Spread the Message. Vote for AAP.
Sunday, November 03, 2013
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
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,
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,
Sunday, October 06, 2013
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
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
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
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.
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.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
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.
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.
Sunday, September 08, 2013
May Lord Vinayaka give us strength
Every year, this time, we pass on the same statement "Wish you a happy Ganesh Chaturthi".
This time around, I wouldnt say that. I would pray to Lord Vinayaka to
Give us the strength
Give us the courage
Give us the vision
Give us the wisdom
Give us the character
To respect the women
Give us the spine
to punish the monsters
who treat them inhumanly
Give us the memory
Never to Forget Nirbhayas
So that we can bring them justice
Give us the power to
Work tirelessly
So we can see the day
we can truly be proud of
our country, our judiciary, our police, our government.
Shri Vinayaka is the remover of obstacles. I pray to him to help us remove the obstacles of depravity, corruption and the corrupt individuals so that the country and its people see a brighter tomorrow and their SWARAJ.
There are so many wonderful people working in different segments to make the country a better place to live and to ensure every human being gets his/her right. May all of them be blessed with all the strength to continue their efforts.
One of them is Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its working in the political segment. I ensure to mention their name in every blog I write to do my minisicule bit to propagate the message. May Shri Vinayaka give them the opportunity to bring in the change in the country that people are looking for.
And lastly the coincidence of the day. I have been trying to donate to AAP for the last few weeks and always failing because of one reason or other like the bank website not working, forgot the password and so on. Finally I managed to make the donation on this auspicious day of Vinayaka Chaturthi. Wow what a coincidence that no obstacles came in the way. Thanks to the God who removes the obstacles.
If you are optimistic about a change, do check out http://aamaadmiparty.org/ and if convinced and if you are an Indian citizen, do donate because they are depending on grassroots and individual small donations for their campaign. If convinced, do spread the message too because they are depending on that too.
This time around, I wouldnt say that. I would pray to Lord Vinayaka to
Give us the strength
Give us the courage
Give us the vision
Give us the wisdom
Give us the character
To respect the women
Give us the spine
to punish the monsters
who treat them inhumanly
Give us the memory
Never to Forget Nirbhayas
So that we can bring them justice
Give us the power to
Work tirelessly
So we can see the day
we can truly be proud of
our country, our judiciary, our police, our government.
Shri Vinayaka is the remover of obstacles. I pray to him to help us remove the obstacles of depravity, corruption and the corrupt individuals so that the country and its people see a brighter tomorrow and their SWARAJ.
There are so many wonderful people working in different segments to make the country a better place to live and to ensure every human being gets his/her right. May all of them be blessed with all the strength to continue their efforts.
One of them is Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its working in the political segment. I ensure to mention their name in every blog I write to do my minisicule bit to propagate the message. May Shri Vinayaka give them the opportunity to bring in the change in the country that people are looking for.
And lastly the coincidence of the day. I have been trying to donate to AAP for the last few weeks and always failing because of one reason or other like the bank website not working, forgot the password and so on. Finally I managed to make the donation on this auspicious day of Vinayaka Chaturthi. Wow what a coincidence that no obstacles came in the way. Thanks to the God who removes the obstacles.
If you are optimistic about a change, do check out http://aamaadmiparty.org/ and if convinced and if you are an Indian citizen, do donate because they are depending on grassroots and individual small donations for their campaign. If convinced, do spread the message too because they are depending on that too.
Friday, August 23, 2013
19 Years back and the new journey
It was drizzling. It was a new town. It was a nice cloudy and cool evening. I just got off the bus with a suitcase in hands. My father was accompanying me. He was a bit concerned. He would have to go back leaving his son in the hands of strangers of this new town. He was not used to this. Yet both of us were very proud. Our eyes were bright. There was smile on our faces. And we were eager to get out of the bus station and proceed towards our eagerly awaited destination. The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Yes, and it was 19 years ago this month. I had just cracked the Joint Entrance Examination and gotten admission to IIT Kharagpur. It was a matter of pride to all of us then. May be it is a matter of pride even today. One rickshaw agreed to take us to the IIT campus. He would charge a premium, one since it was drizlling and two since we were new and excited enough not to mind shelling a five or ten rupees extra. As the rickshaw started moving towards the campus, my eyes started exploring the new town. It was a very sleepy green town and seemed that there are only two things in this town. The IIT and the railway station. I was wondering where am I going to get stuck for the next four years. As I was thinking and exploring, we were in front of the IIT gate after 20 minutes. As I moved into the campus through the main gate, suddenly I felt as if I have moved across two different layer of atmosphere. The difference between the outside and inside was stark. The outside looked like a underdeveloped poor town predominated by slums. Inside was pristine, clean, green and shaded by canopies of the trees.
Rickshaw guy asked : "Kaun sa Hall jaanaa hai "
My father responded in his excitement before I could even open my mouth : Viday Sagar
And started giving directions as if the rickshaw guy did not know the direction. My father felt like he knew everything since he visited once before for my counselling phase.
After 5 minutes we were in front of the Vidya Sagar hall of residence, the place were the first year students would stay for one year. It was an attempt to save the newbies from ragging :-).
Some of the seniors were waiting to help the new comers into hall and guide them to their rooms. These seniors would go on to become some of the great friends of the future.
They were serving samosas and jalebis to the new students and their parents. There were many parents accompanying their kids. I was wondering, wow all these brilliant students. Some of them would be my classmates. And now some of my best friends.
That was the drizzling earth smelling beautiful evening that set out of the course of the next four years and the rest of the life. Some of the best years spent in the middle of brilliant people. In brilliant discussions. In brilliant evenings. In brilliant solitude. In beautiful explorations.
