuff with no substance. This bill is passed in the Rajya Sabha but is pending for approval in the Lok Sabha. If the Women Reservation bill gets rolling, women will continue to be looked down upon as someone who can make it big only under the guise of reservation.

If an individual man or woman is abled and has the merit to secure a job, give it to him/her. Let’s stop all this reservation business of appeasing the masses for the sake of vote-bank politics.

When I thrashed the very need of reservation for women in politics, many beg to differ saying that women indeed need reservation because there are many a Pushpa’s, Ramkali’s, Anandi’s living in interior villages who lead miserable lives oblivious of their basic rights. But then, why should we have incompetent women on-board to handle tough jobs that she is not capable of...just because she is a woman. She would eventually not only lose her job because of underperformance, but would undermine the ability of other capable women in society and in the neighbourhood.

Furthermore, religion based reservation only increases divide among people. When a general category student strives hard burning the midnight lamp and fighting all odds to secure admission in medical college, a privileged category student effortlessly gets a similar seat on reservation. Is this really fair? The same medical student when she goes out to secure a job in the medical fraternity, there again she finds herself competing not only with the general category applicants like her, but also with the privileged minority groups.

Rather we need to increase entitlements and allocations for underprivileged children who don't have the money to pay mere school fees. The very same children don’t even receive their daily meals because of poverty. Nobody would have any reservation if the differently abled children and adults are given special preferences. These unfortunate few need our special attention and have full right to live their basic needs.

In a country where the central government reserves 22.5% available seats for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students and 27% for Other Backward Class (OBC) students – a total reservation of 49.5% - where will the general category students go. And to top it all, in order to increase its chances to be re-elected in the 2014 general elections, the government further has recently proposed to establish a sub-quota of 4.5% for minorities within the existing 27% reservation meant for OBC. Absurd! Just one piece of advice to our leaders...get creative, look farther and you’ll find better ways than reservations to fight social evils!

Right to education (RTE) is a milestone legislative that is passed by the Indian Parliament and nobody has any reservations with this bill which caters to guaranteeing free education to children belonging to the backward class. Detractors from the elite class of society although argue saying that 25% reservations in private schools will eat up their share of seats. They may be absolutely correct when they say that ‘Reservation’ is taboo and that it shouldn’t be used to violate the rights of other students. However, you cannot pigeonhole the RTE act on the same parity as reservations based on religion and gender. It is different! Nevertheless inspite of being gung-ho about the RTE act, the act which came into force on 1st April 2010 has yet not been implemented even two years down the line. Wonder what’s taking us so long to implement the RTE act which is good for our children’s future.

In the recent Rio+20 Summit on Sustainable Development, India’s Prime Minister spoke like a thorough Statesman reinforcing on India’s over-riding priority to eradicate poverty. But will inflated food prices, child-malnutrition, hunger, rotting food grains due to lack of storage facilities, increasing corruption in denomination of thousand crores, stalled economic reforms, make it possible for India to be poverty-free? Reservation based on caste, gender, and religion is clearly no solution to eradicate poverty. Instead of making promises to give reservation, the government should focus on basic issues of improving administration and governance.

‘Super moon’ lights up the night sky

A runner makes his way along a trail in front of the once-a-year 'super Moon' at Papago Park in Phoenix, Arizona

Hope you witnessed the supernatural cosmic phenomenon last night when the Moon seemed so close to the Earth that if you simply stretched out your hand, you perhaps could just touch and feel it. I have always been fascinated by the Moon. She looks so mysterious…as if she has so many untold hidden secrets accrued inside her. She (the Moon) appears to be waiting for that someone special whom she can tell all her secrets to, alas! I always wonder how the Earth would look from the moon’s surface. Of course from the pictures by Apollo 8 crewmember Bill Anders on December 24, 1968, showing the Earth seemingly rising above the lunar surface (see picture), the Earth looks like a jumbo swimming pool. Wish I could experience this phenomenon from ground zero. Sadly, am not an astronaut.

Earth as viewed from Lunar orbit during the Apollo 8 mission, Christmas Eve, 1968. Africa is at the sunset terminator, both Americas are under cloud, and Antarctica is at the left end of the terminator.

