Joshua Tree National Park

Recently finished a day trip to Joshua Tree National Park (JTNP). First went to San Diego. Spent around one and a half days in San Diego and then went to JTNP. What a beautiful city San Diego is. Well, being a huge fan of oceans, most probably I would fall in love with any city that has an ocean. We did not have much time so we had to select few to visit in San Diego. San Diego has thousands of beautiful things to visit, enjoy and relish. And no time is sufficient. So, during the one and a half day stay in San Diego, we decided to spend some time at the beach, a little time at Balboa Park and a little time at the Border Field State Park. The choice was partly random and partly motivated by the desire to spend more time in the midst of natural wonder than man made wonder.

Border Field State Park (BFSP)

BFSP is right on the USA and Mexico border. At this time of the year, that is winter, it is not very crowded. In fact it was very desolate. I was very eager to check the border too which is right on the oceanside.  There was a metal border fence. It was funny and weird too. Weird feeling how its just humans on both sides yet separated by walls. But I guess borders are needed to maintaining an order and functioning of countries.

The weather was beautiful. It was around a mile and a half walk from entrance to the beach. The beach was totally desolate. The sky was cloudy. Weather was warm. There was a slight drizzle. 
There is a monument over there called Monument Mesa considered to be a freedom monument.

Balboa Park

  

Balboa park is huge. We took a tram to just watch around. but did not have time to see everything. There are just so many things that one would need a whole day to spend at Balboa Park.  One can plan their lunch and everything at balboa Park as well.

Shubho Bijoya

Shubho Bijoyar preeti shubhechha and bhalobasha dear friends.

I have always considered myself so lucky to have been born and raised in West Bengal. The culture of love and hospitality I grew up in has been unparalleled. It has been an embodient of pure selflessness. 

One such epitome of selflessness and love was the time of Bijoya, starting with Durga Pujo. 

Bijoya would be the days following the 10th day of Durga Puja. And it would continue till Lakshmi Puja. Well kind of unwritten rule.  

In addition to the four days of Durga Puja, we kids would be eagerly looking for Bijoya. While the four days of durga puja would be super exciting, hopping from pandals to pandals, eating everywhere, an unlimited carnival of fun and bliss, Bijoya was of a different league. 

During Bijoya, the festivites would reach home. Every day we would go to our neighbors's homes, touch the elders' feet, take blessings and get ready to be fed the delicacies. No appointments needed. We would just hop from home to home. It was like a ticket to a house. We would be carefully using that ticket. Not too many tickets to be used in a single day 😃 . Nothing would be more exciting than Bijoya to kids. We would go in bunches. 

While it was not surprising as a kid, ever since I have wondered in amazement how the awesome kakimas kept a perennial supply of narkel nadus (both sugar based and jaggery based), limkis, pithes, freshly made ghughni and payesh all the time? Just how did they get that energy to do it every day ? This love, this celebration has been unparalleled. And thats what makes me nostalgic every year, the beauty of durga puja celebration. 

As the Bijoya would end with Lakshmi Puja, Lakshmi puja would be another elegant affair. So many families would invite my dad and ask him to bring family along, we would hop on dad's scooter, excited to go to different uncle/aunty's house. Excitement of the yummy khichudi, cabbage torkari and tomato/date chutney. Rule of thumb : Eat little at each place. So many houses to cover :-)

Yes, I know its all about food. But believe me, one of the beauties of Bengali cultures is the love for food. Everyone is expected to show that level of hospitality. 

Dont know how many years since I had been to Bijoya. 

Feeling like going back to home town, knock on some random door and say "Kaku Shubho Bijoya. Kakima, Shubho bijoya".  

And I am sure the kakima/kaku, without even knowing me,  will say "Oh shubho bijoya. Ashirbaad kori. Esho esho. Ektu ghughni aar narkel naadu kheye jaao ? " That love. Unparalleled. That Durga Pujo season. Pure bliss. 

Durga Pujo eshegelo. Durga Pujo Choleo Gelo. Nostalgic. Nostalgic. 😔 

Happy Diwali

Every year, I like to wish everyone a happy diwali by writing a small poem or some random jottings. I was thinking how should I wish beyond the five little words this year.

One thing I must say and this is purely based on too much social media exposure I guess. Even on the occasion of such lovely festivals, we have come to a state of too much of mental and psychological intolerance. Intolerance towards other's thoughts and opinions. Some will like fireworks, some will not. But it seems there has not been a calmer way to educate. Its all pot calling the kettle black situation. It has been as if the meat eaters have lost the right to express their concerns for animals. Its as if all people lighting the firecrackers have become the most insensitive people. And finally its all name calling and surely religion makes it entry too.

Thats not Diwali.