That beautiful drizzling evening. 19 years back this month.
Rickshaw guy asked : "Kaun sa Hall jaanaa hai "
My father responded in his excitement before I could even open my mouth : Viday Sagar
And started giving directions as if the rickshaw guy did not know the direction. My father felt like he knew everything since he visited once before for my counselling phase.
After 5 minutes we were in front of the Vidya Sagar hall of residence, the place were the first year students would stay for one year. It was an attempt to save the newbies from ragging :-).
Some of the seniors were waiting to help the new comers into hall and guide them to their rooms. These seniors would go on to become some of the great friends of the future.
They were serving samosas and jalebis to the new students and their parents. There were many parents accompanying their kids. I was wondering, wow all these brilliant students. Some of them would be my classmates. And now some of my best friends.
That was the drizzling earth smelling beautiful evening that set out of the course of the next four years and the rest of the life. Some of the best years spent in the middle of brilliant people. In brilliant discussions. In brilliant evenings. In brilliant solitude. In beautiful explorations.
That beautiful drizzling evening. 19 years back this month.
Monday, July 08, 2013
For Hope and for Change : I support AAM Aadmi Party
Very rarely do such moments happen. Very rarely have I seen in my life till now. A moment when a strong challenge is posed to the status quo prevailing in my country. Until then we keep complaining, whining and sulking about everything that is wrong in the country that we grew up in. We complain about the corruption. We complain about the lack of infrastructure. We complain about the traffic. We complain about the pollution. We complain about lack of cleanliness. We complain about the lack of safety. We complain about the crime. We complain about the lack of justice. We complain about the powerful getting away with impunity.
We complain because that is the truth. Because at the bottom of our hearts we are deeply anguished at the state of affairs. But we also realize that we do not even feel empowered to do anything about it. We feel we are too insignificant to do anything about the rot prevailing. And that anguish tranforms to surrender and we do surrender to the reality of satus quo. We wish someone else comes forward and does something. Because not all of us do. That is ok because not everyone of us need to. All will be fine if we just did our work well and honestly. May be this is a justification I am giving to myself. May be this is a justification we all are giving to ourselves. And we don't see anything positive in near sight.
Thats when something unbelievable happens. Someone really comes forward and tells us that he will fight it out. He gives us a hope for change. He tells us that he will work towards correcting all that we have been complaining about. He also tells us that it is difficult but possible. And suddenly now we are again confused. Again we are now confronted in our minds with thousand questions. Who is this guy again ? Is he in his senses? Is this really possible ? Is it too good to be true ? Is it some Utopian non sense? And we start doubting him. We start scrutinizing his every movement.
Let me now take this moment to come back into reality from my dramatization of the situation in my country. I am talking about the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). I have not seen in my lifetime till now an alternative challenge given to the status quo in the magnitude given by Aam Aadmi Party. And thats the change I am looking forward to.
When a challenge is given to status quo, we have no option but to be optimistic. Pessimism will not get us anywhere and it will be like a ship stuck at the shore. Only when we go into the ocean will we realize whether we will sink or will ride on the waves.
Will the Aam Aadmi Party become corrupt in future ? Who knows ? May be it will. That doesn't stop it from forming today and work towards corruption free and safe India. May be it will form enough checks in place for it to stay incorruptible. Thats my optimism. We must believe and we must be optimistic towards change. For our own sake. We have no other option.
We have seen years and years of behemoths like Congress and BJP forming Governments. What have we achieved ? Have we reduced ourselves so much that we are proud of even miniscule achievements? We only need to compare with some of the developed countries on all these parameters. These days, the government takes forever to finish a project and we are still very proud. Isnt it a time to introspect ?
Right then, an alternative political formation is formed on the principles of level playing field and I am very optimistic. Because I do not have any alternative. I cannot afford to be pessimistic. I am optimistic about the people leading that front. I am optimistic about their grassroots experience. I am optimistic about their feelings towards the value of life, rich and poor. I am optimistic about their judgement. I am hopeful about the change they would work towards bringing.
But it is in our hands to make AAP successful. They are being honest. They are being transparent. They are heavily dependent on us, the common man for our support. We can donate our thoughts. We can donate our time. We can donate our ideas. We can donate our suggestions. And finally, we can donate our money. They are ensuring that all the donations they raise will be transaparent.
There are so many ways to contribute to the change. There are so many ways to contribute towards this hope. And this is our decision on what we can do to bring in the change.
I am definitely going to donate my time, my money for promoting this change called AAP without worrying and getting too much stuck into all things that can go wrong. For now, its all about optimism and hope.
To donate : https://donate.aamaadmiparty.org/
I wish all of us donate. A billion people donating a rupee with trust for hope and change makes a huge difference and a huge investment into the future of our country.
We complain because that is the truth. Because at the bottom of our hearts we are deeply anguished at the state of affairs. But we also realize that we do not even feel empowered to do anything about it. We feel we are too insignificant to do anything about the rot prevailing. And that anguish tranforms to surrender and we do surrender to the reality of satus quo. We wish someone else comes forward and does something. Because not all of us do. That is ok because not everyone of us need to. All will be fine if we just did our work well and honestly. May be this is a justification I am giving to myself. May be this is a justification we all are giving to ourselves. And we don't see anything positive in near sight.
Thats when something unbelievable happens. Someone really comes forward and tells us that he will fight it out. He gives us a hope for change. He tells us that he will work towards correcting all that we have been complaining about. He also tells us that it is difficult but possible. And suddenly now we are again confused. Again we are now confronted in our minds with thousand questions. Who is this guy again ? Is he in his senses? Is this really possible ? Is it too good to be true ? Is it some Utopian non sense? And we start doubting him. We start scrutinizing his every movement.
