The biggest news of the week gone by was the joint session convened by NDA government to pass the controversial POTO bill. The joint session between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha was held after an interregnum of two and a half decades. Given the lack of majority of NDA government in the Rajya Sabha, the government always faced the risk of key pieces of legislation being defeated in the upper house of Parliament. Thus, when POTO was defeated in Rajya Sabha, a joint session was used to pass the bill.
While the controversy surrounding the bill is outside the realm of this column, few comments are in order. First, despite the fact that POTO existed as on ordinance since past few months, the Gujarat carnage could not be stopped. Nor could the attack on the parliament. Then, one may question the efficacy of the bill. Second, the sincerity with which NDA passed the bill is commendable. Just that one wishes that the same level of sincerity is seen in other spheres of governance. Three, with the BJP rout in four state assemblies, and the latest defeat in Delhi MCD election, the PM laments that the center is to be blamed for the spate of defeats. One wonders whether he is the leader of the government or part of the opposition. Since long, one has become accustomed to seeing indifferent leaders, right from P. V. Narsimha Rao, to H. D. Dewe Gowda, Chandra Shekhar to now Atal Bihari Bajpayee. Somehow, the zeal to bring about a transformation in the country is missing. Given this, one may thing whether it is really possible to satisfy the aspirations of billion odd Indians.
One exception here is the good work done by Union Urban Affairs minister Jagmohan. He had cleansed many a places and broken down many an illegally constructed buildings. But he was viewed as a man doing too much, and transferred to the less harmful portfolio of Tourism.
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Talking about H. D. Dewe Gowda, few days back I attended a marriage whether I chanced upon our ex-PM. Apart from him, Mayawati, a potential UP chief minister was also part of the celebrity gathering. To assume that the marriage was of a VIP would be foolishness. The groom was a very ordinary engineer of an average Indian firm. Thus, the reason for the two celebrities attending the marriage is not clear. The point worth noting was that while ten commandos provided heavy security to Mayawati, the ex-PM had only few uncles to provide company.
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A recent article on the deplorable state of Bihar caught my attention. My prime years, between 1990 and 1994, were spent in the city of Ranchi, now capital of Jharkhand. The article commented how, after the creation of separate state of Jharkhand, the per capita income of Bihar had fallen from above five thousand rupees to something close to four thousand three hundred rupees. The article also said how e-business (extortion business) was booming in laloo's heartland. The article evoked some not so happy memories of my stay there.
First of all, every now and then, a Jharkhand bandh was called, sometimes extending for almost three days. Unfortunately, most of the times the bandh was successful and the economic activity in the city was brought to a halt. As a student, I always cheered those bandhs as it meant a holiday for me. But then, the bandhs also meant that the two-year course of ICSE board X examination, required three years of teaching. My father was not so lucky as his office hours were shifted from 9am-6pm to 6am-3pm. Once, while returning from work, a Jharkhandi activist attacked my father's car by hurling a stone at the moving vehicle. Luckily, the stone missed by father, and hit the rear window instead, damaging it completely. Apart from this, I also remember how a close friend of my mother was kidnapped by her driver, looted and later murdered. When he was caught and a trial was held in the court, the culprit ran away from the court in broad daylight. Civic amenity, like law and order, was also in a state of shambles. We got electricity only about 12 hours a day. Once, thieves stole so many members of the towers carrying power that the entire infrastructure carrying power collapsed. There was no electricity in the city for about two weeks. Roads were awful. Our frustration reached its peak when my mother was incorrectly diagnosed, a lapse that almost took her to her deathbed. It was then when my father decided he had enough of the state.
Given this, the creation of Jharkhand was a rather cheerful occasion for me. An uncle who visits us regularly from the state updates us about the latest developments. And every time I ask how are things, he only laments how things have hardly changed. Given this, the article on Bihar and Jharkhand does not come as a surprise. Those who ruined economic activity to see Jharkhand become a separate state have hardly brought cheers to the people. Rather, some time back, Ranchi High Court lamented how weak and ineffective Jharkhand government was ruining the mineral-rich state.
