Prarambh

What a first week it has been in the land of the Nawabs. Haven’t spent much time in the city, been on campus mostly since I landed here. First things first, the city, right from getting out at the station gives the impression of chaos, and the traffic at best represents Brownian movement. It was so nice to finally reach the campus after what can only be described as a nightmarish journey.

The campus, bless the lord, is a sea of tranquility, and the atmosphere can be best described as “warm indifference”, since although the people are very nice and warm, there is a subtle air of indifference, one that alludes to the fact that it wouldn’t matter to the pacific around if a certain individual existed here or not.. The campus is impressive in terms of facilities, and comes as a much welcome dollop of green amidst the vast tracts of farmlands on the gangetic plains.

The induction module by the institute was quite disappointing, a sequence of long lectures, mostly soporific: the good part was the hall was air conditioned. The induction module by our seniors was meant to prepare us mostly towards getting rid of our stage fear, and handling stress with dignity. Although our senior batch had their intentions in the right place, the repeated use of the phrase “This is not a joke” actually made it a joke! Learnt a few survival skills, primary one being sleep management.

Come Friday evening, we decided to make a dash to the city, and there is just one term I have for it: A jungleraj. The sports bar that we went to had the sign outside “Arms and ammunitions not allowed”, and was manned by security guards carrying automatic weapons. The restaurant next door, a “family” place by their own confession, had a bouncer, who wore a bullet proof vest. Something I have never seen before, or associated with our country.

Another prominent feature across the state, right in the center of the busiest intersection of the city, Hazratganj, is a statue of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. I do not think I need to offer any explanations for this one.

Now coming to my favorite pet peeve, the weather. On the hot and dry days, the campus is under the spell of Loo, and everything we can lay our hands on is literally roasted. The concrete buildings get so hot, they radiate heat for most part of the night, and make any iota of comfortable sleep impossible. The last three days were a little humid, and that made us sweat endlessly, without letup.. Finally, the rain gods, kind and benevolent as they are, blessed us with the first showers of the season, and well, knowing me, I took a walk in the rain along the “ring road”. It was blissful.

Formal registration happened yesterday, and the institute gave us the books for the first term, weighing around half a quintal!! Good luck to me, more later..

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So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish - II

It is my last night in town. I was at the alumni-fresher meet of my would-be alma mater, and that’s when it hit me. I will indeed be leaving behind all my friends, my beloved city and everything, to start a new life, in a far away hamlet, located off the city of nabobs. I made new friends, was given a new nick-name, which I fear will stick with me for the rest of my life.

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B’lore has been exceptionally kind to me, and on my last evening, it blessed me with precious rain. How much I will miss this, I cannot explain.

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The last few days have been kind of crazy, with me running helter-skelter to complete some formalities, or to finish a chore. I also ended up doing things that I have not done ever, but always wanted to do. A walk in Lalbagh under an overcast sky was prominent in the list.

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I hope to finish my packing, and go cheer my friends, who are running the Sunfeast 10K tomorrow. Lord bless their souls.

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Au revoir, les enfants...

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So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

Not so long ago, I had a tryst with a not very discreet feline character. It was a not so cold wintry morning, with a light drizzle making it ever more pleasant. I was rather tense, I always am before a date, and this one involved a rather long brunch. It went rather ok, although I thought I goofed up bad a couple of instances. Eventually, we parted, and I hoped I would hear more from her. It turns out, I did hear from her, and after two more dates, I am finally moving in.

Am going to move out of 'home' to 'helL'. The revelation itself came as a shocker, I was much rather expecting to do a local shift in b'lore, from Basvangudi to Bannerghata road, but alas, that was not to be.. Here I am, suddenly, with just about 5 weeks more in this city, where I have lived all my adulthood. This beautiful city, it has been exceptionally kind to me, has given me everything. A lot of what I am, it is because of this city, that I can proudly call namma bengaluru.

