The Ant and the Grasshopper

Got this mail from one of my friends. Couldn’t help but post it here. Just a continuation of few of my earlier blogs like ‘I am an upper caste, Hindu, Brahmin North Indian‘. Its a very interesting read – an old story with a new angle to it.

 

 Original
=======

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.

Come winter ,the Ant is warm and well fed.

The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

Indian Version
==========

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The Grasshopper thinks the Ant’s a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering
Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food..

The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant’s house .

Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter .

Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticizes the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.

The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the
Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance).

Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for ‘Bharat Bandh’ in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.

CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.

Arjun Singh makes ‘Special Reservation ‘ for Grasshoppers in
Educational Institutions & in Government Services.

Many years later…

The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley ..

100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation
somewhere in India …And….

As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the
Grasshoppers, India is still a developing country !!!

 

Choices we make

“The road not taken” by Robert Frost is one of my favorite poems. Its about the choices that we make and their impact on our lives.  Kahlil Gibran once said, “By making choices, we choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience it”.

We all, at one point or other, have made few very tough ‘life changing’ choices. But what exactly is a ‘tough’ choice? I always believed that I’ve made few very tough choices in life – till I met ‘Subbu’ yesterday.

Subbu is a taxi driver I met yesterday on my way to Bandra for a meeting. I was late for the meeting so I asked the taxi driver to hurry-up. In the process, Subbu, the taxi driver (he told me his name later), broke a signal only to be caught by a cop. Though I had not asked him to jump the signal, I decided to pay the Rs. 100 fine which was imposed on Subbu.

After thanking me and expressing his views on the cops (and the biased treatment he gets from them for not being a ‘marathi manoos‘), he asked me about my work. And when I told him I work in a Bank, he shared his experiences with me – how he really wanted an ‘ATM card’ because it makes him feel good, and a loan which he really needed and how he got neither. I, on my part, tried explaining the basic procedure and why he wouldn’t get a loan.

He just smiled at me and said, “Its ok Saab! I don’t need the loan anymore. And it was not going to solve my problems anyways – loan would ve been a temporary relief. And no amount of money would have helped me anyways.”

I didn’t want to react to it as I was trying to think about my meeting at Bandra. But when I saw him looking at me from the rear-view mirror, I gave him a sympathetic smile.

He paused for a moment, looked at me again and said, ” I’ve two children Saab – the elder one is 7 years old and is studying in Std. 1. The younger one started going to school last week. Both of them are in English medium school.” I could feel the sense of accomplishment in his last sentence when he mentioned ‘English medium’.

In order to keep it short, I smiled and said, “oh, so you wanted the loan for their education?”

“No Saab. That I can manage for now – thanks to my taxi. Few extra hours of work and I can pay for their fees”, he replied. “I wanted the loan for my younger sister who is 18 years old.”

“College fees?” I asked.

He was trying to overtake a municipality bus which had decided to stop in the middle of the road to offload few passengers. He just about managed before the bus could start again. Without looking at me, he said, ” No Saab, not for her college fees. There is no point sending her to college anymore. She has cancer.”

I wasn’t very sure how to react. I had come across such people who would come out with these stories in order to gain sympathy and some money. So I didn’t say anything.

“Few months ago, she had some problems. So we took her to a doctor.” Subbu continued, ” He sent us to a bigger hospital where she underwent some operation. The doctors told us that she will be ok soon. I spent all my savings within a week. It had taken me more then 10 years to save so much.”

I could see a smile on his face, as if he was laughing on himself and his fate. He seemed to be in his own world – not even bothered if I was paying attention to him or not (I was hoping he was paying attention on the road ahead – but he seemed to be doing well there, driving like an expert).

He paused for a moment while taking a left turn and then resumed his story, “We got her home after few days. But the treatment had done no good to her it seems. She was in so much of pain that we had to take her back to the doctors within a week. The doctors suggested another operation. But this time they didn’t promise anything. Instead, we were told that operation was her only hope to live a little longer.”

He shouted on an auto driver who overtook him from left. Both of us didn’t say a word for almost a minute. Then he started again, “No bank was ready to give me any loan. So I went back to my home town in Andhra Pradesh and managed to get some money from different sources. The operation was done only when I submitted the whole amount. The doctors told me that it was successful and I could take her home after a week. But as soon as we got her home, she started facing issues again. Apart from the operations cost, I was spending a lot of money on her daily medicines. But we knew that the medicines were only for temporary relief.”

