Pakistan: Life After Osama

It’s over a week now since Osama Bin Laden, world’s most dreaded terrorist, was killed at Abbottabad, Pakistan. It is still hard to believe and I for one waited for the news that the killed man was not Osama. No, I’m certainly not an Osamaphile but it is very difficult to believe that a man, such as him, will be killed in a gunfight that lasted only 40 minutes and that also in his own den.

But the amount of mourning going on in the Muslim world and especially in Pakistan does confirm his death. Also the constant bickering of Pakistani government, ISI and the Pakistani Military over the issue does favour the death of Mr. Bin Laden.

About two years ago I had written a piece on this very platform about how Pakistan was ailing with a disease called Islamic terrorism or Jehad and will sooner or later need amputation.(Pakistan: A grievous unsolvable jigsaw) Well it seems their most trusted aides, USA, have at least started to hover the knife over their head if not start the actual operation.

It would be foolish on anybody’s part to accept that the Pakistani upper echelon had no idea whatsoever of the ‘safe house’ just under their nose in a town where the military academy is just 500 metres away. Because if that be the case it would be wise for all the powers-to-be to step down immediately. But we all how that country is. It is a two-mouthed snake which feeds from both group of FIIs, Foreigners and Fidayeens, alike. It makes no sense when one day they say that they have been able to curb terrorism on their land and on the other day the chief perpetrator and instigator is found killed in the hospitality lounge of Abbottabad.

A joke that is doing the rounds is that whether or not Pakistan celebrates the death of Osama. Because since they have been party to the ‘War on Terror’, they should be happy but on the other hand they can’t as you don’t celebrate on the death of your guest and esteemed friend. This dilemma is killing them and hence they are coming out with all kind of bullshit theories and explanations. They are threatening India and even to some extent US.

It is now proven beyond doubt that the entire Pakistani machinery and not only the infamous ISI are not a party to the ‘War on Terror’ but are actually on the other team. They are the 12th player for that team or maybe are even in the playing 11. And this is known to US, their chief feeders. And that explains why they didn’t bother to inform their ‘friends’! From the 1950’s, US has fed them and used them as an outpost to counterbalance the rise of India, Iran and the erstwhile USSR. What they never imagined that they were creating a Frankenstein!

Pakistan nurtured well under US supervision and now has turned to new fathers, China, for further nourishment. It’s a failed state which has siphoned gazillion dollars into its system just to save it from India, which has not attacked them in any of the past 64 years. Instead of using the dollars for making a prosperous state, what they have done is created a country which no further needs any help to go downhill. It’s a country of poor and undereducated which suits in the best interest of the Jehadis. It’s in totality a fucked up nation. I’d thought that India may get a chance to play an important role in bringing Pakistan back from chaos and disaster. But it seems we will not get that chance. In between the jehadis of all hues, USA, China and their own butt headedness, they are not going to remove their hands off the ‘self-destructing’ button that they have pressed.

The death of Osama gives the nation to review its policies. But it seems they are never going to understand. God help the innocent souls of Pakistan who are neither a party to Obama and nor were party to Osama.

Small Town Rules: The Mahi Way

I’ve thought of writing this piece for long. But the South Africa debacle at Nagpur made me sit on this topic for this long. Now, as we’ve done the unbelievable, I’m free to use the title especially the one after the colon. I can’t still believe that we have won the World Cup ! The cup has been won because of the combined efforts of the whole team but the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni aka Mahi aka “Wizard of Ranchi” stands in a league of its own. His attitude, success and the approach are the actual inspiration behind this article.

In this country, prosperity and the paths to achieve it are mostly concentrated in few densely populated urban regions we better know as cities. There has been a mass exodus from the villages and small towns to the megacities in search of better education and employment. But I’m not concerned about this wide scale emigration. I’m concerned about the mentality which has been dubbed as, “Small town mentality”.