Residents of Delhi too lament the poor state of roads, or the erratic power situation. However, if they ever get to live in the less privileged states of the country, they will redefine what poor road is or what erratic power situation is. Not that either of the situation is justifiable. Just that by knowing extremes, things can be put in a better perspective.
Chachu (31/3/2002)
Sunday, March 31, 2002
Saturday, March 23, 2002
Chachu's Column #3: Of Sansodhan, Beliefs and Dreams
As the Saturday night inches towards its end, the movie 'Sansodhan' (meaning 'Correction') begs for a comment or two. The setting of the movie is rural. It highlights the travails of a woman panch, who finds herself witness to the machinations of a scheming landlord who milch the public money to fill his coffers. The woman, being newly-wed, is torn between the demands of her husband and the call of her conscience to build a school in the village. Eventually, the good wins over evil and a school is built is the village.
The beauty of the movie was in its realistic portrayal of the characters and the events. The protagonist, along with a few supporting actresses, gives a sterling performance to make the movie watching a really worthwhile experience. In the movie, apart from the fight between good and bad, the gender conflict is also brought out. The protagonist is propelled to the seat of panchayat after a new law mandates one-third reservation for women in panchayat. The landlord presumes that the protagonist will remain a puppet in his hands. But once the election is over, things turn out to be otherwise as the woman refuses to shirk her responsibilities, and vows to build a school. Even as she finds her nuptial relationship going downhill, she remains resolute, courtesy the stubbornness of couple of fellow women villagers. Ultimately, her husband backs her and the landlord accepts defeat and a school is built in the village. The movie ends with the school children praying 'Is dhara main swarg banayenge hum' (meaning 'we will make this earth a heaven'). The movie was jointly produced by UNICEF and NDFC. I just wish the movie had a wider audience. In any case, Star Gold movie channel shows some excellent movies on Saturday nights, 11.00pm.
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As the Ahmedabad trouble enters into the third week, a couple of incidents deserve attention. For the last two days to the drive to my office, I have seen a man coming in the opposite direction in the most bizarre way. The man first spreads a bed-sheet on the road and then lies prostrate on it. Then he gets up and stands at the point where his head was when he was lying prostrate. The whole event is then repeated again ad infinitum. In the two days that I have seen him, the man was around four kilometers apart. The second incident is not different from the first one. Today, being Saturday, I saw a huge crowd lined up at Kaali mandir near Rohini, New Delhi. I asked my mother why there was such a crowd, and she said on Saturdays, Kaali puja was performed with great devotion. She also said that on Saturday, if anyone asked for a wish at the temple with a pure heart, the wish was most likely to be granted. Thus, every Saturday, one could see people queueing for almost 5-8 hours to get a chance to pray at the temple. As if this devotion was not enough, I once saw a close friend of mine donating a rupee in an unmanned container that had an image of Goddess Kali. How I wish to relate the Ahmedabad trouble with these show of devotion is best left unsaid and open to interpretation.
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One thing that holds a profound importance in our lives is 'dream'. For me, a life without a dream is like not living at all. Then, a question arises that what dream should be pursued and what not. Though much can be said about it, let me quote the words of a friend of mine, 'Most people dream. At least I think so. A lot of quotes seem to suggest that successful people owe their successes to dreams. I think anyone with imagination would dream. Children dream the most; they even believe they can reach for the moon. As we 'mature' our experience mellows down our dreams, shackles and fetters our capacity to dream. If we keep the child in our hearts alive, we will continue dreaming. But this is where the similarities end. For many people dreams end up as feeble wishes. Others approach their dreams with a stern resolute, translate dreams into definite goals, plan well and go for it with a steely will to conquer. And then, there are others for whom the desire to make a dream a reality, a dream they believe in, builds inside them as a fire, a passion, a necessary source of sustenance in life. It is this last category of people who can make a difference, leave the world a little better than they found it. Such people need a passion or two in life to keep them happy.