Let me now take this moment to come back into reality from my dramatization of the situation in my country. I am talking about the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). I have not seen in my lifetime till now an alternative challenge given to the status quo in the magnitude given by Aam Aadmi Party. And thats the change I am looking forward to.
When a challenge is given to status quo, we have no option but to be optimistic. Pessimism will not get us anywhere and it will be like a ship stuck at the shore. Only when we go into the ocean will we realize whether we will sink or will ride on the waves.
Will the Aam Aadmi Party become corrupt in future ? Who knows ? May be it will. That doesn't stop it from forming today and work towards corruption free and safe India. May be it will form enough checks in place for it to stay incorruptible. Thats my optimism. We must believe and we must be optimistic towards change. For our own sake. We have no other option.
We have seen years and years of behemoths like Congress and BJP forming Governments. What have we achieved ? Have we reduced ourselves so much that we are proud of even miniscule achievements? We only need to compare with some of the developed countries on all these parameters. These days, the government takes forever to finish a project and we are still very proud. Isnt it a time to introspect ?
Right then, an alternative political formation is formed on the principles of level playing field and I am very optimistic. Because I do not have any alternative. I cannot afford to be pessimistic. I am optimistic about the people leading that front. I am optimistic about their grassroots experience. I am optimistic about their feelings towards the value of life, rich and poor. I am optimistic about their judgement. I am hopeful about the change they would work towards bringing.
But it is in our hands to make AAP successful. They are being honest. They are being transparent. They are heavily dependent on us, the common man for our support. We can donate our thoughts. We can donate our time. We can donate our ideas. We can donate our suggestions. And finally, we can donate our money. They are ensuring that all the donations they raise will be transaparent.
There are so many ways to contribute to the change. There are so many ways to contribute towards this hope. And this is our decision on what we can do to bring in the change.
I am definitely going to donate my time, my money for promoting this change called AAP without worrying and getting too much stuck into all things that can go wrong. For now, its all about optimism and hope.
To donate : https://donate.aamaadmiparty.org/
I wish all of us donate. A billion people donating a rupee with trust for hope and change makes a huge difference and a huge investment into the future of our country.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
humaaree duvidhaa humaara hak
क्या इस देश में, नारी होना पाप है ?
क्या इस देश में, नारी होना शाप है ?
दिन शुरू होने से रात तक दिल में छुपा कहीं डर है
कोई घूरते न रहे
कोई पीछा न करे
कोई छू न ले
कोई हाथ पकड़ कहीं खींच ना ले
अगर आवाज़ उठाये तो कोई हमारी जान न ले ले
हमें आज़ादी है मगर कौन सी आज़ादी
कहता है कोई हम नाच नहीं सकते
कहता है कोई हम अपनी चाह की ज़िन्दगी जी नहीं सकते
कहता है कोई हम जो चाहे पेहन नहीं सकते
तो कहता है कोई हम घर के बाहर देर तक रह नहीं सकते
सबकी हम पे मनमानी है तो कौन सी आज़ादी है ये
कौन सी आजादी है ये जहां हमारी सुरक्षा न हो
कौन सी आज़ादी है ये जहां हमारी कोई चाह न हो
कौन सी आज़ादी है ये जहां घुट घुट के जीना पड़े
कौन सी आज़ादी है ये जहां डर डर के जीना पड़े
घर के अन्दर घर के बाहर
अनजानों से पहचानों से
हर मिलने वालों से हमें
सावधान रहना पड़ता है
तो कौन सी आज़ादी है ये
ये कौन सी आजादी है जहां जुर्म करे कोई और ऊँगली उठे हम पे
ये कैसा समाज है जो अपने निक्कमेपन की गलती हम पे थोपे
ये कैसा समाज है जहां हमें अपने हर हक़ के लिए लड़ना पड़े जूझना पड़े
ये कैसा समाज है जहां हर दिन हमें अपना अस्तित्व स्थापित करना पड़े
ना मंज़ूर है हमें ऐसी आज़ादी ऐसा समाज ऐसे लोग ऐसी सोच
क्या वक़्त आ गया है जहां हमारी सुरक्षा हमारे ही हाथों में आ गयी ?
क्या वक़्त आ गया जब राक्षसों को सबक सिखाने के लिए हमें ही माँ दुर्गा बनना पड़े ?
क्या इस देश में, नारी होना शाप है ?
दिन शुरू होने से रात तक दिल में छुपा कहीं डर है
कोई घूरते न रहे
कोई पीछा न करे
कोई छू न ले
कोई हाथ पकड़ कहीं खींच ना ले
अगर आवाज़ उठाये तो कोई हमारी जान न ले ले
हमें आज़ादी है मगर कौन सी आज़ादी
कहता है कोई हम नाच नहीं सकते
कहता है कोई हम अपनी चाह की ज़िन्दगी जी नहीं सकते
कहता है कोई हम जो चाहे पेहन नहीं सकते
तो कहता है कोई हम घर के बाहर देर तक रह नहीं सकते
सबकी हम पे मनमानी है तो कौन सी आज़ादी है ये
कौन सी आजादी है ये जहां हमारी सुरक्षा न हो
कौन सी आज़ादी है ये जहां हमारी कोई चाह न हो
कौन सी आज़ादी है ये जहां घुट घुट के जीना पड़े
कौन सी आज़ादी है ये जहां डर डर के जीना पड़े
घर के अन्दर घर के बाहर
अनजानों से पहचानों से
हर मिलने वालों से हमें
सावधान रहना पड़ता है
तो कौन सी आज़ादी है ये
ये कौन सी आजादी है जहां जुर्म करे कोई और ऊँगली उठे हम पे
ये कैसा समाज है जो अपने निक्कमेपन की गलती हम पे थोपे
ये कैसा समाज है जहां हमें अपने हर हक़ के लिए लड़ना पड़े जूझना पड़े
ये कैसा समाज है जहां हर दिन हमें अपना अस्तित्व स्थापित करना पड़े
ना मंज़ूर है हमें ऐसी आज़ादी ऐसा समाज ऐसे लोग ऐसी सोच
क्या वक़्त आ गया है जहां हमारी सुरक्षा हमारे ही हाथों में आ गयी ?
