‘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.

Did just another Marathon!

At the start of the run

After two successful Half Marathons in two consecutive years (2011 and 2012), I’m just wondering whether I can now officially call myself a Marathoner. But then…aah…I don’t really think so yet. Perhaps the day I don’t complain of swelling, muscle pain, and difficulty in walking up and down the stairs after the run, will be the day when I can give myself that official status. Until then, I’m just an amateur runner.

The 9th edition of the 2012 International Mumbai Marathon got even bigger. Over 3,500 runners participated in the Full Marathon (42km), 11000 participated in the Half Marathon (21km) and over 22000 registered for the Dream run (6km) this year, making it the biggest blockbuster event ever. Personally, the pressure built up on me was even more, since I had set a benchmark of either repeating my last year run-time or at least do better than that. Whatever it is, I just wanted to complete the Half Marathon within the cutoff time as per the international standard. And thank God I did it this time as well. Of course, I was not alone. My group of 8 sporting running enthusiasts put our best foot forward and made this run a memorable one. So much was the excitement and on-top-of-the-world feeling that we're all set to take on the 2013 Marathon with an even bigger bang.

Nevertheless running is not about timing, it is more about will power and endurance. Runners who completed their Marathon stretch within the international marathon standards surely need a pat on their back. But the ones who continued their journey even after they crossed the time limit are no less. The never-say-die spirit is something that we need to learn from the ones who strived to reach the end point even after realizing that they had crossed the time limit. I perhaps would have taken a cab home if I had crossed my time limit. Finally, if you run, you are a winner!

As every year, the crowd was amazing even this year. There was not a single meter on the entire Half Marathon stretch that I felt I was alone. Along with runners, there were so many people standing on both sides of the running tracks cheering us all along the way. And how, I can’t forget this guy who came from nowhere to offer me his share of oranges, when he saw oranges slip from my hand during the run. Big hugs to the people of Mumbai who went all out to cheer runners, offering us biscuits, energy drinks, water, and one septuagenarian even serving lemon juice to runners. What more could anyone ask for huh? Even more, large musical stage shows put up by The Indian Navy, Maharashtrian folk dancers, Disk Jockeys kept runners charged up right till the end. 



At the end of the run

 The senior citizens' run was the cutest of them all. Loved to see the young at heart give in their best shot. Perhaps if I was in the selection committee, I would request many of our senior citizens to do the full Marathon, because some of them were really good. Additionally, there was a special wheelchair event organised for those physically challenged. All in all, the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon was inclusive, catering to the needs and wants of everyone in the community.

This year, the Mumbai Marathon churned out a whopping 12.2 crores in the form of charity. Indeed, it is one of the biggest fund raising events gaining immense popularity in India. As an individual, it certainly feels really-really good to be a part of this maximum event held in a maximum city (Mumbai) in which ‘Charity’ is the heart of it.

See you folks then in 2013!

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.

Censoring the Internet to protect my bosses

We all love Chinese food, don’t we? But that doesn’t mean, like the Chinese in China, we will forgo our freedom of speech and expression because the government of the world’s largest democracies, wants to control what we say and how we say it. It’s just impossible to believe that the man, who promoted and rolled out the landmark decree of giving every child their fundamental right to education, has proposed to control and monitor the fundamental right of speech and expression of the people. Despotic, I must say! But then, one can’t blame Kapil Sibal alone for this reckless proposal. He is only a messenger carrying the dictatorial message from his high command, which believes that censoring free content is the only way to silence people from public debate and criticism.

Citing reasons for his dictatorial verdict, Communication and IT Minister, Kapil Sibal defended his stand saying that he wants to put down guidelines to monitor content on social media platforms and remove ‘objectionable’ content from it. Now how does Kapil Sibal define objectionable content? Each individual has his/ her perspective of looking at things. What is objectionable for one, not necessarily is objectionable for the other. No doubt pornography is objectionable and should never be made legal in India, but expressing oneself cannot be measured with the same yardstick. It is our constitutional right for God sake.

To prove his point to social media giants like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and others, Kapil Sibal evidenced offensive photoshoped images and content of his bosses floating on the Internet. Well, big deal! Tomorrow if my pictures are offensively photoshoped by XYZ, will Kapil Sibal and his team of like-minded tyrants propose to pre-screen internet content then? And even if the pictures and content are malicious and objectionable, the Constitution of India under Act 19(2) allows individuals to invoke their right of Defamation. Why can’t Kapil Sibal’s bosses as responsible individuals exercise their right of defamation and sue people maligning their name on the internet. Nobody stops them from doing that!

Censoring the communication platform itself is an unconstitutional way to silence people. Rather, government needs to take lessons from the content being generated, and subsequently devise corrective and preventive actions to correct their administrative failure, which only gets worse every single passing day. Today the government has proposed to censor and pre-screen internet content...tomorrow Kapil Sibal may decide to ban shoes, because shoes are thrown at politicians to express anger and frustration. And then, our hands will be chopped to prevent Sharad Pawar slapgate like incident from reoccurring. Grow up my government servants. When an organ in a human body is diseased, the doctor operates upon that organ or gets rid of it...the practitioner does not put the patient to death.

Recently, even United Colors of Benetton’s new worldwide communication campaign had pictures of US President Obama and Chinese Prime Minister Wen photoshoped to lip-lock. The unhate campaigns are still displayed on the internet and have not faced the axe of censorship. Wonder when are we going to learn? The government of India needs to stop wasting its time throwing stones at every dog that barks.

The United Nations has strongly condemned Kapil Sibal’s proposal to pre-screen internet content and has said that, no one can take away people’s rights unless they allow them to. Just hope Kapil Sibal and his bosses have heard this message from the United Nations loud and clear. People must learn to protest loudly and stop taking it lying down. We can’t afford to allow history repeat itself. We cannot afford another Emergency like situation in India, similar to the one Madam Indira Gandhi imposed for two long years during her regime.

Post script:
Going by the internet censorship diktat proposed by Kapil Sibal, our tweets/ messages will first have to pass through pre-screening government filters before it is published on micro-blogging sites. And looking at the bureaucratic process that the government already has in place, even non-objectionable messages will enter the non-prohibited side of the filter only after the message has long lost its essence and timeliness. Phew! God save us!