Think Before You Vote!

Hey Guys!

Now that the elections are coming, I thought of penning down some of my own thoughts. Let me first clarify that I am not a member of any political party nor it is a campaign for / against any of them. These are just my plain personal thoughts which I felt like sharing with you all. You may or may not agree with me, but at least I will be happy that after reading this you will be aware of certain things.
For the past few years I have been watching the development of my own country very closely. Here are some of the things that our current Government has done for us in past few years:

1. Terrorism:
Record number of blasts accross our country. And that too with *NO* breakthroughs even in a single case. Today we see some breakthroughs in investigations in Malegaon blast, but is it a coincidence that Congress suspects a remote BJP angle in that? Nobody talks about Home Ministers' failures in tackling external as well as internal security (anti-NorthIndian campaign in Maharashtra). Think about it!

2. Quota:
Quota for SC / ST / OBC has increased from 22.5% to 49% and nothing for General category which comprises only 36% of Indian population (yes, 36 percent is THE OFFICIAL figure). When protested peacefully, students are beaten like anything using forces and techniques that are used to control riots! It doesn't end there. Government claims that it has surplus fund to take care of this quota increase, then how do you explain 2% Education cess which is now 3%?
Just another fact on this issue. This quota is supposed to be for less-priviliged class which is defined as any SC/ST/OBC person with annual salary of less than or equal to Rs450,000 (Rs37,500 per month). How much do you earn? To compare it, officially in Delhi a 'poor' is defined as any person who earns less than Rs450 per month. Think about it!

3. Loan Waiver:
A loan waiver of Rs 60,000,0000000 (read as 60k crore) to farmers. Remember this is your own money which you paid as taxes. I am not saying Indian farmers are not facing problems, but who is not facing it in our country? Is this the right way to address those issues? And what have we got in return? Think about it!

4. Nuclear Agreement:
Considered to be very important for our country's future, the entire deal was balancing itself on top of a needle for what reason? So that Congress does not lose its seat in UPA Government. Any other reason for delaying this deal to last minute? It seems a party's importance stands much above that of country's. Think about it!

5. National Posts:
Whom do you want to be your CTO or even CEO? Your current CEO's son or shareholder's niece / nephew? Or any person who is eligible to take that position? Not taking away anything from Rahul Gandhi, tell me one credible thing he has done to become Congress' second most powerful person (apart from the fact that he is from Gandhi family). And now he has been pitched in for Prime Minister's post too. Rememember the advertisment from Tata Tea ... what's your qualification and experience? Is it that for Congress, family comes first when it comes to running the nation? Think about it!

6. Indian President is:
Ms. Pretibha Patil. Probably a good candidate but is she or can she be better than the most popular President of India, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam? How come he never got an opportunity for a second term? Mere coincidence that it was Mr. Vajpayee's choice?
Similarly how come Kiran Bedi never became the Delhi's Commissioner of Police when every single person knew she is the right choice?

- So much is Congress concerned about themselves that even they appointed Shibu Soren to a good post just to save their Government.
- 50 years they ruled the country and still we haven't moved forward as much we should have.
- Economy opened in 1991-92 but the real development we saw only in 1999 (NDA Government).
- Delhi is on the verge of getting exposed during Commonwealth Games because of our tardy development.

Think about it! Your local Congress MLA might be good for you but your single vote decides who will be governing our our

country. Do vote, but just be aware about certain things that happened in past few years.

PS: Once again, they are just my plain feeling. If you feel what I feel, I would urge you to forward this to your friends.

Gandhi Vs Dhoni

Mahatma Gandhi is one of those most respect persons in my life. No doubt that he was one person who united the entire Indian mass to stand against British through a non-violence protest. He preached non-violence and practiced it too to an extent that even if the enemy hits, he never retaliated. Isse uske svabhaav main parivartan aata tha aur vo apni galti ko samajh kar khud hi sudhaar leta tha (With this it brought a change in his nature and he himself rectified his mistakes). Quite true and that's what we all witnessed in Gandhigiri too. But where's the catch?

Let me compare Mr. Gandhi to our Indian Cricket team. If anybody who could be compared to our Father of the Nation, it has to be undoubtedly Rahul Dravid. He is a personified form of 'Cricket is a gentleman's game'. He never indulge into sledging with anybody to an extent that he never retaliates even when he is at the receiving end. And so had been the case with other former / current Indian cricketers too viz. Azhar, Kumble, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar etc. And they all had been at the receiving end at one time or the other be it from Mc. Grath, Allan Donald, Akram, Imraan Khan or ICC. The result? We protested silently (Gandhigiri) and then eventually we cried only to learn that it is falling in deaf ears. In the end, justice was not done.