It will be hard to move out, to leave behind an amazing gang of friends, those long Sunday barbecues, the complete homely neighborhoods, the peace and quiet of lalbagh, and bustle of gandhibazar, the evenings at tavern, the singing of the koels, those bike rides at night, the pandemonium of parrots flying over emgee, the fun sessions at mr lahiri's house, lunch at queens', essentially everything.. It was an amazing ride all through, and although I am guilty of leaving all this behind in hope of a more interesting one, b'lore, you will always remain special.

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The problem with religion

A nine year old girl in Brazil is allegedly raped by her step-father, and gets pregnant, carrying twins. Doctors say that because of her tender age, and the twins inside her womb, her life is in danger, so she goes in for an abortion. The church responds to this by excommunicating her, and all those who helped her get the abortion done-her mother, the doctors involved. The step-father is not ex-communicated.

Now, I am a secular person, and not against any particular religion, but any doctrine, which ignores basic facts about rape, that too of a child by a family member, and then her right to life, and responds by ostracizing her at a time when she needs the support of the society, I cease to have any respect for the people who run that doctrine.

To me, what was shocking was not just the response of the local archbishop, but also the defense of his actions by the Vatican. Where has all the sense and sensibility gone? This represents a fundamental problem with religion altogether, which is following the text of its Gods by the letter, not in spirit. In a case like the one above, the church takes no action against the step-father but goes to great lengths to defend the life of the unborn twins, when it has no respect for the life of the nine year old.

The idea of religion, and the concept of having a few men dressed in robes of a revered color having the ultimate say in the interpretation of the religious texts needs reform. And this reform will not come by a mass social movement, it will be a silent revolution, taking place in the minds of free men and women, when every individual will choose for himself and herself, whether he would rather follow his conscience, and do what seems ‘right’ or listen to someone (mis)interpret the gospels of the messiahs. The color of the robes, and the actual preachings of the texts concerned is not important, what is important is that the underlying message of humanity is not lost: we must follow the basic principles of morality, and our actions must be determined with what seems right or wrong to our inner-voice. The independence from organized religion and moving towards an enlightened individual will eventually bring in universal harmony. Motivation for one’s action should be morality; religion, at least the way it is supposed to be, is a platform for moral actions, and this may not be needed in an enlightened world, in my opinion.

I am sure the day this happens, I will see unicorns grazing in my backyard, and people flying around on broomsticks.

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The Dark Knight

America, Congratulations on your new (and shall we say totally awesome) President-elect.

Let me not go into the rhetoric like how this is a historic moment, or what this means in terms of change. However, let me point out the story of a 114 year old black woman, daughter of former slaves, who happened to vote this time. The interesting point, in her long life, and ever since blacks and women have been allowed to vote, she has voted just once before. Care to guess for whom?? Leave a comment, with your answer..

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The Nuances of Democracy

For the past few weeks, trouble has been brewing in Orissa, where some miscreants have attacked churches, killed and beaten up Christians. I fully and unequivocally condemn these attacks, and for that matter any sort of violence.

But what I say here today is not about the violence, but the politics of violence. No doubt it is in the interest of some groups to stoke communal passions, but what shocks me is that the Central government is supposedly considering imposing article 356 and dismissing a duly elected government. The home ministry has also sent various advisories to the state, to reign in the rowdies. I agree that the state has been lax, and that it needs to pull up its socks to provide a sense of security to all the people. The state has obviously failed to do its duty, to prevent flare-ups and to prevent loss of 'sense of security' among the minorities.

Now, look at the case of West Bengal, through all of 2007. Nandigram burned for most part of the year, and there were reports of police atrocities. Villagers were driven out of their homes, tens killed in police firing, and media was barred from going anywhere close, possibly to prevent the true state of affairs from ever coming to light. Such was the extent of the breakdown, that bloody gun battles were fought for control of villages, and the victory of the ruling party over the opposition in one such battle led the CM to comment "paying them back in their own coin" , effectively approving violence sponsored by his party. The state intelligentsia was up in arms against the Chief Minister, and there were protests nation-wide.