क्या वक़्त आ गया जब राक्षसों को सबक सिखाने के लिए हमें ही माँ दुर्गा बनना पड़े ?
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Another Scam, and the choice we have
I will not be surprised to know how much sick the citizens of India must be feeling in their stomachs just thinking about their sick, dishonest and immoral policy makers and leaders of their country. Because I am feeling the same too. And yet, there is this huge sense of hopelessness in everyone's hearts. Everyone must be thinking, why is this happening to this country ? What is happening ? Why are scams happening one after another ? Olympic scam, chopper scam, 2G scam, cash for votes and the list goes on.
The most frustrating thing is that the government just sits mum and refuses to respond. Nothing can be more depressing than not getting any response. What a legacy our great prime minister will be leaving.
We feel so helpless that people have to choose between one hopelessness and the other. Congress comes and we get a set of scams. BJP comes and we get another set of scams. In the great democracy, we don't even have the choice to recall a candidate. We do not even have a choice to choose none of the candidates standing for elections. We are practically without any choices literally when it comes to choosing our policy makers. This needs to change. And the government and the parties who have already developed their muscles will fight tooth and nail in bringing about any change that may give a hint of hurting their turfs. Classic example is the case of Lokpal struggle.
During these moments, we the people are left with no option but to try new things or otherwise rot in our status-quo. These new choices may or may not turn out to be correct choices but we are left with no other option but to try alternatives.
We need to just ask, are we going to just choose between one of the corrupt parties for ever? Are we going to just ignore everything and keep cribbing ?
Or are we going to say, we will do something? It need not be earth shattering. But it can be as small as within our capacity.
I think it is high time, that we need to try alternatives. One such alternative that is evolving is Aam Admi Party. I do not know whether it will succeed or not. I do not know whether it will stay clean or not. I do not know whether it will be able to bring in even small changes or not. But I do know that I have to try new things. We send a clear message to the establishment that the citizenry of India is nimble and optimistic enough to give a chance to new options. We need to stop being cynical.
We need to put our weights behind the new party. We can help in several ways. We can be actively participating. If not, we can just attend rallies when possible. We can donate very small amounts of money so that they can sustain their campaign. We need to motivate our friends to consider newer alternative options. We need to inspire them to try out alternatives and not sit doing nothing. Just do something. No action is small.
In the recent elections in United States, the whole big corporate donors and millionaires with their big amounts of money were lined up to vote out Barack Obama. What sustained Obama's campaign was huge grassroots support where common people were super inspired to support and where individual donors donating very small amounts just stood up like huge pillar against these corporate and other lobbies.
We need such a grassroot support for the Aam Aadmi Party for it to stand up against the other parties who are heavily financed by huge lobbies. Without the grassroot support, Aam Aadmi Party cannot succeed and we as Indian citizens will continue to be choiceless, frustrated, and without any pride in our democracy.
I am an optimist and I would like to try new options and I would give a chance to Aam Admi Party. I would support them in every small way I can. And so do I recommend every optimistic Indian who wants to be proud of his nation, not just because he/she was born here but because he/she has every reason to be.
Friday, February 01, 2013
We are a democracy ? We are secular ?
At the drop of a hat, we keep beating the drums of being the vibrant democracy, 21st century's superpower and with all the decorative phrases. And when people like Arvind Kejriwal question it, folks like Javed Akhtar cite an example of how much better we are as compared to Pakistan (I am referring to Aaj Tak conclave in december).
So we are a great democracy ? If we want to fool ourselves like a rabbit putting its head in a hole in the earth and thinking no one is seeing it, then sure we can continue to fool ourselves.
We can fool ourselves while young girls get arrested for exercising their freedom of speech and expression on Facebook.
We can fool ourselves while the political jokers of the country can hold the country to ransom by banning movies because they seem to hurt the sentiments of people or they show a community in poor light. Shame on such an administration that cannot even uphold the constitution and ensure the constitutional rights of its citizenry.
The whole circus around Vishwaroopam is so sad and shameful. I am pretty sure that most people would understand a movie and are not childishly emotional to be hurt by anything and everything. Its those so called representatives who need to be really marginalized and ignored because they are the biggest morons holding the whole communities to ransom with their idiotic behavior. What a shame that the world's largest democracy doesn't even have the stability or maturity to sustain or adopt different views. A movie can take a country to ransom ? And we call ourselves a vibrant democracy ?
Its high time we are honest to ourselves and call a spade, spade. That unfortunately we are not a democracy. We are not a democracy where a common man has sound to his/her voice. We are just a liquid taking the shape of whatever is thrust upon us.
We might be doing great if all we can do is compare ourselves with Pakistan or Bangladesh.
But then, is that our benchmark ? We need to ask that. Until then, professors will be arrested for sharing cartoons, young girls will be arrested for posting on facebook and many Kamal Hassans will be harassed because their movies hurt someone's sentiments.
In the world's largest democracy, everyone seems to get offended too soon . Sigh!!