By that time, it had started raining outside. So both of us rolled over the windows of the car. The silence inside the car did no good to the already tensed situation inside it. By now, I somehow knew that Subbu wasn’t just cooking stories to get some money from me. I looked at him through the rear-view mirror and our eyes met for a second. Those eyes were definitely not lying.

“Well Saab, I had other responsibilities too. My elder daughter was already studying and even the younger one was old enough to go to a school. All of us knew this cannot go on like this.” Subbu said, as a matter of fact. “I had to decide between another operation, knowing it wasn’t going to help, or the future of my children. I didn’t want to fight a losing battle at the cost of my children’s future. I had to make a choice between few days of my sister’s life and my children’s whole life. I decided to go with my children’s future.”

He was aware of the fact that I was looking at him through the rear-view mirror and suddenly I could feel that he was not very comfortable (maybe because of guilt). I looked outside the window. It was still raining and few of the street children were playing in the rains.

“Now both my children go to English medium school.” Subbu added, “My sister is still in pain but she knows the fact that spending money on operations would not have helped anyways. She is proud of the fact that my children can go to school because of this decision and she has stopped taking all the medicines herself except the pain killers. We all know her fate and we have accepted it.”

I was speechless and was trying very hard to look outside the window. We were at the signal just before my destination, waiting for the signal to turn green. Subbu turned around, looked at me, and said, ” I know what you must be thinking Saab. It was not an easy decision for me. But I knew I had to make a choice. And to be honest, things are much better now. There is no uncertainty now. I know the future of my children as well as my sister and we all have accepted it.”

I just nodded – didn’t know what to say. He smiled at me and got back to his work – driving – which would ensure good education to his children. We were about to reach when I managed to speak, ” I know few NGOs which might help your sister Subbu. We can try and get in touch with them.”

“Thanks a lot Saab, but guess its too late now,” He said, “She has reached a stage where she knows more about her chances then the doctors. And everytime I leave home in the morning, she hugs me and wishes me luck, with a smile on her face, as if she knows that I might not see her when I come back in the evening.”

With these words, he stopped the taxi in front of the building where I had to go for the meeting. For some weird reason, I couldn’t see him in his eyes. For some weird reason, I felt so small in front of him. All my problems in life felt so small. I didn’t even think about giving him some extra money. I didn’t want to insult myself by offering few hundred rupees to him.

I just looked at him for the last time. He smiled at me and said, ” Saab, sabke life mein ek aisa mauka aata hai jab usse dil per patthar rakh ker koi kadam uthana parta hai – aur uski life change ho jaati hai (Sir, once in a lifetime, everyone faces a situation where he has to make a very tough choice – and the choice he makes, changes his life forever)”

And as I entered the building, I was no more thinking about the meeting I was about to have. I was dreading the time when I’ll face a situation like Subbu, and will have to take a decision or make a choice – which will change my life forever.

 

Lets clean our own house first

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, racism is a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups.

The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines racism as a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular racial group, and that it is also the prejudice based on such a belief.

Google trends tells me that ‘racism’ is one of the most ‘googled’ words in the recent times – thanks to the recent racists attacks on Indian students in Australia. All the news channels have suddenly got another ‘breaking news’ soon after the elections got over. Arnab Goswami, with his new found confidence of being the Number-1 English News channel, has been discussing these attacks with different guests on “Newshour debate”. Other channels are also following the story regularly and the whole racism saga has managed enough media attention in the last couple of days.

It seems that the whole country has come together to condemn these attacks on our citizens. Angry reactions are coming from all parts of the country, including the normal citizens as well as the politicians. Newly appointed External Affairs Minister, Mr. S. M. Krishna wasted no time in talking to his Australian counterpart and even PM Mr. Manmohan Singh condemn the racists attacks on the Indians in Australia.

Everyone seems to be accusing the Australians of being racists. They are racists because few of them hate the Indians (for whatever reasons) and want them out of their country.

Now compare the situation to that in our own country. I could take many examples but I’ll take the most recent one. Australians are racists because they don’t like Indians and want them out of their country. There are few in Mumbai who don’t want ‘North Indians’ in Mumbai and want them out of here.

Australians are racists because few of them attacked Indians. What about those who have been using violence against the North Indians in Mumbai?