Diwali is way above and beyond it. It is the celebration of relationships, it is the celebration of love and it is the celebration of friendships. Diwali reminds me of the fondest memories of lighting up the candles all around the roof of my house as a child, and then lighting diyas all around the roof of my hostel at IIT. And then stand back and immerse myself in the beauty of the splendent lights.
Diwali reminds me of the love with which the neighbor aunty would feed us snacks. The innocent childishness with which we would hop from house to house to eat nice food, and get the blessings of the neighbor elders.
Diwali reminds me of the fondest memories of roaming around the streets with friends and hopping from pandal to pandal and losing track of time .
Thats diwali. The message of love. A festival that would bond us together, not divide us.
Dont get bogged down by the cursing mode. Cursing the other side just because they have a different point of view. In the middle of all this noisiness of abuses and curses, love in general is lost. And this noise has given birth to a silence. The silence of the hearts that no longer communicate.

And right when I was thinking about this, a song started playing in my headphones :

खामोशियां
आवाज़ है तुम सुनने तो आओ कभी
छूकर तुम्हे खिल जाएंगी
घर इनको बुलाओ कभी
बेकरार हैं बात करने को
कहने दो इनको ज़रा
खामोशियां।।। 

खामोशियाँ
एक साज़ है
तुम धुन कोई लाओ ज़रा
खामोशियाँ
अलफ़ाज़ है
कभी आ गुनगुना ले ज़रा
बेकरार हैं बात करने को
कहने दो इनको ज़रा
खामोशियां। 
खामोशियाँ
आकाश है
तुम उड़ने तो आओ ज़रा
खामोशियाँ 
एहसास है
तुम्हे महसूस होती है क्या
बेकरार हैं बात करने को
कहने दो इनको ज़रा
खामोशियां।।। 

Happy Diwali to all you friends.
May peace rule our minds. May love rule our hearts.

Travelogue on the Beautiful National Parks of Utah - Part 1

Its the time of spring break. And my little son's school was off for the week. One of us had to take day off to stay at home with the kid. One option was to stay at home and get stressed out. The other option was to go somewhere. Since, we don't usually get 5 days off (mandatory no choice), we decided to rather use it and go somewhere. So where could be go ? This is always the most challenging decision. There is no scarcity of places to visit in this world. Prioritizing is always the challenge. And there is the money factor. How can we travel with the cost shooting through the roof? And then the planning. The flight tickets. The hotel stay. The car rentals. The food. How can we buy each of those in the most optimal way? After analyzing multiple options, keeping in mind off seasons, weather conditions and many other factors, we decided that we embark on the travel to the beautiful national parks of Utah.  The goal was to travel to the five national parks in Utah namely Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Canyon Lands National Park and Arches National Park.

We were nervous. Will we be able to do it with a 2 year old ? Is it going to be stressful ? We were not planning to be adventurous. All we wanted was to have relaxing time in the parks while trying to do mild hikes and assimilating ourselves in the beauty of nature.

So we started.

Our flight was from Dallas to Salt lake City in the middle of the night. The flight from Dallas was at 10:00 p.m and would reach Salt Lake City at 12:00 in the midnight. And the car rental agency would close at midnight.

After the flight landed, I just ran to the car rental agency with which I had a reservation.  Fortunately the agency was still open. Quickly I finished the formalities and got the car keys. Then I came back to the terminal to pick up my family and luggage.  Next was get a night's sleep before starting the road trip next morning to Zion National Park. We chose a cheap and simple hotel which was around 2 miles from the airport. We wanted to avoid any unnecessary travel to a hotel since it was going to be just a fe hour overnight stay. This hotel cheap, simple and had free breakfast. Hey that is nice isn't. One step closer to budget travel.  So, went straight to the hotel Airport Inn and slept off. Realized while checking out the car that it was a 2 door car and going to be very painful in taking the kid out and put him back in the car seat. So, called the car rental agency and requested for a car swap. They immediately gave an alternative car. So, had our breakfast next morning and went back to the airport to get a 4 door car. After getting the different car, came back to the airport, checked out of the hotel and started the road journey to Springdale where Zion National Park was located.

More on Zion National Park in Part 2.

The challenge of Writing and Blogging

Blogging and writing is a challenge. It needs a frame of mind, a state in which the mind relishes writing and doesnt feel overwhelmed. And when all the other tasks take over to an extent that mind has no time to even sit back and think, writing and blogging becomes a mere formality and doesnt show the class and quality.

And I guess that has what happened to my blogging. I am not even able to spare some time on my blog. And the result is obvious. No blogs, no writing in ages. Blogging is indeed rejuvenating. It gives a satisfying feeling of having communicated with the world around you.

Hence it is critical to make time for blogging and writing your thoughts even if it feels like a trivial non rewarding activity.

Its the 10th year of my blogging and wow it indeed has come to a trickling frequency. There is no scarcity of thoughts to express, no scarcity of wisdom to share.