Now one may say, was West Bengal in 2007 not a fit case for the dismissal of the state government, which had, for the sake of development, forgotten the human factor involved, and where, the party cadres ran amok, killing, looting and burning. The only difference that I see between Orissa now, and WB then : now the violence is targeted against a particular community. Back then, anybody who stood by the villagers was attacked. The other very convenient fact: Then, the ruling party of WB was a major partner in the Central government, whereas the Orissa ruling party today is a steadfast opposition house.

So, I humbly ask, just because the present crisis has a communal shade to it, it is OK to impose President's rule, but last year, when the state itself terrorized its people, was it OK, because people of all religions were being targeted equally..

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The Curious Incident of the Stranger on the bus

Its been a long time since I posted anything, and the whole world has gone topsy-turvy since then.. More about all that later, but for now, I describe the curious incident that happened to me on a BMTC bus :

On a nice sunny Bangalore morning, I got ready to get to work, and took the usual 0830bus from my home. Initially it was all crowded because of all the school kids, but that soon cleared out, and the bus was empty. Then, standing close to the rear door, I saw that a man sitting in the rear seat was eying me quite curiously. I was surprised, but then I deduced that he seemed a rather rustic fellow, little less on bus etiquette.. Not minding him, I continued to enjoy the show on the radio, apparently meant for the 'fatafat generation'. Am not sure if I qualify for the same.

At the next stop, literally half the bus got down, and I found a place to sit on the last row.. This curious guy, finding an empty place next to me, came and perched himself there, and then, I felt a nudge on my right arm. I take out the ear-phone from my ear, and look at him, and he asks me, brimming with innocence :

Stranger : Are you a north Indian?

Me : [Very surprised, since no body in this city has been so blatantly regionalistic with me ever] Yes.

Stranger : From where are you?

Me :[Eyeing him with a great deal of suspicion] Delhi.

Stranger :[ His eyes light up in a weird kind of way] Oh.. Beautiful City. Can I ask you a question?

[Wondering as to what he has been doing all along anyway, I nod]

Stranger : Are the people in Delhi nice.

Me : [To cut him off, I answer rather sternly] Yes.

Stranger : [With a rather childlike curiosity] But I have heard people in Delhi are not nice to strangers.

Me : [Trying to a give a clean diplomatic answer] They are as nice as people in Bangalore.

Stranger : [Still not very convinced, but taking my argument at face value] Oh ok.

After this, I go to listening my music, and he starts ruminating, trying to assimilate all that I have told him, and debating with himself as to how much my words can be trusted.. A few minutes later, another nudge. I take out my ear-phones again, and look at him.

Stranger : Is it true that North Indians do not make friends with South Indians.

Me :[ With a look of consternation] No. It is not true.

Stranger : But I have heard so..

Me : North Indians are friendly people.

Stranger :[Still doubting me] Do you have friends who are south Indians?

Me : [Without thinking] Yes.

Then, I turn away, and start listening to the music. As my stop comes, I get up from my seat, and head to the door. He tugs at me, and asks

Stranger : Are you sure you have South Indians as friends?

Me : [emphatically] Yes, many of them. [The bus comes to a stop, and I get down, and look back, at the curious face of the guy in his mid twenties, trying to comprehend data fed to him by a complete stranger, seemingly against the indoctrination that he has had all his life.]

As I walked to work from the bus stand, out of sight of that strange man, I must confess, I am guilty of profiling my friend list based on regionalistic considerations : The only consolation, most of my friends turned out to be South Indians.

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News from Mile High City

This image tells us that the conspiracy theorists can come up with just about anything. Lord bless them.



But then, don't you think it is really too much of a coincidence!!!




Further Comments :

** If it were not the 22nd amendment, Bill Clinton would have won, hands down, another few terms at the White House. The crowd support, and the standing three minute long ovation at the start of his speech tell a lot about his standing among the American citizens.

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Fear Factor

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
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Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

It is this creation of Thakur Rabindranath Tagore that comes to my mind, when I hear the reactions of my fellow countrymen to the terror attacks on the nation. Chain e-mails advising caution, the advice of family and friends and well-wishers to not go out 'too much' or to crowded places, to the point where travel itineraries are being changed, all follow as a consequence.