Australians are racists because few of them make ‘racist comments’ on Indians. What about those who make ‘hate speeches’ against the North Indians in India?

We Indians, with our new found confidence, thanks to our growing economic power, have this habit of condemning everything that happens against us in other countries. We leave no stone unturned to make sure that no injustice is done to any Indian abroad. All of us are accusing the whole of Australia of being a racist nation. But what about our own country? Are we not a racist nation?

According to United Nations, the term “racial discrimination” shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.

Well, going by the UN definition of racial discrimination, we are one of the most racist Nations on Earth. How many times we discriminate our own countrymen based on race, color, descent or ethnic origin? Its everywhere in our country.

The Australians don’t want us there and are trying to throw us out of their country. Aren’t we used to such behavior in our own country? We do face discrimination and we do discriminate, based on caste, religion, regionalism etc.

So, do we have the right to brand a whole country (in this case Australia) as racist when we also practice the same? I think we need to clean our house first before accusing others. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, ‘ There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self’.

 

I might be a self-centered, over-confident psycopath – but I’m happy

This time when I was in Delhi, I got to spend a lot of time with 2 of my very old friends. We have known each other for more then 15 years now. We spent hours talking about all the good and the bad things we have done together and how life has changed for all of us. And both of them agreed that among the three of us, I’m the one who’s changed completely – specially in last 5-6 years. And in their opinion, I haven’t changed for good. They thought I was a much better friend and a human being before.

The other day, while working till late, I met another friend online. She was one of my best buddies during my initial years in Mumbai – one of the best friends I’ve ever had. Now she is settled in US. During the course of our conversation, she told me that at times she feels she doesn’t know me anymore. She was also very sure that I’m no longer the Pratyush she knew.

Last Wednesday, I didn’t feel like going home early. So I called a lady who’s become a very good friend of mine lately. She took me to this very nice place for wine and dinner. After a few glasses of wine, she somehow started on how she’s seen me changing in last 2 year. She thought I was much more charming and fun to be with when we met initially. She thought I was more receptive to other people’s ideas, feelings and opinions when she met me around 2 years ago. She thought I’ve shut myself off from most of the people around me and have become extremely moody.

My cousin, who’s been staying with me for 10 years now, often says that I’m a ’self-centered and over-confident Psychopath’. He thinks lately I’ve become too self-centered, selfish and emotionless and have no feelings for others around me.

My best friend often tells me that I’ve changed a lot. I’m no more the patient, responsible guy who would think of everyone around him, make plans accordingly and make sure that everyone is happy. She thinks I’ve lost the art of listening and analyzing situations keeping myself out of the equation.

I do agree with her, and everyone else. After all, these are the people who have been close to me for years and know me well enough to pass their judgment on me. These are the people who have seen me changing over the years.

And yes, if I think about it, I have changed a lot over the years. I’m no longer the guy who used to be loved by everyone. Yes, I’m more self-centered and selfish now. And yes, I’m far less accommodating and short tempered then what I was even a year ago.

And to be honest, I don’t know how, when and why did I change. And it wasn’t intentional for sure. Maybe, one thing led to another and I decided to be this new Pratyush. Or maybe, I was tired of being this nice guy, I was tired of being a good friend and a good human being all the time. And a part of it may also be attributed to the situations in life – as Victor Frankl once said,‘When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.’

I no longer want to think about others before taking a decision about my life. I no longer want to do things to make others happy. And maybe I don’t want to share my happiness or pain with others around me.

Just to give you an example, I no longer worry about the safety and security of the ladies with me when I go out partying. Instead, I’m among the first ones to gulp few glasses of wine and get high within minutes. I know I’m being selfish every time I do it – but the fact is that I enjoy the parties much more then I ever did. And I might not be the gentleman I once used to be when most of the times my Ladies’ friends drop me home after parties – but I do know that I enjoy every bit of it. In fact, I’ve never been a party animal but now I start making plans for the weekend on Monday itself – definitely not the perfect and nice guy I used to be – but somebody who enjoys himself without thinking much about making this world a better place to live.

Maybe I was always like this or maybe I always wanted to be like this. As it is said,’ What you have become is the price you paid to get what you used to want.’

Yes I’ve changed a lot. And maybe even this phase will get over and I’ll again be the nice guy everyone wanted me to be. But till then, they will have to do with this ’self-centered, selfish and over-confident psychopath’

As George Bernard Shaw once said, ‘ The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.’