So we are a great democracy ? If we want to fool ourselves like a rabbit putting its head in a hole in the earth and thinking no one is seeing it, then sure we can continue to fool ourselves.
We can fool ourselves while young girls get arrested for exercising their freedom of speech and expression on Facebook.
We can fool ourselves while the political jokers of the country can hold the country to ransom by banning movies because they seem to hurt the sentiments of people or they show a community in poor light. Shame on such an administration that cannot even uphold the constitution and ensure the constitutional rights of its citizenry.
The whole circus around Vishwaroopam is so sad and shameful. I am pretty sure that most people would understand a movie and are not childishly emotional to be hurt by anything and everything. Its those so called representatives who need to be really marginalized and ignored because they are the biggest morons holding the whole communities to ransom with their idiotic behavior. What a shame that the world's largest democracy doesn't even have the stability or maturity to sustain or adopt different views. A movie can take a country to ransom ? And we call ourselves a vibrant democracy ?
Its high time we are honest to ourselves and call a spade, spade. That unfortunately we are not a democracy. We are not a democracy where a common man has sound to his/her voice. We are just a liquid taking the shape of whatever is thrust upon us.
We might be doing great if all we can do is compare ourselves with Pakistan or Bangladesh.
But then, is that our benchmark ? We need to ask that. Until then, professors will be arrested for sharing cartoons, young girls will be arrested for posting on facebook and many Kamal Hassans will be harassed because their movies hurt someone's sentiments.
In the world's largest democracy, everyone seems to get offended too soon . Sigh!!
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Happy Diwali
That time of the year. The best time of the year. The time of the year when the whole India lights up and shines up. That time of the year when suddenly everyone forgets the wear and tear of the life and just immerses themselves in the beauty, fun and glory of the moment and relishes every minute of it. Everyone forgets about the corruptions, next day's grinding, street garbage and all the daily travails to ensure that this moment is too valuable, precious and sweet to let go. Everyone wishes everyone the well being, prosperity and love.
And so did our childhoods start. Started with eager waiting for this day. So that we could go to the rooftops to put an array of small little candles and light up the house. So that we could go purchase the pile of varieties of firecrackers, more than the neighbor's kids :-). So that we could keep ourselves hungry for the delicious food at home and at neighbor's homes.
Running around in the street to see what kinds of crackers did other kids have. Running around to see whose firecracker made the loudest sound. Making sure we didn't end up eating at one house and missing out on other houses :-)
And we all grew up.
Deepavali in Bengaluru in the last five years was different. A part of the heart loved the lights and firecrackers. A part of the heart was very concerned about the elderly to whom the loud sounds were not friendly. A part of the heart wanted to have fun. A part of the heart was sad about the firecracker factories and the working conditions. It was a clash within the heart. Should I buy firecrackers or should I not. But I would still enjoy the lights and the delicious food. :-) The love for food would never fade away .
The whole evening would be a continuous drama of firecrackers without a break.
And then I would go to the rooftop at 2:00 in the night to enjoy the silence that was completely taken over in the evening. The whole sky would be fogged with the smoke from the firecrackers. There would still be one or two firecrackers I could see going into the air. But the silence would seem like a dream of a lifetime.
And I go into some random thoughts in the middle of the silence staring into the sky at 2:00 a.m in the morning.
And we wait for the beautiful unifying festival of lights again.
Happy Deepavali to everyone. Enjoy it. Stay Safe.
And so did our childhoods start. Started with eager waiting for this day. So that we could go to the rooftops to put an array of small little candles and light up the house. So that we could go purchase the pile of varieties of firecrackers, more than the neighbor's kids :-). So that we could keep ourselves hungry for the delicious food at home and at neighbor's homes.
Running around in the street to see what kinds of crackers did other kids have. Running around to see whose firecracker made the loudest sound. Making sure we didn't end up eating at one house and missing out on other houses :-)
And we all grew up.
Deepavali in Bengaluru in the last five years was different. A part of the heart loved the lights and firecrackers. A part of the heart was very concerned about the elderly to whom the loud sounds were not friendly. A part of the heart wanted to have fun. A part of the heart was sad about the firecracker factories and the working conditions. It was a clash within the heart. Should I buy firecrackers or should I not. But I would still enjoy the lights and the delicious food. :-) The love for food would never fade away .
The whole evening would be a continuous drama of firecrackers without a break.
And then I would go to the rooftop at 2:00 in the night to enjoy the silence that was completely taken over in the evening. The whole sky would be fogged with the smoke from the firecrackers. There would still be one or two firecrackers I could see going into the air. But the silence would seem like a dream of a lifetime.
And I go into some random thoughts in the middle of the silence staring into the sky at 2:00 a.m in the morning.
And we wait for the beautiful unifying festival of lights again.
Happy Deepavali to everyone. Enjoy it. Stay Safe.
Friday, August 03, 2012
Team Anna Contemplating Political Party ?
When I read that news, I immediately realized that many people very expectedly were anguished at the thought. It was like "Oh my god politics? These guys are dirty". But to me, this was a beautiful beautiful music. I was just waiting for such news to come since the day the agitation began. This news will definitely send some jitters in the minds of the rogues of the Indian Politics. It has already started becoming evident.
Earlier the jokers in Congress used to comment that Anna Team should join the politics and fight if they have the guts. And after this news, a leader in Congress said "Their political inspirations are out in the open and we always knew it". Duh ? Stop being perennial jokers guys. What do you want ? Are you happy about Team Anna's intention to join politics or are you not happy ? Let me guess. You are freaking nervous. So nervous that you have frozen and are not even able to enter into any kind of negotiations with them.