I'm including here two quotes that I liked, "A dream can be a powerful thing. It is more important to have a dream than to have a way to achieve it. If the power of our passion is strong enough, we will figure out a way to make our dreams reality. It is more than having the will to find the way. Will is a conscious act. Passion is deeper. It involves emotion and intuition. If passion is properly tapped, it creates tremendous drive." The second quote is, "It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow ." These are just random ramblings, but the point is every clock that ticks, every car that moves, every plane that flies does so because someone had a dream he believed in and was passionate about it. It's such people who can make a difference.'
Thanks my friend for your words of wisdom.
Chachu (23/3/2002)
The beauty of the movie was in its realistic portrayal of the characters and the events. The protagonist, along with a few supporting actresses, gives a sterling performance to make the movie watching a really worthwhile experience. In the movie, apart from the fight between good and bad, the gender conflict is also brought out. The protagonist is propelled to the seat of panchayat after a new law mandates one-third reservation for women in panchayat. The landlord presumes that the protagonist will remain a puppet in his hands. But once the election is over, things turn out to be otherwise as the woman refuses to shirk her responsibilities, and vows to build a school. Even as she finds her nuptial relationship going downhill, she remains resolute, courtesy the stubbornness of couple of fellow women villagers. Ultimately, her husband backs her and the landlord accepts defeat and a school is built in the village. The movie ends with the school children praying 'Is dhara main swarg banayenge hum' (meaning 'we will make this earth a heaven'). The movie was jointly produced by UNICEF and NDFC. I just wish the movie had a wider audience. In any case, Star Gold movie channel shows some excellent movies on Saturday nights, 11.00pm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the Ahmedabad trouble enters into the third week, a couple of incidents deserve attention. For the last two days to the drive to my office, I have seen a man coming in the opposite direction in the most bizarre way. The man first spreads a bed-sheet on the road and then lies prostrate on it. Then he gets up and stands at the point where his head was when he was lying prostrate. The whole event is then repeated again ad infinitum. In the two days that I have seen him, the man was around four kilometers apart. The second incident is not different from the first one. Today, being Saturday, I saw a huge crowd lined up at Kaali mandir near Rohini, New Delhi. I asked my mother why there was such a crowd, and she said on Saturdays, Kaali puja was performed with great devotion. She also said that on Saturday, if anyone asked for a wish at the temple with a pure heart, the wish was most likely to be granted. Thus, every Saturday, one could see people queueing for almost 5-8 hours to get a chance to pray at the temple. As if this devotion was not enough, I once saw a close friend of mine donating a rupee in an unmanned container that had an image of Goddess Kali. How I wish to relate the Ahmedabad trouble with these show of devotion is best left unsaid and open to interpretation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One thing that holds a profound importance in our lives is 'dream'. For me, a life without a dream is like not living at all. Then, a question arises that what dream should be pursued and what not. Though much can be said about it, let me quote the words of a friend of mine, 'Most people dream. At least I think so. A lot of quotes seem to suggest that successful people owe their successes to dreams. I think anyone with imagination would dream. Children dream the most; they even believe they can reach for the moon. As we 'mature' our experience mellows down our dreams, shackles and fetters our capacity to dream. If we keep the child in our hearts alive, we will continue dreaming. But this is where the similarities end. For many people dreams end up as feeble wishes. Others approach their dreams with a stern resolute, translate dreams into definite goals, plan well and go for it with a steely will to conquer. And then, there are others for whom the desire to make a dream a reality, a dream they believe in, builds inside them as a fire, a passion, a necessary source of sustenance in life. It is this last category of people who can make a difference, leave the world a little better than they found it. Such people need a passion or two in life to keep them happy.
I'm including here two quotes that I liked, "A dream can be a powerful thing. It is more important to have a dream than to have a way to achieve it. If the power of our passion is strong enough, we will figure out a way to make our dreams reality. It is more than having the will to find the way. Will is a conscious act. Passion is deeper. It involves emotion and intuition. If passion is properly tapped, it creates tremendous drive." The second quote is, "It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow ." These are just random ramblings, but the point is every clock that ticks, every car that moves, every plane that flies does so because someone had a dream he believed in and was passionate about it. It's such people who can make a difference.'