The ‘super moon’ phenomenon is like this special ‘valentine day’ that the Moon celebrates to express her love for planet Earth. So much is her love that she quickly changes tracks to move in an elliptical orbit (rather than a circular one) to come closer to the Earth, all dressed-up to appear 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter. Isn't this like truly magical?

Besides this celestial ‘super moon’ glory that we the people inhabiting the Earth can’t stop raving about looks synonymous to every being irrespective of piece of land you come from, the military and nuclear capability that your home country can exhibit, nationality, or the amount of money in your pocket.

Recalling what Kalpana Chawla, an Indian-American astronaut with NASA so beautifully said that from space, our Earth looks so small, so fragile. It is unbelievable that we people fight over petty things and piece of land. Kalpana may not be with us today, but in her partying message she told children all over the world to take good care of our fragile planet. Touché!

I have this deep ‘before-I-die’ dream in my wishlist to step foot on the Moon and enjoy a cup of coffee with this celestial body. The Mayans predict that the world will end this 21 Dec 2012. Therefore, I got to hurry up before the Mayans are proved right or else I may end up haunting the Moon after I die…I swear! 

Did you know?
The phenomenon of the Earth seemingly rising above the lunar surface is only visible to someone in orbit around the Moon. Because of the Moon's synchronous rotation about the Earth (i.e., the same side of the Moon is always facing the Earth), no Earthrise can be observed by a stationary observer on the surface of the Moon.

Post script
Someone asked me why I refer to the Moon as ‘she’, even asking me for evidence to justify it. Ok, tell me, have you ever seen the Moon grow a beard? The answer lies there. Go sky gazing…this is a once-in-a-year cosmic show!

Conspiracy Theory

This is not about the 1997 American action thriller starring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts. This conspiracy theory is about the recent Army Chief and Government faceoff that has silenced India with awe and disbelief. Disbelief because, the people of this nation who are already reeling under the corruption menace involving most (not all) government officials, didn’t in their wildest dream expect a character assassination of the most respected arm of Defence, the Army. From officials of the highest rank to a peon, most in the government undoubtedly are corrupt. In fact, this has become more like a daily soap in which, every day there is a new minister or bureaucrat caught in a mega scandal. But how should people react when reports of a corrupt Army makes headlines in national newspapers? This is certainly no daily soap! Perhaps while people are already getting used to scandals involving government officials, and have left it to fate and the judiciary for justice, the news of scandals involving the army certainly dropped like a bombshell.

When employees in the government sector want to take up an issue/ concern with the government, be it with their salaries or any other crisis, they walk down the streets protesting against the issue. But it certainly isn’t the same for our defence forces. Even if they want to, neither the ‘jawans’ nor personnel in the military can rise up in protest against the Army Chief to fight corruption. Sadly, in spite of the muck at the top, jawans selflessly lay down their lives for the country, assuring its people a goodnight sleep. The politics being played out at the top level between the Defence and the Government bodies is belittling the work that our young boys and girls in the defence forces do to protect us. The only way we can thank our defence personnel for their selfless work is by continuing to support them. Salutations to each one of them!

The Showdown
Faceoff between the Army Chief and the Government started with the age row in which the Army Chief dragged the Government to the court claiming to be an entire year younger than that recorded in the official books. Rather than settling this age row by taking the government in confidence, the entire issue was sadly played out in public.

In a few weeks, out of the blues, the Army Chief revealed about the bribe of Rs.14crore that he was offered in Y2010 by the former Army Chief to clear a contract for purchase of sub-standard trucks. This was immediately followed by another blow in which a supposedly confidential letter to the Prime Minister of India citing deficiencies and obsolescence in our military capabilities got leaked through some unknown source, and subsequently also got played out in public glare. These revelations by the Army Chief didn't only put the Defence Minister and the Government in a tight spot, but people were clueless about what's going on with the defence arm that is responsible to protect them.