Then whats the problem ?

So Why did Democrats lose?

A lot of democrats and their supporters seem to be in shock over the shellacking that they got in the senate elections where they lost control of it to republicans. So, the question that naturally arises is why did the democrats lose? Did they completely lose track of the reality? Did they fail to understand the voters' minds? Were the voters stupid not to see the democrats' accomplishments? 

There might not be a single answer to the above questions. But if we are still forced, only one answer comes out. And that is, voter mindset and voting process involves very complicated psychology. And if you can understand it, you can script the perfect story to tell the voters. 

While prediction is very difficult, there is no scarcity of analysis. And there are tons of articles on that. This is also one such article. But I guess this is a rather pedestrian, simplistic view adopting article. 

So, why did the democrats lose? 

If the economy was doing great, why did the democrats lose? If the stock market was breaking records, why did the democrats lose? If the unemployment was down, why did the democrats lose? 

The bottomline is, from a voter's point of view, I don't give a hoot to whether stock market is breaking records or not. I know it definitely benefits the CEOs. What I care for is, is the improvement in economy mapping into my prosperity ? Is it raising my wages? If it is not, I am not impressed. Being thankful for having a job is not enough for the voter to vote for incumbent. Status quo is never a reason. So, if I have a job, I dont care. If I dont have a job, I am bitter. Economic wellbeing must map to personal prosperity. That definitely was not on the discussion table when statistics and unemployment data were presented

I think, people have started getting tired or weary of the wars. While scare tactics like "there is some enemy out there" and "you are at risk" charge up the voters, things like bringing back troops, not starting wars are not taken up as achievements, particularly when the opposing party is also not. They are seen as expected actions. The difference would have definitely been there, if republicans were war mongering and democrats were truce speaking and actively highlighting the costs of wars, monetary as well as emotional.

Then comes immigration. While voters are kind and welcoming, everyone is strongly against illegal immigration. Inspite of that, people seemed  very welcoming about those who illegally entered not on their own but with their parents when they were children. Somehow, democrats could never create a strong story about their immigration initiatives. And to add to the frustration, they seemed to be tagging the legal and illegal immigration together causing a lot of disdain to the skilled legal immigrant communities. They never seemed to be working on this problem with full energy. It seemed like suddenly they would raise the issue and the issue would gradually die down causing severe frustration amongst communities. I wonder if this played a role in losing some significant Asian votes in this election. 

The people in this country have a strong stand on their individual freedom, privacy and space. Somehow, with all the snooping news coming out, it left a bad taste in several minds. And it felt like the Government is being heavily intrusive in personal lives. While the government talked about freedom and abolishing snooping, more revelations that suggested the intrusion that happened, left a bad taste. 

Democrats could not create a strong story on Net neutrality. Instead the net neutrality was painted by opponents as an act of Government overreach which was a dubious point.

Voters hardly care for things like Climate change which are not of immediate consequence to them. 

While the voters might have made a serious mistake, its the democrats who should blame themselves for being butterfooted on several issues and not displaying spine. 

Voters will realize that net neutrality is in their own benefit, climate change is a reality, no kid left behind is in their benefit, education is in their benefit, but the prominent thoughts that might have significantly influenced their minds and subsequent decisions are the thoughts : 

• Republicans can move things forward
• Republicans can bring individual prosperity

I hope they are right. Tea party noises dont paint a rosy picture though

Outraged Again?

Did you know that getting outraged is a habit in India ? Every now and then we become outraged.

We become outraged when a scam gets unearthed.
We become outraged when a blast occurs.
We become outraged when a girl gets raped.
We become outraged when a drunken driver mows down pavement dwellers.
We become outraged when a maniac passes hate speech.
We become outraged when an idiot passess idiotic speech.
We become outraged when the politicians watch porn in the assembly.
We become outraged when the politicians flout all rules and trouble the common man.
We become outraged when media colors the information.

And we continue becoming outraged. Outrage. Outrage. Outrage. An abundance of outrage.

The news media uses that outrage to fuel further outrage.
Then media forgets.
Then we forget.
Then everyone forgets.
Life moves on.

Then it happens again. And we are outraged again.

The cycle repeats.

How long can this go ? This cycle creates a gradual depression in our hearts and we blurt it out "Is Desh ka kuchh nahin ho sakta".

This keeps happening because of the sense of impunity in the minds of the offenders.

The attackers think they can easily attack India in a crowded place and can get away. Poor lives lost.
Rapist thinks he can get away with it.
Politician thinks he can get away it. 

Until....

We put a stop to it. We put an end to it.

We got to do something more concrete than just getting outraged. We have to exercise our vote. But it doesnt just end with vote. We have to be courageous to support the good folks who are willing to take up the battle. We have to use the tools we have to use the law. Until that happens, things will continue to happen and we continue to get outraged.