This was the first time in ages since the whole of India threw its support and weight behind India against Corruption and Team Anna. These movements always are dependent on mass support. The masses for whom they are fighting. The masses for whom they have taken the pains. This was not the time to judge the honesty and sincerity. Any movement is bound to be plagued by slanders, controversies and mud slingings. But the successful campaigns are those who stand the test of the tough moments. And I think in a rare pleasant situation, the whole of India succeeded in holding the non violent campaign of Team Anna. Team Anna was just a face that the whole of India needed to express their displeasure and disgust with the establishment.
We should all be proud that the Team Anna campaign has even started contemplating entering the politics and fight against corruption by entering the arena. We should not only support this initiative but should also try to do whatever make the political entry of Team Anna successful. With people's support this political campaign will definitely maintain its cleanliness and will stand bravely against the money and muscle power. No money and muscle power can eventually succeed against an entity that is supported by people's will and power.
But there will be several questions that will linger in our minds :
Will this party be successful ?Or will it fade away ?
How can it gain critical mass to be even able to make changes ?
How can it put up a fight against the parties dominated with criminals ?
How will it have the financial backing to support itself ?
How can it ensure that it gets the right passionate people ?
How can it ensure it stays true to its principles?
And there will be several questions on its feasibility ? And there will be several detractors as well who will never be optimistic about a change. But it is not the time of the detractors. It is the time of the optimists who have believed that their small efforts can make a difference. And hence we need to support every effort by Team Anna in the political formation and fielding the candidates we want. We have to form a grassroots support base that will be behind this political formation by Team Anna so that they can travel to every nook and corner of the country and educate the masses of their rights and how they intend to bring about the changes in the country.
It is not going to be easy. But so was not the fast by Anna Hazare when it started. When it started it was just like any other fast and it would have stayed like any other fast had it not appealed to the masses and not raised a sliver of hope for a better tomorrow in the minds. Team Anna is also a group of simple human beings just like you and me and thats why our help and our support will be needed more than ever.
We should not get distracted by the intricate nuances but should rather have our eyes fixes on our goal : The end to corruption and hope for a better clean tomorrow.
I am having a very positive hunch that many honest and passionate people who have been selflessly working in the grassroots and were worried about entering the political stream because of no hope (due to lack of money or muscle influence) will now be encouraged to join this new political formation by Team Anna if they can sense an assurance that the political formation by Team Anna has the backing of the same masses who backed them in their initial crusade against corruption.
With our solid support to a new political party and with a hope that we can have one more choice beyond the corrupt and hopeless current mainstream and regional party options, the mainstream parties will definitely have jitters in their stomachs in the coming future although they wont accept it and will definitely try to undermine and destroy this crusade just like they have unsuccessfully tried in the past by undermining the crusade against corruption.
And as I mentioned in a blog sometime back, we have no other way but to be optimistic and support this initiative in all possible ways.
Earlier the jokers in Congress used to comment that Anna Team should join the politics and fight if they have the guts. And after this news, a leader in Congress said "Their political inspirations are out in the open and we always knew it". Duh ? Stop being perennial jokers guys. What do you want ? Are you happy about Team Anna's intention to join politics or are you not happy ? Let me guess. You are freaking nervous. So nervous that you have frozen and are not even able to enter into any kind of negotiations with them.
This was the first time in ages since the whole of India threw its support and weight behind India against Corruption and Team Anna. These movements always are dependent on mass support. The masses for whom they are fighting. The masses for whom they have taken the pains. This was not the time to judge the honesty and sincerity. Any movement is bound to be plagued by slanders, controversies and mud slingings. But the successful campaigns are those who stand the test of the tough moments. And I think in a rare pleasant situation, the whole of India succeeded in holding the non violent campaign of Team Anna. Team Anna was just a face that the whole of India needed to express their displeasure and disgust with the establishment.
We should all be proud that the Team Anna campaign has even started contemplating entering the politics and fight against corruption by entering the arena. We should not only support this initiative but should also try to do whatever make the political entry of Team Anna successful. With people's support this political campaign will definitely maintain its cleanliness and will stand bravely against the money and muscle power. No money and muscle power can eventually succeed against an entity that is supported by people's will and power.
But there will be several questions that will linger in our minds :
Will this party be successful ?Or will it fade away ?
How can it gain critical mass to be even able to make changes ?
How can it put up a fight against the parties dominated with criminals ?
How will it have the financial backing to support itself ?
How can it ensure that it gets the right passionate people ?
How can it ensure it stays true to its principles?
And there will be several questions on its feasibility ? And there will be several detractors as well who will never be optimistic about a change. But it is not the time of the detractors. It is the time of the optimists who have believed that their small efforts can make a difference. And hence we need to support every effort by Team Anna in the political formation and fielding the candidates we want. We have to form a grassroots support base that will be behind this political formation by Team Anna so that they can travel to every nook and corner of the country and educate the masses of their rights and how they intend to bring about the changes in the country.
It is not going to be easy. But so was not the fast by Anna Hazare when it started. When it started it was just like any other fast and it would have stayed like any other fast had it not appealed to the masses and not raised a sliver of hope for a better tomorrow in the minds. Team Anna is also a group of simple human beings just like you and me and thats why our help and our support will be needed more than ever.
We should not get distracted by the intricate nuances but should rather have our eyes fixes on our goal : The end to corruption and hope for a better clean tomorrow.
I am having a very positive hunch that many honest and passionate people who have been selflessly working in the grassroots and were worried about entering the political stream because of no hope (due to lack of money or muscle influence) will now be encouraged to join this new political formation by Team Anna if they can sense an assurance that the political formation by Team Anna has the backing of the same masses who backed them in their initial crusade against corruption.