More than often it has been seen that when a person from a small town reaches a city he becomes susceptible of his own abilities. He is afraid to express himself. Maybe due to living in un-opportunistic locales have made them what they are. The lack of ambitions and the efforts to fulfill one, if any, brings self-inferiority and is the chief difference between a city dweller and a small town guy.

In the recent India-SA match at Nagpur, many were mesmerized by the new VCA stadium at Jamtha (It was the only non-capital city to host a match). Many asked Shashank Manohar, BCCI chief, that even though Nagpur has such a world class stadium why it has failed to produce a player of national repute. Mr. Manohar replied that it has to do with the attitude of the people of the region. They are content with whatever they get. This lack of aspiration is not just true for Nagpur but for all the small towns and villages dotted across the country. When you don’t aspire, your interest to perspire also reduces. And without perspiration there is no jubilation.

Another aspect of city life is the crowd. And here I don’t mean it only in the literal sense but also in the metamorphic sense as well. This “fight for survival” makes most of the city dwellers robust and their approach to life is one of to gain success at any cost. I’m not of the view that we should resort to unethical ways to achieve success but ethically permissible actions should be taken to achieve whatever we can.

And here is where I come back to Mahi. He has changed the way the country look towards persons from small towns. Now the people are saying that there is lot of talent in the small towns which need to be tapped. It’s not that the talent was not there (Statistically it has to be as 80-85% of the country lives outside the cities) but he is one of the factors to bring it forward. If he has been able to achieve so much it’s not only because of his hard work but also because he is not content and his Dil maange more.

So, let’s take a cue from him & never feel as underdogs. I would like to quote Ghalib here,

मत पूछ की क्या हाल है मेरा तेरे आगे |

तू देख के क्या रंग है तेरा मेरे आगे ||

Small towns give a heart full of love, compassion, benevolence and brotherhood and add to it a tough, resolute aspiring brain and see where we reach !!!

Inner Circle

Two things that I read in the past week made me write this blog.

Firstly, Warren Buffet in a recent interview said that it’s always better to be with people who are superior in attitude as compared to you. It always helps you to become like them i.e. better.

Secondly, I was reading a book, “Hitler and the Nazi leaders” by John Lattimer. The book is on the psychological analysis of the Nazis tried in the Nuremberg trial of 1945. What I perceived from the book is that no doubt Hitler was an evil but he was well misguided by his inner circle of Goring, Ribbentrop, Himmler, Bormann and others. They not only supported him in his endeavours of peril but most of the times aggravated the situation by suggesting ideas which were oblivious to even Hitler!

Now let’s take the case of Chandrashekhar Azad. His inner circle was the pillars of strength on whose support he was able to convert his brilliant ideas into successes. So has been the case in many other stories told and untold.

So, what we observe is that the inner circle has a great influence on one’s actions and thinking. So it becomes duly important in one’s part to select his inner circle wisely.

A good inner circle always helps in keeping our actions checked and doesn’t allow us to stray from our destined correct path. They constantly remind us of the consequences of what may happen when we go wrong and if needed bring us to our senses by resorting to rebukes. They encourage us in our successes and help us to achieve greater heights in our life. The immense contribution and support they bring in is immeasurable and can’t be paid back.

A wrong inner circle of friends will not only discourage in harder times but will certainly lead us to doom when we take even a small step in the wrong direction. Most often they will expedite it instead of braking!

It is the human nature to be praised and chaperoned. No one likes his actions and thinking to be questioned leave alone be challenged. Because of this inherent nature, we tend to populate our inner circle with persons who never say no to anything we do. Others who are well-wishers but speak with their tongue-in-cheek attitude phase out of our lives. Alas, it’s so true for almost everyone we know!

It must be kept in mind that we don’t have any control in selecting our blood relations but we certainly have the utmost control on whom we can consider to be our near ones, the persons of the inner circle who always support in distress and encourage in success.

So, let’s exercise our right wisely and become “better” as Buffet suggested.