This was not less that there came another blow when a military coup rumour was in the air which reiterated about the unauthorised ‘movement of troops’ towards Delhi in January this year. Of course the Army Chief, Defence Minister, and the Prime Minister were quick enough to extinguish flames of this 'absolutely stupid' story. More importantly, it was very important for the media to stop dragging this issue in public. Thank God, the courts banned media from playing out the "movement of troops" story far too much. We cannot make 'breaking news' out of national confidential information for God sake. The executive, legislative, judiciary, media and the people are bound by secrecy, and we cannot resort to washing dirty linen in public by jeopardizing the national security of our country. Opportunism will not only deface us from the rest of the world but also make it easy for our neighbours to believe that India is not ready to defend itself and that we are a disintegrated lot.

Having said all that, it is so discouraging to see how we are so busy collecting hi-tech military artillery and equipments and even going breathless bragging about our state of the art military capabilities. Yes, we need to be prepared to defend ourselves 24x7, 365 days a year. But I also wish that we and the rest of the world that we are competing with also spend the same time and money to build relationships.

Post script
On the lighter note, I believe Bollywood Director-Producer-Screenwriter, Prakhash Jha, who is well-known for his political and socio-political films, must be following this story with magnifying glasses as it unfolds. You never know in a few years from now Prakash Jha will release a film based on the Army Chief-Government-Defence faceoff and call it 'Coup'. And like all his movies, this film would also gain from the controversy it churns out.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Do write to me with your reactions, opinions or critical comments at simplymearl@live.com or leave your inputs in the comments tab below.

Triumph of native charm over dynasty

The outcome of the recent high octane State election battle in UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur may have left many high profile aristocratic contenders dejected, but it has also brought back smiles on faces of indigenous political contestants who won by unimaginably huge margins.

The most significant battle of the States was the one in the largest, but the most underdeveloped, State in India, Uttar Pradesh (UP). The key factor of UP elections was the relentless campaigning done by the scion of the Gandhi family, Rahul Gandhi. Like the monk who sold his Ferrari, Rahul Gandhi left his princely home in New Delhi to ride on the barren unfamiliar land of UP. This is the first time in history of Indian politics that UP elections drew nationwide interest. Thanks to the Gandhi scion who acted as a catalyst to attract minute-by-minute coverage by media. No doubt, he worked hard towards successfully bringing down the corrupt ruling party lead by Mayawati from winning again, but his charm failed to win him votes from the electorate.

For so long now, the State of UP is troubled with the maximum number of unreported cases of hooliganism, corruption, rape, kidnap, and cruelty to women, among others. Most of these cases escape inquiry and judicial proceedings because of their strong political affiliations. Additionally, underdevelopment and unemployment are issues that continue to plague the ‘common man’ of UP. The ousted of national parties such as the Congress and BJP, at the State elections was a clear indication that the people wanted an affable honest leader who will be accessible anytime they need them.

Rahul Gandhi may have been the apple of the eye of the media and the people living outside UP, who had nothing to lose or gain from the outcome of the elections. But for the people of UP, Rahul Gandhi was a foreigner. It was difficult for them to trust him. Moreover, the Congress party whom Rahul represented didn’t have a strong organizational set-up in the State. Had Congress been like the Maruti Suzuki service station, accessible to the people anywhere anytime, maybe things would look positive for him and his party. People of UP instead chose the 38yr old Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party, who comes out a strong level-headed person with a vision to bring change in UP.

Furthermore, Congress has been weighed down by umpteen number of corruption cases registered against its party’s high profile politicians. Many of its party leaders are either being legally tried in corruption cases or are spending time behind the four walls of a lock-up today. Also, Congress’s arrogance towards anti-corruption crusader, Anna Hazare’s ‘India against corruption’ movement only further added fuel to fire.

Congress failed to even create an impact in states like Goa which it once administered for countless number of years. The party also lagged behind in Punjab and Uttarakhand…eventually being able to make an impact only in Manipur. Doesn’t this call for introspection and deep thought? Confidence is healthy, but overconfidence can destroy. The party needs to stop flaunting its blue-blood legacy and start working from the grassroots. In changing India today, people do not vote for prince and princesses who visit small towns on their bikes and cars reminding people of how poorer they are becoming. Even the noble descent is not a ticket to any power position in Indian politicians today. To get there, you got to be real.