I cannot put into words how I feel, when I hear such reactions. The purpose of the terrorist’s attacks is not so much to kill (considering that they kill less than a thousand countrymen a year), but to ‘terrorize’. And this, they seem to be carrying out to perfection. Although the serial blasts in B’lore killed just two people, it scared enough number of them to warrant an increase of security at the IT-BT companies, even at the hands of CISF. This was followed by e-mails from security officers to the employees of their respective companies, asking them to follow a strict regimen, without which they will not be allowed inside. Ironical, since most employees are shareholders of the company. The best case precipitate of this is that the people end up being treated without respect, worst case: they are seen as suspects.

It is this fear psychosis that Alan Greenspan talks about, that the Americans experienced in the backdrop of the September 2001 attacks. Such fear, mostly unfounded, gives the terrorists their sense of victory. It is for this precise reason that I salute Mumbai, where the locals are just as crowded and the markets bustling, on the morning after. Bangalore may not be known to have such a spirit, but the malls on the day after were the usual, with people looking for best bargains. Yours truly was one of them, not particularly because I wanted to buy anything, but to prove that we are not scared.

I would be happiest if all my countrymen show spirit and mettle, to fight terror, where it matters most: in the mind.

PS : I fully condemn terrorist attacks, and they represent the worst possible face of humanity. My condolences with the bereaved, and sympathies with the injured.

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The Order of the Phoenix

When the history of contemporary India is written, Man Mohan Singh will find a special place in the pages of history.. Never before has an Indian leader gone on to the extent of sacrificing his government for the sake of a policy issue, one that he believes will take India beyond the shackles of energy slavery, and foreign dependence. His image of an efficient and focused man is enhanced, and India looks to him for redemption.

The debate over the vote of confidence in parliament raged for over twelve hours, some nice, some not so nice moments passed, though only very few speakers managed to make an impact. The he speech by Omar Abdullah told India that its gen-next leaders were here, and that they were willing to put national interest before petty politics. Another leader who made an impact was Union minister, Lalu Yadav, who left the house pealing with roars of laughter, while putting across the point. Difficult to imagine someone like Lalu talk about the nuances of a complicated nuclear deal, but then Lalu is no ordinary politician. Am sure he will sell the deal to the rural populace back in his home state.. Amidst all this, there were the usual charges of horse-trading that accompany a trust-vote, and some evidence of the same..

While taking things into perspective, we must note that while the Leader of the Opposition attacked the government in general, and also the ruling alliance, he refrained from making any specific attacks on the deal in itself, indicating that the deal, as such has an in-principle support from them, leave aside the rhetoric.. The biggest winner is without doubt the Prime Minister, he stands tall, and now is his chance to take up the reforms agenda with a renewed vigour.. Experience shows that mid-way through their term, governments lose the will to 'govern' and then, anti-incumbency build up.. While Man Mohan Singh can be accused of the same, now, he has a chance to redeem himself, and prove his worth, not just to his party, and the nation, but the world as a whole.. He has risen like a phoenix, and the signals that crucial reforms will be put on the fast track is a sign of the same.

No brownie points for guessing the biggest loser, it has been proven beyond doubt that to do politics in India, your policies must have grass-root support and be connected to the people, unlike certain 'leaders' who still talk about text-book philosophies, and draw their power from a mysterious source, not linked in any way to the electorate. Lasting impressions of this debate will be the impartial stance of the speaker, and the fact that despite the potshots taken at each other during the debate on the motion of confidence, here they are, the PM and the Leader of the Opposition, greeting, and smiling at each other, less than 24 hours after the acrimonious debate. This I think represents the pivot on which Indian democracy is based upon.


With this vote, the parliament has voted to give us access to the cleanest source of energy available, and examples from world leaders in nuclear technology show that not only is it efficient, it is also much cheaper than conventional sources.. I know we are not known for carpe diem, and it may take us much more than a decade to reap the benefits of this deal, but so it the case with any major policy.. Remember Rajiv Gandhi, and the computer revolution. The real fruits came at the turn of the millennium, almost a decade after he was no more.. But still, I have my hopes based on the fact that India has a good PM, and he is doing something right..

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