India and Indians need to teach the culprits a lessons.

One Mulayam Singh Yadav should not be able to get away with remarks that completely undermine the basic fundamental dignity of a woman.

One Azam Khan should not get away by bringing religion in the way of nationalism.

One Swamy cannot utter rubbish to disturb the communal harmony of the country


The country should not just get outraged. It should get outraged to such an extent that their political careers must come to a stop. Can the people do so ? Can they do so through their vote ? Can they give zero votes and throw them and their parties out ? Thats when the outrage will have any value and significance.

We are outraged with the caste politics, religious politics, reservation politics and many other kinds of politics. But what use is that outrage when we do not show the courage to throw out those playing such politics and not give a chance to someone else who doesnt play such politics even if it means they are new.

It is not always important to only look for experience and stability all the time. Then there is nothing different and nothing unconventional. More important is to stand for principles even if it means deviating from the traditional path. If we cannot show the courage to take a new different untested path, we cannot expect new different results.

In such context, how can one expect new results if they keep selecting between the options of traditional politics of Congress and BJP? People have to give an opportunity to the new challengers like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to give the change a chance to show itself. To give the hope a chance to prove itself.

I was talking to a lady who tells me "I am confused about what is AAP doing. I dont know whom to vote. Congress, BJP or AAP"

I said "When something is hopeless we dont expect much. But when we see something positive, we over expect without giving a proper chance. That is what is happening. Are we being over impatient with AAP? We gave 60 years to Congress and BJP. Cant we give 5 years to AAP to show the change they intend to bring in? I think we must."


So, go for it. Go for the change. Embrace it with hope. Dont worry about mistake. By embracing the change you will be teaching everyone a big lesson that nothing in this world is permanent except change.

Until then we will continue to get useless outrage against corruption, criminality and despondency.

Support Clean Candidates: Support AAP's Rachna Dhingra from Bhopal

This is a historic moment in Indian post-independence era. In India politics has not been a very respectable and interesting topic decades. Till now, people had taken it for granted that the politicians are corrupt and the system is neck deep in corruption. That still continues to be the perception. If you are in politics, then you must not be clean. Thats the perception. There has been a sense of despair too. Over the last few decades, corruption has eaten India like a termite. Yes there has been development at the surface level but the discrimination between the rich and the poor has also starkly increased. A country's growth is no evaluated just by the overpasses or highways. But it is also measured by the access to resources to each and every citizen of the country.

Good people who wanted to enter politics either could not enter due to high entry barriers or just could not do anything inspite of the desire, because of the deep rooted corruption in the national as well as state level politics.

But over the last couple of years, things have changed significantly. It was quite an exciting moment to see the entry of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi elections. Initially it was completely written off by the mainstream parties. This is a common treatment an underdog gets it, doesnt it? But, the people of Delhi knew they needed a change. And the effort was put in selflessly and tirelessly and AAP surprised everyone. Unfortunately, it could not get the majority but when challenged to form the government it did not run away but took the challenge head on and achieved several accomplishments in a 49 day governance. Again, because of the lack of complete majority and complete antagonistic approach by BJP and Congress towards AAP, it had to resign because the greed of power was not in the blood of AAP.

But the entry of AAP into the national politics is a very refreshing to the citizens of India who until now did not really have sensible alternative. 

AAP has decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. And that is what makes the 2014 elections historic. For the first time, people of India are getting a credible alternative.

AAP has touched so many hearts that it has inspired some fantastic people to enter into politics and fight the Lok Sabha elections on AAP's plank. This includes the amazing people like Medha Patkar, Meera Sanyal, Rajmohan Gandhi, Rachna Dhingra, Kanchan Chadhury Bhattacharya, V Balakrishnan and many others.


This is a very proud moment for AAP because people of such stature and clean credentials have decided to represent AAP. And if they win, it will be a huge success for the people of India in throwing out the corrupt and the criminals from Indian politics.

But it will not be possible without your support. AAP is not strong on funds. One religious and steadfast rule of AAP is to raise clean and transparent money that is put up on its website.



Different people have taken up the tasks of supporting different candidates. We believe that small efforts will ultimate make a big difference.

The AAP volunteers and supporters of Austin, College Station, Houston and Dallas have decided to take up the cause of Rachna Dhingra and help her in her campaigning as Lok Sabha AAP candidate from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

Rachna Dhingra is a phenomenal individual who after finishing her MBA from University of Michigan decided to return to India and fight for the cause of the victims of the deadly Bhopal Gas Leak that happened in 1984. Since over a decade she has been fighting for their rights.

I am posting this with a personal request to support Rachna's candidature by making a small donation. The amount doesnt matter. Your support matters. Every Rupee or Dollar matters for AAP in this effort to raise grassroots level clean and transparent money.