Protected: You sang to me

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

You decide!

 

I was still in my dreams when my phone started ringing. I somehow managed to open one eye and checked the time first. It was almost noon. I saw the number which looked familiar. It was a Delhi number. I chose to ignore it and got back to sleep (I generally get up early but last night, which was a Saturday, a friend took me to Shiro and both of us had an amazing time there. It was almost early morning when she dropped me home.)

 

And the next day being a Sunday, I was in no mood to get up before evening. But the phone started ringing again. And this time, it was from my ex-girlfriend in Delhi. I reluctantly took the call. She had call to confirm my air tickets for Delhi (advantages of dating an air-hostess – you get free air tickets). I thanked her and promised to call later. And just when I was about to get back to sleep, the phone started ringing again (I honestly feel there should be a law banning people from making calls on Sunday mornings).

 

This time, it was a friend from Delhi. I ignored her calls for some time but when she kept trying, I took her call. She announced that she was in Mumbai and I should meet her at Grand Maratha for lunch. I tried every possible excuse but she was in no mood to give up. Apparently she wanted to discuss something very important with me and it could happen only over lunch and only at The Grand Maratha.

 

She is a good friend of mine and we have had some great time together in Mumbai and Delhi. And though I was in no mood, I had to drag myself out of the bed and get ready for the lunch.

 

And when I reached the place, I saw her sitting with a group of around 10 people. She introduced me to all of them. I knew a couple of them but the rest were strangers. And as soon as I settled down next to her, she asked me to come closer and then whispered, “I’m dating the guy sitting next to you. I really want to settle down now but am slightly confused if he is the right guy. And since you were around, I thought I’ll take your views.”

 

It took me a minute to figure out the whole thing. Apparently, the two have been dating for few months now and my friend wasn’t sure if the guy was “shadi material”. And though I should be the last one talking about or advising anyone on ’settling down’, my friends do trust my ability to judge people.

 

And even I trust myself when it comes to judging people. But this was a completely different issue. How could I judge somebody after spending few hours – and that too when it was such an important decision. I’ve dated women for years and was never sure if i could finally settle down with them.

 

Judging somebody based on few meetings is different from evaluating the person as a prospective life partner. And I honestly feel there is no definite answer to it – because there is nothing called a perfect partner.

 

So, nobody can actually advice you on this. You are the one who’s spent time with the person and hence you are the best judge. People can hook you up with somebody, but ’settling down’ with somebody is a big decision which nobody can take for you. At the end of the day, you are the one who has to spend your whole life with the person.

 

I’ve been in few serious relationships and personally I feel there is nothing called a perfect or a good match. Some of us go to the extreme in deciding whether someone is right or wrong for us. Some of us are on a quest to find that ‘perfect’ partner, our soulmate, who shares our every interest and belief. This is a completely unrealistic expectation.

 

Promising each other to spend the life together is the most difficult decision one can make. And yes, there is a good possibility that it might turn out to be a wrong decision. At the most, you can minimize the risk by thinking rationally (and not only emotionally – love alone cannot get you through).

 

There are so many things which go into a relationship besides love and sexual attraction. It requires compatibility, which does not necessarily mean sameness. As a couple, you have to share some similar likes and dislikes, and you have to enjoy doing many things together. But at the same time each of us has to maintain our individuality. It is what attracted us to each other in the first place. Our individuality does not mean that we have a completely separate life away from our partner. When two people have totally separate, independent lives, there is no relationship there – its just an arrangement.

 

To cut the long story short, its one of the most complicated decisions one has to make. But I honestly feel its better to chose the right partner and not the perfect partner. And there is no way anyone else can decide that for you – suggestions are always good but at the end of the day, you will have to trust your instincts.

 

And that day, after meeting that guy for some time, I honestly felt he was a nice man. But was he good for my friend – I have absolutely no clue. And thats precisely why I didn’t utter a word. In fact I left early knowing that the only thing that can help her decide was spending more time alone with him. Though my friend wasn’t too happy about the fact that I had no opinion – she told me I let her down. But I know that I had nothing to say – because its her life and she has to take the risk.