The Corrupted Life

2G, CWG, ISRO, Radia,…., scam, scam, scam everywhere. The situation is such that whenever you open a day’s newspaper it’s either an Arab uprising in some Tahrir square or a new Indian scam bigger and exorbitant than the last one. Even the PM has accepted that scams do exist at the higher levels and Indian politics is getting murkier with every passing day because of coalition (a)dharma. And the biggest loser is the exchequer who is losing without even knowing about the beneficiaries and the benefits. So, a common man has all the rights in the world to abuse the hideous beneficiaries. But is the common man corruption free ???

So, I thought why not think about the amount of little corruptions, the “चाय पानी ”, the exchequer does in his life. Let’s start from his birth or say little before the birth..

Just before his birth, generally the father has to shelve a few tenners to get good service at the nursing home where the exchequer is to be born. After the birth, another few hundreds and a few tenners have to be provided to facilitate the birth certificate from the local municipality, corporation or the panchayat as the case may be. Whatever be the size of your locale, the money has to flow out of your pockets! Then a few years go without any trouble. As soon as the kid becomes eligible for the kindergarten, the parents have to go through an agonizing interview and whether they clear it or not they have to provide the capitation fee to a tune of few thousands to get the school of their choice. The same procedure is repeated when the kid has to go from kindergarten to primary school. The school life one can say to be the life of least corruption. The 10 years of school life is the time when one’s conscience and morals have a clean slate.

Come class XIIth, the whole country’s youth will rush to the local bodies for certificates of domicile, caste, validity, income and what else. And as we all know, all these will be completed only when provided with the facilitation money. And that is what we do to get them done. If one is not lucky his admission to the college of his choice is again achieved only after paying the required capitation fee. After getting the degree, a lot of ‘setting’ both in terms of money as well as contacts has to be done to land in the job of our choice. Even after getting the job, the bribes continue to get the required promotions. In day to day life, ‘चाय पानी ’ has to be provided for getting trivial jobs like getting a railway ticket to getting your plumbing done. And don’t ask what we have to pay through to get jobs like getting a telephone connection to be done swiftly and easily. Such is the world that the bribe doesn’t leave you even after your death. Your kin has to pay up to get your death certificate swiftly so that you can be cremated peacefully!

This act of getting our job done easily and swiftly, we resort to every day bribery in our life in form of ‘चाय पानी ’, capitation fee, facilitation fee or by any other name. So, when some uncommon among the we commons reach the top posts they can’t resist their natural way of asking and paying and land up with such big scams !!!!!!

One of my colleague rightly says that it’s time to add another monkey to Gandhiji’s existing “Hear No Evil”, “See No Evil” and “Speak No Evil” monkeys. And this monkey would be “Think No Evil”! Hope so that may reduce the evil of bribery if not completely eradicate it.

What's A Good Teacher !

The three best things that I’ve learnt from my teachers over the years about the student-teacher relationships are as chronicled below: 

1)      A teacher is most happy when his ward exceeds him in the successes attained. – Prof. R. K. Pathak, Dept. of Physics, University of Pune. 

2)      The students are the most neglected entity in the academic system. – Prof. C. K. Desai, Bajaj Science Centre, Wardha. 

3)      Teaching is the profession which helps you to stay young as you are surrounded by the youth all your life. – Prof. A. A. Saakle, Dharampeth Science College, Nagpur.

If a teacher can achieve the first and avoid the second, he can enjoy the third to the fullest.

Let us start with the second. It has always been seen that apart from a few academically brilliant students, all others are mostly not given proper attention they require. The teacher is mostly preoccupied with the smart guys and is partial to them in one or more ways possible. But the other not-so-academically-bright students do have other qualities which can be groomed and encouraged. I personally believe that if a person is smart and industrious in developing at least one of his qualities, not necessarily academic, he can do enough justice to other aspects of his life as well. Now it is upto someone to just encourage him. Parents by large are always encouraging but they are so close to us that many a times we don’t consider their opinion to be worthwhile. Here a good observant and helpful teacher can make the difference! I was very fortunate to hear Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam recently. On the behaviour expected from a teacher he said that until and unless a teacher thinks his student to be his brother, sister, son, daughter, grandson or granddaughter, he would never be able to teach well. How correct is he!

