Birthday wishes and more…

“Many more happy returns of the day”, so read in the front page of a leading newspaper on 19th June, 2010. Here the noteworthy thing, apart from the birthday wish is the date. Not many of the younger generation would know that this is the date when Rahul Gandhi, the Prince of India celebrates his birthday. The fact that I am stating him as the Prince of India is simple. He is the heir apparent of Congress and thus also the Prime Ministers’ throne, the illustrious MP from Amethi and the General Secretary of the mighty Congress. All this roles when capped by the same person he is surely nothing else than a Prince, isn’t it?

Anyway, moving ahead, he celebrates his birthday on one of the 365 days of the year, like all of us do. True he is the “rather cool” MP of the recent times and an hot favourite of the youth, but does it justify the fact that birthday wishes are expressed to him on a quarter of a front page ad given by another member of the Congress. It can be understood when we wish people like Mahatma Gandhi in this manner, but I want to know, what has this Gandhi done to get to much respect. Does the fact that he once traveled on trains to understand the plight of the passenger or that he ate in a Dalit's house make him MAHAN? Did that Congress Committee member from the state of Tamil Nadu really want to wish Rahul Gandhi or did he want to show to the world that he has the money to flaunt and spend on an absolutely unnecessary ad. I am sure if he could have used that amount (which no doubt runs to lakhs) in a much better manner. And even if that money belongs to the Congress, there are much better ways to utilize them. An ad of such a thing is simply ridiculous.

Not only should the advertiser be blamed in this case, but the media too. It is well known today that newspapers really have to struggle to generate revenue but does it justify them publishing such ads. It is important here to mention that on the same day in the same paper two more such wishes came as ads. All the ads were by some Congress member and in colour too!! The amount of money that was spent on wishing this person! (Imagine what was spent on his celebrations??!!)

As I end, another question enters my mind. Is the situation inside Congress so bad that their own members need to wish their leader through a national newspaper? Couldn’t they do the same personally through a telephone, mail?? Strange are the way things work in this country….

The Country Roads

Who says dancing is not everyone’s cup of tea? In India, among most of the cultures dancing forms an integral part of traditions and merry-making. But in todays past paced world, these aspects of the various Indian cultures seem to be fast eroding and only those with a keen interest in this form of art are keeping alive the tradition.

As if understanding this sorry state of affairs, the Indian roads have taken in to themselves to keep alive the tradition. Now you may be wondering how a non-alive thing make such a thing happen. Well, anyone familiar with the interiors of India will find the link between the comparison. The roads are in most cases broken and never repaired. Heavy traffic in the form of heavy vehicles keep moving on these roads making the condition worst. and us poor souls travel on them without having much of an option. The combition can get fatal if you are on a really bad road on a bus which seems to have come straight out of ‘Malgudi days’ and whose the seats have been loosely put together and sadly have managed to get the last seat. The natural dance steps will make you see heaven and hell together!

The situation may seem funny at first but if one looks deeper into it, who is to be blamed. We are a country who loves blaming each other. In this case, the people will blame the authorities, the authorities will blame the government and someone probably can also raise the issue of corruption here. It has become such a jungle of problems that even if someone tries to rectigy them, it will be difficult to identify where to start.

For my age, I have travlled quite a bit around India and have seen almost all kinds of roads, though a interiors are still to be explored. From fascinating highways that do not have a single crack on them to the roads that do not have any unbroken parts left I have seen them all. As a child I reme,ber naming one such road the ‘disco road’ because once on a rickshaw on that road I could only keep making the disco move, albeit involuntarily. Currently I am staying in an institution which have amazing infrastructure. Professionals coming to visit it get amazed at how beautiful and self suffiecient the campus is. However they hardly come by the road that we need to travel with. For them there is a smaller but better road available. On the road that the majority of the population moves in so dilapidated that the government has been turning cold shoulders from ages. The irony of all this is that beside a state-of-the-art institution lies a rundown road and no one can do anything to improve its situation.

At the end of the day, it is us the common people who have to bear the brunt of all this and let the country roads led us to heaven and hell together boogie woogiing all the way.

Luring the money minting machines

Giving voting rights to NRI’s, the Indian government is taking too big a step in making them part of our political system. True that they have been born and brought up here, it is their motherland. But they have been out of the country for too long to even understand how the country works today. The political system was changed over the years; the system is more complex and complicated now. There are more political parties now then there ever was. Regional parties are making a huge splash into the political scenario and have changed the way politics is envisaged here.

These non-resident Indians has been living in another system and naturally are more aware of that country’s political system. As human nature, they have adapted to a different system and understand that more easily. Some of them still do have strong ties with the country, but that no way means that they come here regularly or are part of the country like they had been before.

Some of the NRI’s are claiming that they have always been trying to improve the condition of the schools, hospitals and other facilities in the villages and that they should get the right to also have a say into the election. What they are doing is indeed noble and worthwhile, but how can they ask a favour back for that? Why can’t they contribute to their villages, towns and cities selflessly? Are they not contributing solely on humanitarian grounds or do they have some ulterior motives behind their support?