 

Guru and his proteges

 “A teacher’s purpose is not to create proteges in his own image, but to develop protéges who can create their own image.” – Kahlil Gibran

The other day, I was watching the “NewsHour Debate” on Times Now, where Arnab Goswami was discussing the situation in Pakistan with diplomats and journalists from both the countries. I try not to miss the NewsHour Debate, specially when its about Pakistan, which I guess is Arnab’s favorite topic.

During the commercial break, I noticed Dr. Pranab Roy discussing his favorite topic – elections, on NDTV. And if it wasn’t enough, we had Rajdeep Sardesai on CNN-IBN discussing his favorite topic Gujarat.

For almost an hour, I kept flipping channels trying to catch maximum of all the three programs. Three of the biggest names in the News genre, all debating their respective favorite topics, and at the same time – it couldn’t get better then this.

Pranab Roy, needless to say, is the Grand Old Man of Indian News channels. Almost everyone in my generation has grown up seeing him first on Doordarshan (that was very long ago though), Star News, and then finally, NDTV. I must admit that I’ve always been an admirer of his passion and values.

Both Rajdeep Sardesai and Arnab Goswami were loyal foot soldiers of Pranab Roy just few years ago, when they quit NDTV and joined rival organisations. Once upon a time, Rajdeep was the hottest journalists and anchors at NDTV in terms of public perception along with Barkha Dutt. And Arnab, despite his excitable tenor, was a rising star.

Hence, it was great to see all three battling it out on their respective channels. For years, I had believed that Pronab Roy was way above anyone else in that space (and I had reasons to believe that – both emotional and rational), followed by Rajdeep (he was always the second – in – command to Dr. Roy), and then Arnab (to be honest, it was only after his move to Times Now that I started counting him in the same league).

 

 

But that day, watching all three in action, confirmed what I knew, but didn’t want to believe. Pranab Roy looked suave no doubt, but he also looked like an ageing war horse. The natural flow, which came naturally to him, was missing. At times, he looked confused and indecisive during the debate (very unlike him).

 

 

Both Rajeev and Arnab, on the other hand, were amazingly impressive. They seemed very much the new faces of Indian News channels – fiery and aggressive but witty at the same time. They always looked to be in control – people who believe in journalism with valid arguments rather than creating noises and scandals, which makes them the current faces of emphatic and matured Indian journalism.

 

 

But I must admit, somewhere inside, I prefer watching Arnab over Rajdeep (maybe because he was always the underdog). Though, both of them have come a long way from their NDTV days where they used to be Dr. Roy’s proteges. I’ve absolutely no doubts in my mind that they have finally overshadowed their mentor. As Thomas Carruthers once said, “ A good mentor is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.”

 

 

At the same time, according to an old Irish saying, “ A Mentor affects eternity. He can never tell when his influence stops.” And nobody will agree to it more then the two proteges. Both Arnab and Rajdeep openly acknowledge the role played by Dr. Roy in their professional lives and careers, as they perform their now immensely successful role as de facto leaders.

 

 

Pronab Roy, for so many years, has been the face of Indian News genre. But I guess the time has come for him to hand over the baton to his proteges. And even he will agree that both Arnab and rajdeep have come a long way. And I’m sure somewhere inside he knows it too and is very proud of his proteges.

 

 

Same old faces

 

“There are more then 100 snaps. But they all look familiar because of the same old faces. In fact I thought I have seen them before. We have so many snaps with the same people over the period of 5-6 years that they all look the same now”, said Shipra.

She was talking about the get-together at Sampu’s place last night. We had organized a house party at his place and all the old friends from our B-School were invited. And most of them turned up. Needless to say that it was a grand affair.

we all live in the same city but hardly meet (except for few individuals). We all have our own lives now and new people around us. Over the years, I’ve made many new friends and few of them are a part of my inner circle now. I go out, make plans and party with different people at different times. And as mentioned, few of these new friends have become an integral part of my life. Clint Eastwood once said, “ We need old friends to help us grow old and new friends to help us keep young”. With me, its exactly the opposite. I start feeling like a college kid the moment I meet these guys from my B-School.

People came and went. Few of them became my good friends and I lost few somewhere down the line. Things changed in my life – professional and personal. So many new friends, new women, new colleagues – some are still there, some went their own ways. But these people, whom I met years ago in my college, have always been there.

And I love the fact that I have so many snaps with the same set of people over a period of 6 years. It shows that even after so many years, after getting out of college, we still love being with each other. And its good to see everyone behaving like a kid whenever we meet.