With our solid support to a new political party and with a hope that we can have one more choice beyond the corrupt and hopeless current mainstream and regional party options, the mainstream parties will definitely have jitters in their stomachs in the coming future although they wont accept it and will definitely try to undermine and destroy this crusade just like they have unsuccessfully tried in the past by undermining the crusade against corruption.
And as I mentioned in a blog sometime back, we have no other way but to be optimistic and support this initiative in all possible ways.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
To the innovator that brought so many smiles :: You will be missed dearly
This morning, I woke up, got ready and went to have my breakfast. There was a TV on the wall with some song playing in it. And there were scrolling lines at the bottom showing different news. I started reading those lines and the next moment was sheer pain and sorrow in the heart. The news read "Steve Jobs Dies". I was not sure for a second if I am reading it correctly. Is this real news? Just a few weeks back he stepped down being Apple CEO. How could it be so sudden? Was it known?
Since then it has been just painful feeling in the heart. Couldnt focus on breakfast at all since the mind was refusing to believe the news.
Why so much pain for a person who was not even directly related to me? The answer was very simple. You feel a lot of pain and you feel hurt when someone who in some way or the other touched your life leaves the world. And it could be complete stranger.
Steve Jobs was one person who may not have been close to us but was the one who touched everyone's lives. He touched the lives through his inspirational speech at Stanford. He touched the lives through the creations that stirred the people's imaginations. He touched the lives through the sheer fun and pleasure he gave when an iPod, iPhone or iPad landed in people's hands.
Whenever thoughts of creativity will cross our minds and the struggle between mediocrity and courage to dream will come to the fore, we will think of Steve Josb to regain our confidence in ourselves to strive for excellence.
As for me,
Whenever I will search for directions on iPhone, I will remember you
Whenever I will enter the calories I took into my iPhone app, I will remember you
Whenever I will struggle to strive for excellence, I will remember you
Whenever the desire to dream seems to be fading, I will remember you
You will always inspire us to excell through every battle in life
You will be remembered for ages to come for the joy you gave this world through your creations
Since then it has been just painful feeling in the heart. Couldnt focus on breakfast at all since the mind was refusing to believe the news.
Why so much pain for a person who was not even directly related to me? The answer was very simple. You feel a lot of pain and you feel hurt when someone who in some way or the other touched your life leaves the world. And it could be complete stranger.
Steve Jobs was one person who may not have been close to us but was the one who touched everyone's lives. He touched the lives through his inspirational speech at Stanford. He touched the lives through the creations that stirred the people's imaginations. He touched the lives through the sheer fun and pleasure he gave when an iPod, iPhone or iPad landed in people's hands.
Whenever thoughts of creativity will cross our minds and the struggle between mediocrity and courage to dream will come to the fore, we will think of Steve Josb to regain our confidence in ourselves to strive for excellence.
As for me,
Whenever I will search for directions on iPhone, I will remember you
Whenever I will enter the calories I took into my iPhone app, I will remember you
Whenever I will struggle to strive for excellence, I will remember you
Whenever the desire to dream seems to be fading, I will remember you
You will always inspire us to excell through every battle in life
You will be remembered for ages to come for the joy you gave this world through your creations
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
India's Second Freedom Movement
Wow!!
The whole series of events over the past two days have indeed been jaw dropping. The way in which people have come out onto the streets and held rallies and expressed their support for Anna Hazare has been stupendous.
Definitely, the Government in its wildest dreams has never expected the situation to come this far. All it might have thought, based on its previous experience was that, if it just puts Anna and his associates behind bars for a few days, people will go back to their chores and everything will be fine. As an example, see what happened when they dealt with Ramdev.
But the Government advisors could not have been embarassed more. The credibility hit that Congress has taken is too much to repair. But the Government refuses to get the whole picture.
It refuses to accept the fact that people are frustrated way beyond threshold. All that people were waiting for was a face or a few faces that could represent them and their frustration. They had and have no hope from the government. In order to give their trust and place their confidence, all they wanted from this face or these few faces was one with simple style of living, honesty and credibility. Any person with such credential would have fit the bill. Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi definitely did fit the bill. They have carried a lot of credibility in their resumes. And when people saw this, they had no reason to mistrust them. Government refuses to get this simple fact.
Another significant motivation was the transparency of this group. No group is perfect and they will make mistakes. But this group has put in all efforts to keep the process completely transparent, most importantly the money matters. Because that is where the biggest risk of collapse of any campaign lies. Time and again the government has tried to malign the campaign by raising doubts in people's minds about the funding sources for this campaign. And in response to this silly tactics of Government it has been proved again and again how honesty and truth will always prevail. This has only consolidated and cemented the credibility of Anna's team. But Government fails to see it.
No Indian citizen who is on the streets supporting Anna and his team is blindly following. Everyone knows that the bill cannot be a perfect one. Everyone knows that we are not living in a land of Utopia. Everyone knows that this bill will have limitations. But everyone also knows that this bill is more honest bill than the one proposed by the Government. Here again the credibility comes into picture. An Indian citizen just doesnt have trust in the Government representatives drafting a bill. Its unfortunate but true. And when the government personnel unashamedly proclaim that they are the representatives of the people, the people have been laughing in their rooms. Laughing because these government personnel have been elected because there was no alternative to the citizenry. So getting elected doesnt necessarily mean people have entrusted the responsibility to represent us. And at this moment when people like Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi or Arvind kejriwal start a campaign, people are saying "Thank God someone save me from this mess". Its the strength that we suddenly derived as a team that we were lacking in individual capacity. But the Government clearly fails to see this.