Coming to the first, it is very important for a teacher to cherish achievements of his wards in every walk of life. If he is not able to do that, it has to be believed that he is too proud of his knowledge and such pride is sure to bring a fall. A jump of joy, a word of praise or a pat on the back can create wonders. So always be prepared to do that.

The third aspect is quite a wide one. Youth I believe is not a state of our body but a state of our mind. And a mind stays youthful when it is active and ready to accept new ideas. Teaching, like any other profession, spans over quite a few decades of one’s life. In this ever changing world, it is a pre-requisite that we keep on with time or we would be like stagnant water in a pool. Remember stagnant water stinks and nobody likes stink. A good teacher is one who remains a student for all his life. One of my colleagues rightly puts that ‘Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom’. A teacher obviously has the knowledge and with experience he can achieve wisdom which he in turn can impart to his students. And experience doesn’t just come with age, it comes with continuous learning. If one can achieve this wisdom, he will never turn old!

Continuing with Dr. Kalam; he said that when a wise teacher enters a classroom, he is surrounded by an aura around him. It seems as if knowledge is radiating from him. It’s a pity that we see such an aura around only a few teachers. Such a teacher is revered by all and acts as a source of inspiration to his students. He also held the primary school teachers in very high esteem. According to him, the three most important persons in the life of a human being are his parents and the primary school teacher. He also quoted that what a person learns in the first years of his life stays with him for his entire life. He also added that neither God nor the devil could change the kid after that.

I myself believe in this as most of my habits were sown in that age which are ripe and being cultivated now. If you introspect, you will find it true for you as well. I’m lucky to have excellent parents but I’m luckier that I’ve had teachers who have guided and showered love all through my student life. They were always there when I needed them. Along with my parents, they have helped me to become what I am today. Kabir has rightly said that the teacher is no less than God in the following couplet:

गुरु गोबिन्द दोउ खड़े काके लागूँ पाँय |
बलिहारी गुरु आपने गोबिन्द दियो बताय ||

I myself try to imitate my teachers when I teach. I hope I will be successful in imparting at least 10% of whatever I’ve learnt from my teachers to my students.

How I Meet My Accidents !!!

Accidents and I go hand in hand. I can meet accidents whenever and wherever. Luckily, apart from two, none has been near-fatal. Freaky accidents have been the part and parcel of my life. Injuring in and around my limbs is a common place event. I’ll try chronicling few of the incidents which I can remember at this juncture.

1991: SNS Playground, Tumsar:

I was a sprightly young kid of about 6 years. My KG school didn’t have more than two rooms and a playground was out of question. But SNS had a big playground and we used to play during the lunch hours. Sometimes we played football; sometimes we just ran and sometimes just fooled around. One fine afternoon, I decided to jump over the hurdles that had been kept for a senior competition. The first hurdle that I jumped was at a lower height and I easily passed it. Buoyed by my friends, I tried to jump the next hurdle and crashed onto it. I injured my left knee badly and not to say about the scolding I got from Usha aunty first and from my father later!

  1997 / 1998: The Road Outside My Uncle’s House, Ketugram:

Learning how to ride a bicycle has been one of my worst nightmares. It took me almost half a year to learn to ride. I was at my uncle’s home and decided to try my luck with his bicycle as well. The road was uneven and I was a lousy amateur. I just lost control of the cycle after riding a few yards and injured my left knee again!