And when Shipra mentioned this the next day, I realized that she is absolutely right. I’ve hundreds of snaps with Chopi, Sampu, Ships, Ruchira, Vinit, Sachin, Suhail and few others. The first ones were clicked way back in 2003. And over the last 6 years, we have had so many occasions to get together and click snaps – birthdays, marriages, break-ups, promotions, increments, house parties, daaru parties etc.

And I have almost all the snaps with me and I love seeing them at times. Because it makes me feel good –

Favorite people, favorite places

Favorite memories of the past

These are the joys of a lifetime

Things and memories that last.

Someday..I’ll have good options!

Few months ago, when I was keenly following the U.S. Presidential elections, I never missed a single Obama / McCain debate. For somebody like me who’s grown up watching our leaders swearing at each other and even fighting during the Parliament session, it was nothing less then a pleasant surprise to see the debate between the two hopefuls.

Both of them behaved like gentlemen, spoke politely without raising their voices, gave each other chance to answer the queries, and talked as if they knew what they were saying.

Now compare that to our politicians – most of them cannot talk properly, have absolutely no idea whats happening in the world ( I won’t be surprised if they have no idea whats happening in their constituencies), are ready for a fistfight if given a chance, and use provocative speeches to their advantage.

I always thought that the first thing we needed to do was to choose an educated politician (this obviously is not going to change much, but should be the first step towards choosing the right leadership).

Off late, few of our well educated, well spoken young politicians have risen to prominence in India’s political landscape. I personally see it as a catalyst of change (and I’m not giving a thumbs-up to all the young politicians – they have a long way to go and need to learn a lot). These are young, fresh minds who talk sense, have macro level understanding of the political, social and economical landscape.

Politicians like Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Omar Abdullah, Milind Deora might be naive when it comes to true understanding of politics, but they do bring the much needed enthusiasm, energy and fresh ideas to the table.

Rahul Gandhi’s matured handling of provocative comments made by BJP president Rajnath Singh, or the emotional and heart-touching speech by Omar Abdullah in the Parliament during the trust vote recently (when the so called matured and experienced politicians were busy shouting at each other), reinforced my belief that we need a change in our political outlook.

I have nothing against the old generation of politicians. Many of them are well educated also. But lets face it - we do have a sizable number of uneducated politicians and leaders who have either used their caste, religion, connections, or muscle power to fulfill their political and personal agendas.

An overwhelming majority of our population is below 35 years old. But our political set-up is largely a gerontocracy. In such a set-up, a widening generation rift between the citizens and the politicians is inevitable.

I’m not trying to say that this is the only way out. Neither do I intend to ridicule the old generation of politicians. I’m also not giving a thumbs-up to all the younger politicians. I’m sure a majority of these politicians are not even worth it. We will have to be very careful with this, but few of these guys do deserve a chance.

And when I say we need to be careful, the point I’m trying to make is that age and education shouldn’t be the biggest factor. These should be a few of the many traits that we should look at.

A very good example of a young, well educated politician trying to gain some advantage using the age old method of divide and rule, is none other then Varun, who has the most famous surname in the South-East Asia’s political history – Gandhi.

I had no doubts that Varun Gandhi has the potential to rise and create a space for himself along with his more famous cousin Rahul Gandhi in the Indian political landscape. I first heard him on TV, addressing a rally in MP few years ago and I instantly liked his enthusiasm and passion. And his main agenda was development and better standard of living for the poor.

He studied law and economics at the London School of Economics and completed his Masters from School of Oriental & African Studies in London. He has written widely on issues of National security and external affairs. He also wrote a book of poems titled “The otherness of self” which became an instant bestseller and one of the bestselling books of the year.

With such a background and thought process, I never expected him to chose such path to fulfill his political ambitions. In fact, I heard an expert on politics in India saying he is, afterall, his father’s son – like father like son.

Sanjay Gandhi, as we all know, had this special affinity for controversies. He courted controversies all the time – the emergency, Jama Masjid slums, the Maruti Udyog, and the Family planning programs, to name a few.

Anyways, the idea is not to ponder over Varun’s remarks. Its just a very good reminder that our quest for well educated, well spoken and sensible politicians with fresh ideas and vision to guide our country to next level, is going to be very very tough. And its going to take time – its a slow process.