It was naïve to see senior members of the Congress party scramble to take blame for the party’s downfall in the UP elections. Despite the loss, they rallied for Rahul Gandhi and did everything to save face of the heir of the Gandhi family and the Prime Ministerial hopeful. I have heard of a person having a Godfather in his/her life, but Rahul Gandhi has so many Godmothers and Godfathers who are ready to endanger their self respect for the sake of their beloved God child. Lucky guy, I must say!

However, it was good to see Rahul Gandhi gathering courage and taking responsibility for the loss. And as he rightly said, you win some, you lose some. Rahul Gandhi can take home a lot of lessons learnt from the UP elections. In fact, if he really wants to make a difference, he should continue working at the grassroots levels across India. More importantly, he should tell his party members to stop projecting him as a Prime Ministerial candidate at every discussion and debate with the media. The Prime Minister of India is Shri Manmohan Singh. Respect the man and allow him to do his job without meddling with his work and his self respect.

Post script
After Mayawati’s debacle in UP elections, wonder what’s the fate of the statues that she built during her governance? UP is known by the world for the enormous display of statues of Dalit leaders and elephants. Even gigantic Mayawati statues which has drawn in a lot of criticism from various groups is a talking point of UP’s grandeur. Wonder what the winning Samajwadi Party (SP) will do with these statues? If I was Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of SP, I would have retained the elephants coz it undoubtedly enhances UP’s aesthetic appeal. While decision on whether to retain or unearth Mayawati’s statues should be discussed and debated in the State Assembly. With due respect to Mayawati’s boldness, and for being someone elected on her own merit, SP should keep the statues. Of course, it’s another story that Mayawati failed to keep up to people’s expectations.

Snooze…coz it’s your birth right!

Yes folks, sound 'Sleep' is the fundamental right to life of every citizen says the Mai-Baap (Mom-Dad in English translation) of Indian democracy, the Supreme Court. Just like the right to breathe, to eat, to drink, to blink etc, the judge of the Supreme Court has broadened the ambit of right to life by including the right to sleep. And if the Supreme Court has said this, we can blindly take it as the last word. So henceforth, let’s not allow our parents, friends, spouse, in-laws, colleague and boss, to rob our fundamental right to sleep from us. In fact, we can legally dare anyone waking us up the next time.

To some extent we need to thank Baba Ramdev for prompting the Supreme Court judges for making sleep every citizen’s fundamental right. If it wasn't for Baba Ramdev and his supporter’s peaceful protests against countrywide corruption at Ramila Grounds, sleeping would continue to be considered an evil spell that Sleeping Beauty had to endure to, only to be awakened by a prince's kiss. So next time someone nicknames you 'Sleeping Beauty' or 'Kumbhakarna' (the interesting character in the Ramayana epic well-known for his love to sleep), we know how to challenge that taunt…don’t we?

Thousands of Baba Ramdev's followers sleeping at the Ramlila grounds that horrifying night were lathi charged by the Delhi Police to evict the Baba. In this surprise midnight police crackdown, an innocent woman, Rajbala, was among 30 people badly injured. Sadly, Rajbala succumbed to her injuries later in hospital. The Supreme Court rightfully lashed a whip on the New Delhi police for this unwarranted ghastly attack on innocent people, and subsequently introduced the landmark fundamental right to sleep.

Terming it as a birth right, the court said, "Sleep is essential for a human being to maintain the delicate balance of health necessary for its very existence and survival. Sleep is, therefore, a fundamental and basic requirement without which the existence of life itself would be in peril."

The Supreme Court fairly reprimanded the Delhi police to a large extent for the forced encounter on innocent lives. But, how can the police simply lathi-charge on people without any instructions or directions from the government? Why has the judiciary spared the government? After all, the police force is administered and accountable to the government…isn’t it?