Government is clearly in a denial mode. And to help the government get out of its denial mode this revolution is going to sustain. I hope more and more folks in whom India trusts join it so that the whole India rests its weight and support from there on to ensure we see a bright, honest and prideworthy future for our next generation.
Its critical that Government gets out of its denial mode, fires its ill advisors like Kapil Sibal, shuts down its ill spokesmen like Manish Tiwari and gets down to the negotiating act : Not on where to have the fast but on how to end it and honestly work towards bringing in a strong Lokpal bill.
The whole series of events over the past two days have indeed been jaw dropping. The way in which people have come out onto the streets and held rallies and expressed their support for Anna Hazare has been stupendous.
Definitely, the Government in its wildest dreams has never expected the situation to come this far. All it might have thought, based on its previous experience was that, if it just puts Anna and his associates behind bars for a few days, people will go back to their chores and everything will be fine. As an example, see what happened when they dealt with Ramdev.
But the Government advisors could not have been embarassed more. The credibility hit that Congress has taken is too much to repair. But the Government refuses to get the whole picture.
It refuses to accept the fact that people are frustrated way beyond threshold. All that people were waiting for was a face or a few faces that could represent them and their frustration. They had and have no hope from the government. In order to give their trust and place their confidence, all they wanted from this face or these few faces was one with simple style of living, honesty and credibility. Any person with such credential would have fit the bill. Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi definitely did fit the bill. They have carried a lot of credibility in their resumes. And when people saw this, they had no reason to mistrust them. Government refuses to get this simple fact.
Another significant motivation was the transparency of this group. No group is perfect and they will make mistakes. But this group has put in all efforts to keep the process completely transparent, most importantly the money matters. Because that is where the biggest risk of collapse of any campaign lies. Time and again the government has tried to malign the campaign by raising doubts in people's minds about the funding sources for this campaign. And in response to this silly tactics of Government it has been proved again and again how honesty and truth will always prevail. This has only consolidated and cemented the credibility of Anna's team. But Government fails to see it.
No Indian citizen who is on the streets supporting Anna and his team is blindly following. Everyone knows that the bill cannot be a perfect one. Everyone knows that we are not living in a land of Utopia. Everyone knows that this bill will have limitations. But everyone also knows that this bill is more honest bill than the one proposed by the Government. Here again the credibility comes into picture. An Indian citizen just doesnt have trust in the Government representatives drafting a bill. Its unfortunate but true. And when the government personnel unashamedly proclaim that they are the representatives of the people, the people have been laughing in their rooms. Laughing because these government personnel have been elected because there was no alternative to the citizenry. So getting elected doesnt necessarily mean people have entrusted the responsibility to represent us. And at this moment when people like Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi or Arvind kejriwal start a campaign, people are saying "Thank God someone save me from this mess". Its the strength that we suddenly derived as a team that we were lacking in individual capacity. But the Government clearly fails to see this.
Government is clearly in a denial mode. And to help the government get out of its denial mode this revolution is going to sustain. I hope more and more folks in whom India trusts join it so that the whole India rests its weight and support from there on to ensure we see a bright, honest and prideworthy future for our next generation.
Its critical that Government gets out of its denial mode, fires its ill advisors like Kapil Sibal, shuts down its ill spokesmen like Manish Tiwari and gets down to the negotiating act : Not on where to have the fast but on how to end it and honestly work towards bringing in a strong Lokpal bill.
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
dil kehta hai kuchh
दिल कहना चाहता है कुछ
चुप चुप के खुद ही सुनता है
आस पास में कोई नहीं हो
हर पल यूं ही घबराता है
सोचना इसका काम है
बस यह सोचता रहता है
कभी अतीत में
तो कभी भविष्य में खो जाता है
चाहता आखिर क्या है
यह कह नहीं पाता
इसकी चाह बस यही है कि
कोई इसकी बात सुनले और समझले
वोह बात जो उसने कही नहीं
कहने से पहले ही घबरा गया
इसकी चाह बस यही है कि
कोई इसकी घबराहट समझले
चुप चुप के खुद ही सुनता है
आस पास में कोई नहीं हो
हर पल यूं ही घबराता है
सोचना इसका काम है
बस यह सोचता रहता है
कभी अतीत में
तो कभी भविष्य में खो जाता है
चाहता आखिर क्या है
यह कह नहीं पाता
इसकी चाह बस यही है कि
कोई इसकी बात सुनले और समझले
वोह बात जो उसने कही नहीं
कहने से पहले ही घबरा गया
इसकी चाह बस यही है कि
कोई इसकी घबराहट समझले
Friday, November 05, 2010
Happy Deepavali Bengaluru..And I miss you
Far away from Bengaluru, on this day of beautiful deepavali, I cannot stop myself from just thinking about Bengaluru. I cannot forget the beautiful nights of deepavali celebrated in Bengaluru. We would light up our balcony with little diyas in the evening. Then we would go down near the gate to fire some crackers. The whole evening sky would lit up with varieties of fire cracker designs.
And the delicious dahi vadas.
Even after late into the night , we would go to the roof to enjoy the silence after the sound of the crackers. Every now and then there would be a sound from the distance.
But what a fun it was. Today we celebrated far away from Bengaluru and far away from India. It was great. It was nice.
But I cant stop thinking about you Bengaluru....
And the delicious dahi vadas.
Even after late into the night , we would go to the roof to enjoy the silence after the sound of the crackers. Every now and then there would be a sound from the distance.
But what a fun it was. Today we celebrated far away from Bengaluru and far away from India. It was great. It was nice.
But I cant stop thinking about you Bengaluru....
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