The direct link to donate to Rachna Dhingra is :

http://my.aamaadmiparty.org/candidate/madhyapradesh/bhopal.html

I hope you will definitely make a small contribution and express your support and solidarity. You have to be an Indian Citizen to be able to donate.

By the way if you feel like donating to some other AAP candidate that you know of, you are ofcourse welcome. The link is https://donate.aamaadmiparty.org/

Kindly spread the message.

Thank you so much.

Woman Power of AAP

The woman power of AAP.  Do watch it.

Phenomenal Candidates in AAP's 6th List for Lok Sabha

Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) 6th List of candidates is out :

http://aamaadmiparty.org/6th-candidate-list-announced-2014-elections

We know, as AAP supporters, that AAP will make mistakes and learn from it. Thats ok with ur.

After looking at some candidates fielded, I am absolutely proud of AAP's intentions, I see in reality that it walks the talk as far fielding the candidates is concerned, sincerely working on fielding many more women candidates, bringing in representations from marginalized communities and bringing in clean candidates.

COUPLE of HIGHLIGHTS that happened:

1. Soni Sori is AAP Candidate from Bastar, Chattisgarh:
----------------------------------------------------------------
Every time I read her story, my spine shivers. Finally Supreme Court of India came to her rescue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soni_Sori
Its a proud moment for AAP that she agreed to be AAP candidate. She must be having some hope in AAP. And that hope should always be kept alive.

2. Kanchan Chaudhury Bhattacharya is AAP Candidate from Haridwar, Uttarakhand
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember Udaan, the Hindi serial that would come in TV when we were kids ? It was based on her life. She was India's First Woman Director General of Police. Again, a proud moment for AAP for these folks to have expressed hope in AAP. I am pretty sure AAP will work hard along with this fantastic folks in creating a better, equal India.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/officer-who-changed-the-face-of-the-police/article3685110.ece

Finally, a couple of days back, one lady said, if given a chance to vote, she will vote for AAP. And this woman went on Hunger Strike in 2000 in protest against killings of civilians in Manipur on a fateful thursday. She continues to be on hunger strike and is force fed by the Police. She is Irom Sharmila. Read about her:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irom_Chanu_Sharmila
Thank you Irom Chanu Sharmila for your hope in AAP. We hope we will never break it.

I hope AAP by bringing in people from different segments will tirelessly be creating a society where no one is marginalized based on economic, caste or religious status.

If you have hope in AAP, let your friends know. Also, you can donate at https://donate.aamaadmiparty.org/

Irrespective of whether AAP wins or not, bringing these people to contest elections is a huge initiative as we keep seeing as high as 40 to 50% corrupt criminal candidates being fielded by parties like Congress and BJP. I hope people of India grab this opportunity to opt for an alternative. Tell your families and Friends to grab this oppotunity. You will be proud you too played a role in exceptional elections in the Indian history since independence.

Yogendra Yadav on Ghoshnapatra answering questions about AAP

Lot of answers to your questions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbiAeRAE-TE

The Source Code for Damned if you do, Damned if you dont

Begin (The drama of Indian Politics)

if (Arvind Kejriwal says No to Government Formation)
{
   They say "you dont have guts to Form the government "
}
if (Arvind Kejriwal says Yes to Government Formation)
{
    They say "we told so that you are B team of Congress"
}
if (Arvind Kejriwal asks for clarity on Support)
{
      They say "you are arrogant"
}
if (Arvind Kejriwal says we will ask people via SMS and letters)
{
    They say "you are making it a reality TV"
}
if (Arvind Kejriwal says we will seek people opinion)
{
    They say "you are making a mockery of representative democracy"
}
if (Arvind Kejriwal says Lokpal is weak)
{
    They say "do you even believe in establishment"
}

End

In life, history is witness that new ideas have always been ridiculed, laughed at, called irrational and finally the new ideas triumphed. Big companies which could not keep up became history. People who could not change went into oblivion. Same thing will happen to those political establishments who refuse to accept the new rules of the game.

As none other than Mahatma Gandhi said, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you and then you win".

So laugh as much as possible those of you who cannot gauge the new age politics as we see unravelling.

Should AAP form the government in Delhi ?

Should AAP form the government in Delhi ?

That has been the million dollar question making rounds and has been the hot topic of discussions amongst people, both those who are interested in politics as well as those who are not interested in politics.

Delhi elections have been very unprecedented in Indian Politics. A brand new party like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) comes out of nowhere and before anyone could even understand what its capabilities are, what it could do, the party breezes through with 28 of the 70 seats of Delhi assembly, stunning the political analysts, experts and opponents. It took sometime for folks to digest what has just happened. And then the real game started.