Then came other set of players like MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Virendra Sehwag, Harbhajan and all who changed the face of the Indian cricket. They, like their senior pros, remained nice and fair on field but gave it back if someone tries to be smart. From there started the dominance of Indian cricket in world and no longer the Indian players were feared of Pakistanis or sledging from Aussies and English fellows. The young team under Dhoni is a fearless bunch who are nice untill you are nice to them.

So the catch is time. Times have changed and so has the definition of Gandhigiri. It no longer has the clause of not hitting back but it still preaches to be nice and fair. But are we learning anything out of it? By looking at the current Indian government by Congress, I don't think so. Probably that's why we are going back to those early 1990's after a great economic boom under BJP / NDA in late 90's and early 00's.

Firstly I don't think I can compare Congress to Gandhigiri except for the fact that they belong to a Gandhi family. Underneath lies huge politics ... be it Sonia Gandhi stepping aside from PM's post, caste based reservation system, their so called aam-aadmi (common man) centric policies which are mainly for vote bank, security issues in the country and finally the much talked about Nuclear Deal.

Before the country went for an election everybody knew Sonia Gandhi is the PM candidate for Congress. They won the election and when the time came to take right and bold steps, she crumbled to the opposition pressure. What she did not realize is that the country would have backed her and that's what probably mattered. Or probably what she did realize is that it's the best way to project Rahul Gandhi. Whatever, that was I guess the first blow the party faced and first signal that this government will not stand for the right. This thought was further strengthened by Arjun Singh's caste based reservation system. 50% reservation in all sectors for 64% of population and leaving nothing for 36% General category. I wonder who is in minority here. World's most qualified Prime Minister, a PhD., once again did not stand for what is right. Instead what followed was beating of college students who were putting forward a peaceful protest (Gandhigiri?).

I don't think I even need to talk about our security issues in the country (Congress' Peace call sounds more like Please) which are at all time low and economic problems with inflation level at 11%. I guess we are heading backwards. And the mightiest of all our PM's favorite on N Deal. Once again to save the government he did not do what is supposed to be right. After all doing the right thing for the country is not everything about the government. Which is quite different from their predecessors NDA. Agreed, they were corrupt and they had their own political issues, but I don't India ever shined this before. After economy opened in 1991, the first time India tasted the fruit was during NDA regime. First time India realized its potential was through Pokharan, once again during NDA regime. Indian economy boomed like anything under them and world started recognizing our country's dominance in various fields. Even our neighbors, who often made the best out of the loopholes in our border, stood and watched as they get defeated again and again be it with infiltration or Kargil war.

Well, the choice is in our hands once again. In cricket we have made the choice, Rahul Dravid has made way to Dhoni and we won the World Cup, beaten Aussies right at their backyard. But what about our Government? Time has come to implement the new definition of Gandhigiri. Are we ready? Well, time will come but when, it depends on Left.

My Appointment With God...!

"India main saala koi time ki value nahi karta" (Indians do not value time). Well somebody was right when he got drunk and said this. How often have you heard - "Bas do minute main pahuch raha hu" (Just reaching in two minutes) and not even a trace of that person is seen for the next forty minutes. If you are an Indian I am sure you come across this many times. Westerners, especially Americans, are quite punctual and rightly they are pretty proud about it. Here is one of those instances which I have came accross:

Few months back I was hit by one of those stress related diseases - Migraine. Seriously, it wasn't a great feeling. I think it was inevitable with office work touching new highs, confusions with career options, demands of my second profession and last but not the least, my personal life ready to give me a blow. Anyways, so I decided to take an "appointment" with one of those most heard about doctors in our area. Unfortunately, he was so damn busy that despite of calling him at 7 in the morning I got it only for 2 in the afternoon. I had no option but to take an off from my office so that I make it on time. And as usual I reached there 15 minutes before. The scene wasn't quite pleasing. There were around fifty patients already waiting in a queue. But I was smiling because I was smart to take a prior "appointment". So I decided to stand away from the queue.
When my watch was about to show that 60degree angle, I started walking inside to the person sitting at the reception. People started staring at me as if I am one of those dadas who is showing his dadagiri. Foolish people did not realize that I have a prior "appointment". But only to realize that I made a fool out of myself when the reception guy asked me to stand at the end of the queue. Huh???? What the hell? I argued what's the point in taking an "appointment" 7 hours in advance if I have to stand in a queue? I was quite pissed off but may be because of my so called logical talk (or argument) that guy allowed me to visit the doc half n hour after my "appointment".