But I’m sure that some day, I’ll also get to see well educated, sensible candidates with a vision and passion to serve my country and its people, presenting their cases to me and million others, answering the questions properly and debating peacefully without throwing chairs at each other. And I’ll chose my candidate based on his qualifications, work ethics and vision for the whole country – not because he represents a particular caste, community or region.

Happy – without being high

 

“Okay we will go to Shack if you wish. But you have to come with us,” my friend said. Both of us always knew that we will end up going to Shack but were playing along. He wanted to go to some other place and I didn’t want to go out at all.

We had just met a friend who was so stressed out at work that we had to take her to a Doctor. And to make sure that she forgets about work, we decided to go out partying. I was in no mood to go out but I felt she needed a break.

My friend suggested Hard Rock or Aurus. I was bored of Hard Rock and had been to Aurus last weekend. And I’ve always believed that Shack is one place where you can forget about everything and just be yourself.

So, around 10 of us landed up in Shack to ‘celebrate’ our friend’s ’stressed out’ episode. And for some reason, I wanted to unwind too. Before long, we all were high and happy. I had also called Chopi, a very close friend of mine who had recently shifted back to Mumbai after staying in Delhi for a year.

Before midnight, both of us were high and having a good time when suddenly she whispered in my ears, “turn around without making it too obvious,” I slowly turned around, pretending to dance.

And right behind me, at one corner of the floor, there were two women dancing. The first one was a short, but pretty girl, wearing a black dress. And the other one was easily the most beautiful woman on the floor. She was dressed casually in blue denims and black top. And I soon realized that she already had a lot of interested guys dancing around her, trying to catch her attention. She was definitely well aware of the attention that she was getting but was trying very hard to ignore it.

And just then, for a second, our eyes met. And if the old Yiddish proverb, which says – “The eyes are the mirror of the soul”, is true, then I had no doubts in my mind that her soul was clear and beautiful.

Chopi, in the meantime, needed no second invitation – and she made no secret about the fact that her friend (thats me) was already smitten by those eyes. She started talking to me looking at her, smiling at her, and at times, discreetly (?) pointing out at her (making sure that she knows we were talking about her). She smiled back, nodding at times.

And just when Chopi was contemplating pushing me towards the lady, another round of Tequila shots arrived. And soon after that Chopi got a call and she had to leave. And honestly, as soon as she left, I also got out of my ‘I feel I’m still 16′ mood and tried ignoring the lady (not that she was giving me a lot of attention anyways).

But I did notice a couple of guys approaching her and their reaction suggested they had been turned down politely. And by this time, she was ignoring me completely – dancing away to glory with her friend.

An hour and few more shots later, I completely forgot about those eyes – having a good time with my friends.

And finally, when the party got over, and I was waiting for the Car to come, I saw her again, standing on the other side of the road – waiting for her Car. Our eyes met again, and she smiled first. 

And just when her Car arrived, I decided to walk upto her (with nothing in my mind). She saw me coming towards her, paused for a moment, and for some reason, decided not to get inside the car.

She was still standing next to her car when I walked upto her. She was still smiling. I looked her in her eyes again and said,”You were the most beautiful woman inside.”

She nodded, and said, “I know! Your eyes told me this the moment you saw me,”

Both of us smiled and I said,” Hi, I am Pratyush,”We shook hands and she said, “Hi Pratyush, I am ……,”

We stood there for few seconds – undecided! I opened her Car doors for her. She got inside the Car, rolled down the windows, paused for a moment, and said, “it was nice meeting you Pratyush,”

I said nothing – just smiled back. After slight hesitation, she rolled up her windows, looked at me for the last time, smiling and nodding all this while. I nodded in affirmative. And she pressed the accelerator and drove away.

I stood there for some time – fully aware of the fact that I didn’t ask for her phone number. Both of us knew that I had to ask for her number – but I didn’t. I don’t know why but I always knew I didn’t want her number.

I narrated the story to my ’stressed out’ friend the next day. I told her I believed I could approach the lady only because I was high and happy. Otherwise, I feel too old for these things. She smiled at me and said, “You don’t have to be high and happy to feel young and naughty. You are still very charming when you are happy. Just be happy without being high and you will feel good about such small, little, naughty things,”

And yes, she is right. I felt good about the evening. I felt good and had an amazing time not because I was high. I had a good time because I was happy. And these small little incidents make us happy – even without being high.