Congress, the party that has been ruling Delhi for the last 15 years was decimated to 8 out of 70 seats.
BJP, the party that was in opposition for the last 15 years got 31 out of 70 seats.
AAP, the newbie who experts said may get around 10 to 15 max seats ended up getting 28 out of 70 seats and getting the vote of 1 out of every 3 people.

Remember that BJP and Congress had almost the so called experience of several decades. Whether that experience is good or not is for the Indian society to decide.

The downside of this election process has been the stark fact that Delhi people failed to give a clear majority to any single party. A clear majority means getting more than half of 70 seats which is atleast 36. So, the question is what next ?

AAP was not any traditional party. It was born out of the need for transparency in Indian Politics. It was born out of the need for more participatory democracy. It was born out of the need for people power. It was born out of the need for the eradication of deep rooted corruption in Indian poitics. It was born out of the need for better education, better health, access to utilities to all the sections of society and not just a select privileged few.

AAP, naturally has been strong on its stand that it will neither take support of Congress nor BJP. How can it take support from Congress and BJP when they refuse to divulge their funding sources ? How can it take support from Congress and BJP when they refuse to come under Right to Information Act (RTI) ? How can it take support from Congress and BJP when they refuse to pass a strong Lokpal or Lokayukta ? Fundamentally, AAP is quite different from Congress and BJP. 

The story that has unravelled after the elections has been unprecedented as well. The pressure that has been mounted on AAP has been unbelievable.

Typically, the single largest party is invited first to form the government. In this case, it is BJP. If history is any evidence, then with just 5 seats short of single largest majority, if it was any other state with no AAP with its transparent politics in the role, BJP would have turned all stones to ensure they formed the government at any cost. But, by entering into politics, AAP has not only becomes a serious contender but has also changed the rules of the game in a serious way. So much so that, BJP, inspite of being the single largest party decided to sit in the opposition and would not try to get the extra support by hook or crook. Thats a positive sign. Whether BJP continues to do that in other states or at national level is a guess for everyone. 

Now comes the turn of AAP. What should AAP do ? AAP has already categorically told that they would never align with Congress or BJP as they stand today. This is when, lot of people, several of them with vested interests start playing the dirty game in the politics of pressure tactics. AAP is being blamed that they are shying away from real governance. AAP is being blamed that they cannot fullfil their manifesto promises and are hence nopt willing to form the government. And several such insinuations have been made on AAP.

AAP asked why cant BJP and Congress come together to form the government ? Congress says that they have serious ideological differences with BJP and hence cannot support BJP.
Question is, since when AAP and Congress are idelogically aligned ? Since when AAP and BJP are ideologically aligned ? Never unless Congress and BJP change their ways of doing politics.

Interestingly, congress goes out of its way to say that it gives unconditional support to AAP. History is the witness to the definition of unconditional support from Congress, where Congress has pulled down governments at its whims.

AAP knows that Congress and BJP are trying to play very carefully the responsible card, ahead of Lok Sabha elections and have laid a huge trap for AAP. 

The strange problem infront of AAP is, if AAP refuses support, some people are saying AAP is irresponsible. If AAP takes support, same people will say AAP is the B team of Congress and were always aligned with Congress. So, in such a situation of dirty trap laying politics, what should AAP do ?

AAP has sent a letter to both Congress and BJP asking for clarification on 18 agenda items of AAP. AAP has asked them to respond on whether they will support AAP on those 18 items. Because it is very important to ensure that Congress and BJP do not indulge in betrayal politics. So what happens next ? BJP refuses to respond to the letter. Congress responds but says that it never said unconditional support. So, is the truth really coming out on the real agenda of Congress and BJP ?

In my opinion, AAP has never beeing shying away from responsibility. But being a newbie, it has to be very careful in its actions. The only support it has is people support. AAP has been bringing in new changes to the Indian politics, albeit, to the discomfort of several of those who are used to the traditional isolated politics of India where your role is limited to voting every 5 years and not at all in decision making. In fact, it will take time for people to adapt to the new style because we are not just used to this. We are not used to being asked by politicians for our feedback.

The only option infront of AAP is, to go back to people and ask them for their opinion. And just do what people say.

As of the time of writing of this blog item, AAP has just done that because it is left with no other option. It cannot deviate from it pre-poll stand. At the same time it cannot let itself be branded as irresponsible. AAP is planning to send 25 lakhs (2.5 million) letters to a sample population of Delhi households seeking their opinion. It is also using the latest technologies of seeking people opinion via SMS as well. It has been difficult for some people to digest this and they are quick enough to brand tis effor tas reality TV tactics. But, when a paradigm shift happens in any field, whether it be technology or politics, we have to be open minded enough to welcome new ideas that will eventually turn out to be better for the society and the people.

So, to the people, the question goes : what should AAP do ? What do you want AAP to do ?

What is Swaraj ?

Spread the Message. Vote for AAP.