Even if they are given the voting rights, what will they benefit from it or as a matter of fact what will the people living in this country benefit. Will their contributions increase, can they ensure that corruption will decrease or can they ensure that the common man’s voice will be heard? What will they achieve by being a part of the political system when they have nothing to do with this system. Financial support is not the only thing that needs to be looked into, there are other factors too that are equally important for a politically active country like India.

The Indian government is obviously trying to appease these rich Indians as they can pour in a lot of money. Giving them voting rights is like luring them to pump in more money to fill in their coffers. How much will the money actually be used for the people is known to us. We only have to wait and watch what else will the people in power do to attract the people with money.

The Club that has arrived

S.L.F.C. four letters seemingly of no significance. But the impact these four letters have had on the Indian domestic sports scenario is huge and unimaginable. The first club from the North East to have made in to the national scenario, it has stunned big players with its performances and style. Just the fact that on one of their first national tournaments, they reached the finals is enough proof of this. Though they did not win the finals, it is not to be forgotten that they lost at a stage when the match could have been won by anyone

Yes it is football we are talking about and the Shillong Lajong Football Club that has gathered so many fans for itself. Football has always been the primary sports for the north-eastern people. In meghalaya too, the craze is so much that nothing usually stops the locals from playing their favourite outdoor game in any weather and in any circumstances. the humble start of the club in 1983 saw some dedication and hard work through all these years that have resulted in its thumping success today. It was about time too for the football crazy state and region to get its due and be finally recognized by the country.

As for the small town from where these four letter emerged….they have literally gone crazy. The club was first noticed nationally when it stormed into the Elite division of the I-League last year and stunned everyone with their performance. And as the saying goes the rest is history now. The colour RED has become the current favourite of the city and their latest accessories that of the club batches and logos. Even on a chilly winter they traveled by truck loads to watch their team in the Federation Cup finals in Guwahati. The stadium with a capacity of more than 20,000 people was filled with the colour red and slogans for the new club in town.

As for the country they have realized that on the football front the SHILLONG LAJONG FOOTBALL CLUB have definitely arrived.

Welcoming a New Year

As each New Year comes, so too comes the celebrations, the thrill, the excitement of welcoming a new year. Also comes the time to bid farewell to the year gone by. The year that goes leaves by some personal successes, some failures and more hope for a better tomorrow. With the New Year comes a new beginning.

Ok…it sounds preachy. But it is how a new year is welcomed, isn’t it? Of course, we need to thank the liberalization policy of 1991 that has brought much more celebrations with every year. Commercialization, consumerisms are reaching frenzied heights making simple people into competitors who have to celebrate EVERY occasion they get out in the pub or in some high profile party. If you aren’t in the top-most party, you are a no one. What? Did I hear u right? You want to stay at home and celebrate the New Year? That’s unheard of and totally down market and boring. One can’t just do it. You need to be in the streets shouting like hooligans, making a ruckus and disturbing an insignificant few who want to spend the eve as he/she does any another day.

In one of the glossy newspapers there was an article about how this decade brought lifestyle changes to our society and life. The article, though not really informative revealed quite a few things. The article wrote about all the things that have become very much a part of our lives like mobile phones, the internet, DTH Television, malls, coffee lounges and the likes. These things, among many others have really changed our lives. We can’t even comprehend our lives without these things today. Imagine having to live without a mobile phone or not getting to check your mails for a day. It’s more than torture. Gone are the days when Doordashan gave us our staple diet of entertainment (yes diet…nothing more, maybe a little less). We didn’t have much choice and were quite happy with it. But today we need the big parties, the bigger mobiles and better connectivity. It’s the time for 3G technology and Ipv6. It’s the information society we are in that will soon make way for the Knowledge society. We have all the information we want in our fingertips and today’s economists are also giving due importance to the local knowledge of indigenous people.

This decade has truly been significant for India. We have progressed in many ways, especially economically. When the world was hit with the recession, India could claim to have been hit the least as our banks have been nationalized years ago. Our cities are growing; our technocrats are finding recognition all over the world. India is the hub for outsourcing companies giving employment to thousands of youth. Indian sports, other than cricket too has made a mark in the world, Indian fashion has gone places so have Indian movies. We gave the world the musical maestro A R Rahman. Truly, this decade has been spectacular.

Ok...this is the good side of our country, the side we should be proud of, the side we need to project to the world. But what about the 70% of the population who also live in this same country? Our media, primarily the English media reported heavily on what WE have been doing this Christmas and New Year. But just one question, don’t those people living in the villages or the small towns also constitute WE THE PEOPLE. Can’t we know how these people celebrated the New Year and how New Year can also be celebrated without the glitz and the glamour? These stories may not be the right ingredients for fetching the high raking advertisements but surely there is more to reporting than advertisements? I know there isn’t any answer to them. Afterall its public demand. Am I part of the same public.