Thanks my friend for your words of wisdom.
Chachu (23/3/2002)
Sunday, March 17, 2002
Chachu's Column #2: Of 'Burning Ahmedabad' and 'Show of Dissent'
As Ahmedabad burns for the second time in less than a month's time, my mind moves to the December, 1999 when I was there to meet my friend and architect. The visit to the Gujarat city of Ahmedabad, along with a short sojourn to Baroda, was filled with a sense of delight; a delight that stemmed from the interactions with an extremely peace loving denizens of the Gujrati state. A couple of incidents of that visit are still etched in my memory. It was around 12.00 in the night and I along with my friends were generally roaming in the city. Even at that time in the night, I could see groups of women peacefully moving around in groups, without any men-folk to provide any security. What overwhelmed me was the sense of freedom with which people, ordinary men, women and children included, moved around. The next day, when we were travelling in a local bus, a pickpocket entered the bus. The bus-conductor nabbed the potential culprit. He then requested all the commuters to check their pockets for the safety of their wallets. When the house was brought in order, the pickpocket was promptly requested to disembark, much to the relief of all concerned. In the night, we reached Baroda at around 1.00 in the night to meet a common friend who resided there. The incomplete address we had of our friend made us locating his house a real nightmare. However, couple of gentlemen, presumably Gujratis, helped us to find our way out. Even at that odd hour, we were welcomed with open arms and given the best possible treatment. The welcome proved the veracity of Indian heritage, "Visitors are like Gods, and they ought to be welcomed." Anyways, the point was that my visit to the state was so delightful that I made my mind to move to the state at the first opportunity available. However, now, another gentlemen from the very same state, after seeing his shop being vandalized, yearns to leave that state and move to some other state, or may be some other country; a place where he gets the most basic right of an individual - to live without fear, and to be able to earn his living - without any threat of any kind, what so ever.
Moving over to another topic, there were some remarkable incidents that hogged the front-page headlines. A sewer tank at a certain army recruitment center capsized and many hopefuls met a sordid end. The event was very unfortunate, but what transpired thereafter was even more so. The remaining army hopefuls went out on to streets burning buses and cars. This is not an isolated incident. Every time something tragic happens, few buses are burnt. This form of dissent is really shocking. Citing another interesting incident here, every summer, residents of certain areas of Najafgarh sit on a dharna on the roads, blocking traffic and bringing the traffic movement to a standstill. The demonstrators, mostly women, demand for water and electricity. Presumably, their colonies are out of potable drinking water most of the times, as is the condition of electricity. The merits of demonstration apart, the beauty of the whole event is that this trick works most of times.
Few comments are pertinent here. One, do we have to allow things to come to the brink to take any action. Two, what do we gain by destroying public property. This may only backfire as transport costs may rise, inconveniencing those who effected the vandalism at the first place. Third, the step-motherly treatment of certain areas of Delhi, the so-called not so privileged areas of the Capital of country.
Wait for more,
Chachu (17/3/2002)
Moving over to another topic, there were some remarkable incidents that hogged the front-page headlines. A sewer tank at a certain army recruitment center capsized and many hopefuls met a sordid end. The event was very unfortunate, but what transpired thereafter was even more so. The remaining army hopefuls went out on to streets burning buses and cars. This is not an isolated incident. Every time something tragic happens, few buses are burnt. This form of dissent is really shocking. Citing another interesting incident here, every summer, residents of certain areas of Najafgarh sit on a dharna on the roads, blocking traffic and bringing the traffic movement to a standstill. The demonstrators, mostly women, demand for water and electricity. Presumably, their colonies are out of potable drinking water most of the times, as is the condition of electricity. The merits of demonstration apart, the beauty of the whole event is that this trick works most of times.
Few comments are pertinent here. One, do we have to allow things to come to the brink to take any action. Two, what do we gain by destroying public property. This may only backfire as transport costs may rise, inconveniencing those who effected the vandalism at the first place. Third, the step-motherly treatment of certain areas of Delhi, the so-called not so privileged areas of the Capital of country.
Wait for more,
Chachu (17/3/2002)
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