Who will you trust this time ?

Post by Aam Aadmi Party.

Support Aam Aadmi Party :: Support the Revolution against corruption

Dear Friends,

I hope the following note conveys my thoughts through to you.

Throughout our lives we have wondered why is there so much corruption in India ? Why did we have to pay bribes to get work done ? Why dont the government offices just do the work without any hassles ? Why do we have to pay to get a driver's license? Why do we have to pay to get a gas connection ? Why are there so many scams? The questions are endless. And after a while we just accepted the reality as an unchangeable truth and moved on. Because, we felt there is nothing we can do about it since we are powerless as individuals. We just told ourselves that this is how things are and there is nothing that can be done.

Over the last several years, lots of good and bad things have happened in India. Let me first highlight on the bad things. The number of scams and corruption cases have really shocked the nation. Thousands of crores of rupees have been stolen in the form of 2G scam, coalgate, commonwealth games and so on. Investigations keep happening but nothing comes out.
Safety of women has taken a deep dent. What has really frustrated the people of India is that justice has been unusually delayed to such an extent that the culprits pretty much go unpunished. On one side is a population who struggles to have two square meals a day and on the other side is this huge amounts of money siphoned off from the government exchequer. No wonder then that crores of rupees have been allotted to infrastructure yet we see no roads without potholes, we see no drains working properly during rains and no area with proper garbage disposal. These are just a few instances. The actual list is really long to jot down here.

The underlying root cause has been that the political class has really taken the people for granted and the people have let them do that. And hence the saga has continued for decades. They pass laws as per their convenience and the people have just lived with it.

Now, comes the good part. Over the last few years, the citizenry has really woken up with a desire to do something about the sad state of affairs. This might be because there is ultimately a limit to tolerance. They really want to do something about it and have started looking for avenues to channelize their energy to correct the corrupt system. That is why when Anna Hazare started his Jan Lokpal andolan, people found their voice there was a massive support throughout the country, something, the political class never expected and were completely taken by surprise. Thats when they challenged Anna's group to join politics if they dared. But Anna was not very willing and wanted to pressurize the government from outside.

But, Arvind Kejriwal, one of the architects of the Jan Lokpal movement and a core member of Anna's group wanted to take up that challenge. They realized that if something has to be done about corruption, they have to enter politics. Usually getting into politics has been seen with suspicion by the people of India in recent times. This was expected knowing the political class and the corruption cases against many of the leaders. But when Arvind Kejriwal decided that he will take on the political class politically by forming the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he demonstrated that he will take the bulls by the horn. What happened next was pleasantly surprising. Instead of suspicion, there was a massive outpouring of support to AAP from not only Indians residing in India, but from Indians all over of the world.

AAP has decided that they will start by contesting upcoming elections in Delhi and then spread out to all over India. Delhi elections are going to be held in November 2013 that is, next month.

AAP needs funds but only clean funds and they ensured that each and every detail will be maintained on their website. They have recently crossed Rs. 12 crores. The individual donation amounts ranged from Re. 1 to Re. 1 crore. That shows how much people are willing to stand behind AAP and Arvind Kejriwal in their struggle, passion and dream to build a society free of corruption, a society with accountability and justice, a society with a bright future for the next generations and a society that every Indian will be truly proud of. 

But the task is daunting for a new party like AAP. It doesnt have money power. It doesnt have muscle power. Neither does it depend on these. What it believes in and has is honesty, credibility and passion to achieve the dream. And it heavily depends on grassroots support. It depends truly on Aam Aadmi, the common man. And aam aadmi has strongly come out in support of AAP.

It is our responsibility to lend our support whenever there is a hope for a change for the better. And we can lend our support in several ways. No action is smaller than the other. If we are in Delhi, we can volunteer on the ground. If we are outside, we can publicize the message. If we are financially stable, we can lend our financial support.

Why do I support AAP? To list a few :
1. I as an Indian believe that we are tired of same parties ruling and increasing corruption in all the regimes.
2. AAP is the only party that supported all parties to come under the purview of RTI.
3. AAP is the only party that supported Supreme Court verdict on disqualification of convicted criminal MPs
4. AAP is the only party pushing for Jan Lokpal to prevent corruption
5. AAP supported making Central Beaureau of Investigation (CBI) autonomous
6. AAP supported Right to Reject and Right to Recall which all parties opposed.

So, please lend your support in the way you think is best. Please donate for this once in a moment revolution for a better India.

I hope you are also feeling very optimistic like me and several other Indians throughout the world about this grassroots movement towards achieving the dream of a proud India and a proud Indian.

Please feel free to forward it to your friends.

https://donate.aamaadmiparty.org/

Thank You for your time,

Are we feeling relevant in our democracy again ?

Young 20s to 60s yr olds going door to door in Delhi to campaign because they feel something special in doing this.