Now after hearing this you got to agree with me that hum saala Indians time ki value nahi karta (we Indians do not value time). My point was strengthened .... till I happen to hit a new incident in my life:

I got this unique opportunity to visit US of A and I am supposed to clear this visa thing before my tickets are booked...OK! So I applied and like most Americans do, they gave me an appointment at 11.15AM. Now that's cool ... I had heard that these interviews do not last for more than 15 minutes which would mean I can join office afterwards. Incredible! Now because punctual Americans are very punctual, I reached half n hour prior to my scheduled time. And guess what, my interview was over in 90seconds and I was free!!! Isn't that amazing? Yes it is....
But hang on ... I don't think I told you what happened before those 90seconds. Ahum ahum ...An hour's queue outside the embassy, 20 minutes waiting for fingerprints and just 3 hours waiting for the final one. And I was through for those 90seconds after my four n a half hour waiting for my scheduled appointment at 11.15AM which I finally got at 4.30PM... Amazing! In fact I told the person next to me that I never waited this long in my life for anything, not even to pay the electricity bill at that single counter of DESU in those 1990s. What the f***!!!

And then I had to change my view. Not that Indians are better off but I think there is a waiting at every point. Be it for promotion in your office or for that perfect partner in your life or for that leaking for which you stand behind men for urinals in washroom. Yaha tho saala marne ke liye bhi queue main khada hona padta hai (people have to stand in a queue even to die). I guess my time has come for that. My appointment with God has been fixed .... just that I am standing in a queue right now.

Hatredness Towards Cricket

I remember not even a single soul was present in my office at 5P.M on that fateful day. And I am sure so was the case with other organizations and colleges. A billion people in India were glued in front of their TV sets, biting their nails, when Vishwanathan Anand (VA) was playing his last round (finals) in World Chess Championship. And to the joy of these billion people, without disappointing them, he emerged as THE undisputed champion. Fire crackers, rockets went up in the air and it was difficult to differentiate that day with Diwali. And the joy did not end there ... what was remaining is his reception back in India. He was standing at the top of this double-decker bus in Mumbai and more than a lakh people got together on streets enchanting his names in the entire journey from Airport to Wankhede Stadium. Simply WOW ....!

'What's wrong with Subodh today?' - I am sure this is what many readers would be thinking by now. Because such a thing never happened. In fact more than half of the Indian population don't even know that VA had won World Chess Championship in 2007. And thanks to our emerging powerful media with their 'Breaking News' strategy that rest of them are atleast aware about this feat. And as far as the reception is concerned, he did get one where VA was riding over a white horse with around 50 sorrounding people greeting him. Now somebody please tell me what's the opposite of WOW???

So here is our Chess Champion and there is our Team India (referred to Indian Cricket Team) who also won the T20 Cricket World Cup in 2007. And what happened with that T20 win is already described in the start ... yes, it actually happened for our T20 World Cup finals between India and Pakistan. So even after a win which moved almost the entire population of this country, I wonder what made our Vishwanathan Anand the 'NDTV Sportsman of the year'? And the same was given to him by CNN-IBN too!!! Was it the sympathy that the entire arrangement of his reception was done by one of his sponsors which was actually demanded (indirectly) by him at the first place? Or was it the sympathy which got him the award that other sportsmen in India don't get the same publicity as cricketers get? Or was it the hatredness towards cricket by these few men just because others simply love it?

As the deciders said, it was not that M S Dhoni wasn't good enough but Vishwanathan Anand bagged the award because of his consistency which made Dhoni lose it 'marginally'. Well, I wonder how many people remember (or has even seen it) VA lifting Championship trophy but every single soul in India still remembers (and will remember for generations to come) a small fact that Dhoni took off his TShirt for a young fan. So what's the real criteria for an award? Is it that what these few people want from their personal goals or their so called statistics? Or is it the will of the Indian population?

Probably the people who don't like cricket were at the right place at right time. Probably they were thinking of carving out a hero from nowhere. Never mind ... A hero is not made from these awards. Real heroes are there in everybody's heart and at the heart of India.

Without undermining your efforts Vishy, I don't think it has really helped you. We know who should have got this award. All that you have gained is a blog post by one of your fans.

Adios and all the best for your next tournament (don't remember exactly which one you are playing)!!!

Here I Am ....

Even though my first blog comes so late compared to others in this world, I remember creating my account here some time back when blogspot was newly launched. But then I found it little confusing (not that I am finding it any simpler this time) but more importantly I was a different person all together. This time, for some reasons I feel like writing .... I feel like expressing. But then don't know exactly what. There is this feeling to express on every topic, every issue and every everything .... Phew!!! Now that I have decided to express, I hope through this expression I discover the reason behind this urge to express. And who knows, in the process I might just discover something more and something bigger!

So the virtual world, here I am ... I pick you for my expressions. Hope we have a great journey together.

Au Revoir!