Post script
Reminds me of my Chemistry Professor who once howled at me for entering late in class. He even scornfully advised me to empty a whole bucket of cold water over myself so that I never repeat that mistake again. Of course, at that time, I patiently listened to all that he said. Perhaps, I would certainly cry my right to sleep, had the same thing happened today. (Smiley).

Sleeping…Sadda Haq! (My right in English translation)!

C'mon Brand India, why can't we take a joke?

Popular TV show host, Jeremy Clarkson, well known for his role on the BBC TV show, Top Gear, left India fuming at his jokes, when he chided India for its scarce public toilet facilities. So hard did India react, that government officials filed a legal case against the television anchor for making an offending remark that supposedly hurt people’s sentiments. Leaving all crucial developmental work at hand, government officials approached the court for legal intervention and also demanded an apology from the anchor for making that unpalatable racist remark. Only if our officials had used the same energy to improve sanitary conditions in India and focussed on issues that are worth debating, a remark like this would have never been made in the first place.

Recently, the Government sued another prominent American television Anchor, Jay Leno, for portraying the holy shrine of the Sikhs, The Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), as Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney’s vacation home. My question is, was this gag by Jay Leno offensive at all? In fact Jay Leno’s remark was a joke at the $250 million worth Mitt Romney, and it should be Mitt waging a war against Jay Leno, not India. And why are we taking these remarks so close to the heart. Just like India’s Constitution gives each one of us the freedom of speech and expression, America and the United Kingdom enjoy uniform Constitutional freedom. Why would a country which permits people to freely criticize their President left-right-and-centre, be any different to the rest of the world? In fact, in matters of freedom of speech, America walks the talk in the true sense. The freedom of speech and expression is fearlessly exercised by the people of the country, and as long as it does not threaten the national security of the country, public order, and morality, nobody really has the right to criminalise you in a democratic country.

Moreover, as made out to be, it is not the common man in India who is concerned or offended with remarks by these so-called eminent foreign celebrities. About 70% of India’s population is so busy making ends meet – both economically and socially - that they have no time to analyse what the rest of the world says or thinks about them. Rather, people who show deep disappointment and come knocking at the government’s door are Indians living overseas. Maybe the fear of being treated as outcast is what creates the anxiety. Additionally, extremists groups and fundamentalist in India wait for a chance to create brouhaha in the country, using occasions like these to get more visibility.

The recent Jaipur Literary Festival (JLF), the largest literary festival in Asia-Pacific, and the most prestigious celebration of national and international literature, banned eminent award winning author Salman Rushdie from attending this festival. One of Rushdie’s controversial books, The Satanic Verses, may have faced a ban in India since 1988, but that doesn’t allow authorities to prevent Salman from participating in events held in India. Ban the book, not the man! Protests outside the venue to stop Rushdie from visiting the fest or speaking through a video-conference is no reason for the oragnisers to cancel appointments with Salman Rushdie. In fact, looking at the fiasco at the JLF, the government should have intervened and taken control of the law and order situation, assuring the organisers of a safe and smooth program.

C’mon India, let’s not sit down grumpy and take things so seriously. Let’s learn to laugh at ourselves. And if there is someone poking a (not-so-funny) critical joke at us, we need to work towards that issue and try to resolve it. Of course, we might be battered with uncouth critics trying their best to pull us down. But who cares. Believe me it’s really-really tough to earn jealousy. So why waste our time trying to tape people’s mouth shut then.
Post script
As I’m writing, the Supreme Court of India ordered cancellations of 122 telecom licences in view of the corruption case against Telecom Minister, A. Raja, in the 2G spectrum legal inquiry. Well this has certainly left India no face to show in the global Telecom market. The verdict proclaiming the government responsible for corruption has stirred in the international market like fire. So much so that, a friend working in a telecom company overseas texted asking me what's really happening in India. So if tomorrow, someone somewhere mocks to highlight the corruption menace in India, we surely can't sue the person for poking fun at us right? Rather, we need to work on this issue of corruption, and try to resolve it before we the self-proclaimed largest democratic styled nation gets lost in the wilderness.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Do write to me with your reactions, opinions or critical comments at simplymearl@live.com or leave your inputs in the comments tab below.