Young 20s to 60s yr olds organizing awareness camps throughout the world for AAP because they are feeling they are contributing their bit and are not feeling any politics in it.

Young 20s to 60s yr olds calling the citizens of Delhi and informing them on how the future of the country lies in their hands.

Young 20s and 60s yr old going to Ferozeshah Kotla ground during a cricket match and holding banners raising awareness about AAP.

Why are they doing this ?
Not because they have political ambitions but because they are feeling blessed that they got a chance to do something for the country that is within their reach.

Because they are feeling like they have got an opportunity to answer that perennial question asked of them whenever they complained about the system : "What are you doing about it?" "Did you vote?"

And the answer : "Yes, beyond voting, I am selflessly trying to do my bit in creating a corruption free India by inspiring people to vote for the new kid named Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and give a chance and break the vicious circle of status quo"

And they are saying : "By doing this, I am feeling relevant in my democracy again".

How ?
 
See this : 

How AAP Made the common man feel relevant in democracy again 

One of the Most Shameful Moments in Indian Democracy

You were unanimous in bringing the Ordinance
You were unanimous in withdrawing the ordinance

This, by the way was not the behavior of a group of drunken rogues. This behavior was by the members of the ruling government. And if this is the level of the responsibility and maturity shown by these ministers, then indeed the first class citizens of India are governed by a third class governance.

This is why you, the political parties, should come under RTI exclusively so that the people of the country know who were the people who pushed for the Ordinance and who were the people who pushed for the withdrawal. Because this will enable the people to decide whether to vote you or to kick you out of the office.

Do you really want to know what the people are thinking ? You dont have to do elaborate research. Statistically, just go to the newspapers and read the comments. Every comment clearly corroborates the fact that people know this was your drama. You staged this drama. Not a single comment believes that Rahul Gandhi didnt know. Not a single comment believe Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi didnt know. Not a single person was foolish to believe that the ordinance would have come through if Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were against it.

Who are trying to fool ? The answer is, yourself. 

Wish the best for AAP

वोट हर वोह व्यक्ति देगा जो इस देश में बदलाव चाहता है !
वोट हर वोह व्यक्ति देगा जो शीला दीक्षित के कुशाशन से दुखी है !
वोट हर वोह व्यक्ति देगा जो भारतीय जनता पार्टी के इस पैंतरे से दुखी है की जब जब हम उनसे बंगारू पे बात करते हैं, येदयुरप्पा पे बात करते हैं, निशंक पर बात करते हैं, वोह राम मंदिर ले आते हैं, राम सेतु ले आते हैं, हिन्दू और मुस्लमान ले आते हैं !
वोट वोह हर आदमी देगा जो दलितों के नाम पर राजनीति करने वाले उन लोगों के खिलाफ है जो करोड़ों और अरबों में खेल रहे हैं !
वोट वोह हर आदमी देगा जो लोहिया के समाजवाद का नाम लेकर परिवारवाद चलाने वालों के खिलाफ है !
वोट हर वोह आदमी देगा जो RTI के घेरे में आने से बचने वाली इन सारी पार्टियों के एक होने के खिलाफ है!
वोट हर वोह आदमी देगा जो सुप्रीम कोर्ट के वर्डिक्ट मानने से इनकार करने वाले इन सारे दलों के खिलाफ है !

Stop the Ordinance Nonsense

Stop this nonsense drama on the ordinance.  It is terribly confusing the citizens of India. They are not able to understand whats going on inside the Congress and whats going on inside the government. Lots of theories could be formed around Rahul Gandhi's "torn and throw away" comment today on the ordinance to protect the convicted criminals.

Being the Vice President of the party, was he really unaware of the decision ? You want people of the country to believe ?

One striking point is, everyone knows that in the next elections, if congress indeed comes to power, its Rahul Gandhi who is going to be the Prime Minister. So, has Manmohan Singh become politically disposable now for Rahul Gandhi to gain some brownie points ? Was this carefully crafted so that people would think , "oh see the younger generation like Rahul and Milind Deora are against ordinance. Great lets forgive congress, ignore Manmohan and vote for them". I wouldnt be surprised if this was the master plan of Congress. Otherwise, Rahul better answer the questions on why he did not make his stand public even before the ordinance reached the President's office, was he unaware and so on. Replace Rahul with anyone else making that comment in that press meet and he would have been kicked out of the party by now. So much of equality and democracy.

Second striking point is, is there something cooking between Congress and Nitish Kumar now that the latter has officially disassociated himself from BJP ? So, in other words, is this a strategy of congress to dump Lalu and align with Nitish since it is more promising politically ? Note that Nitish immediately welcomed Rahul's statement on the Ordinance.

I am sure all the news channels are super smart to not see these theories.

Chanakya would have felt stupid to see today's India's politics.