  2003: Board Chemistry Practical, Holy Home, Serampore:

I’m not a very bright student when it comes to chemistry. In fact Organic chemistry has been one of the biggest unsolvable mysteries of my life. I was even worst at the practicals. In the final board practicals, I poured sulfuric acid more than the required and lo there occurred a fast reaction and all the contents in the test tube flew towards me. Some part of it left a burning sensation in my left eye. Some of it burnt my upper side of my hand but the worst affected was my Hall-Ticket. A hole adorns it on the top corner. I was completely shaky during the rest of the practical examination and was lucky to finish it!

  2003: Bawankar Chowk, Tumsar:

This incident again involves the bicycle. After my Higher Secondary results, I’d come back to Maharashtra for good. Before my admission in the college, I was living with my mother and brother in Tumsar. My brother used to go on his cycle to the bus-stop, leave his cycle there and go to school. One fine rainy morning, I forcefully persuaded him that I would drop him to the bus stop. He relented but I forced him to such an extent that he had to accept. It was more of a work to remove my boredom rather than sibling love. I lost control of my bicycle at Bawankar square and hit a motorcycle side-on. He also lost his balance and fell on the road. My brother fell on the road as well. The motorcycle fell on the rider and I was perched on his fuel tank. I’d lost my senses for a while and got up only when the rider said, “अब  उठ तो जाओ!”. I was lucky not to be beaten by the bystanders.

  2006: The Drain, Dharampeth Science College, Nagpur:

This incident by far injured me the most. My friend (name withheld) had bought a new Nokia 6600 and used to load it with video clips. In our college, there’s a raised paltform near the drain where we used to sit and spend our college hours. One fine afternoon, my friend said that he had brought some new clips and hence I hurried to see them. But the clips were not new at least to me and hence I decided to leave. When I hurriedly tried to leave, I lost my balance and fell half into the drain. The scene was worth watchable. My left leg was in the drain, right one was on the platform. My complete weight was on my left wrist which was by the way on the edge of the drain. I got up and didn’t feel pain at all in the first place. But within few minutes I was writhing with pain. There was no pain reliever available in the college and the chemistry lab offered me the IR lamp for momentary heated relief. Kaustubh dropped me to my room where my house-owner massaged me and tied the crepe bandage. For days I couldn’t tie my watch, sleep with my weight on my left side and even couldn’t wear the belt. It took me almost five minutes to dress up. It is one incident which will remain itched in my memory for long.

  2008: Outside CST, Mumbai:

I had gone with Barrel to CST. Everybody generally crosses the road in front of CST using the subway. Even Barrel wanted to do the same. But yours truly decided to walk through the road, jump the divider and then get to the other side. On any other time of the day, it would have been impossible given the traffic over there. But that night the traffic was thin and was inviting such an action. So, we started crossing the road. Suddenly, we saw a light approaching towards us from the JJ flyover. Barrel stopped on his tracks but I decided to continue. The biker was speeding at break-neck speed and on seeing him approaching me with such a speed, I realized my mistake and started running towards the divider. The biker missed me by a whisker. What remained with me was a pounding heart and choicest of abuses by the rider and Barrel. That day I first saw death!

  2010: On The Highway, Warthi, Bhandara

This incident is the newest and would have resulted in not one but three serious injuries. I’ve bought a new bike and learnt to ride a motor-bike only a few months back. For a month or so I drove only in Nagpur. For my birthday, I had to go home (120 Kms from Nagpur) and I decided to travel in my new bike. I reached home safely and brought it back without any hassles. That gave me the confidence and I took it back a fortnight later. From Nagpur, I took it to college (60 Kms). I delivered 3 lectures in the morning session, had my lunch and took a half day leave. I started for my home and was driving at ease down the highway. The next thing I know was that I was on the other side of the road. My vehicle had rammed onto another vehicle and its owners were shouting at me. I was totally lost about what had happened. They said that I apparently had crossed the road at a very high speed and rammed onto them. I was at my wits end as I could not remember a single thing related to the incident and their shouting was confusing me more. It was apparently clear that it was my fault and I had hit them in state of delirium. I paid for their vehicle’s repair and returned home. Luckily, my vehicle was unhurt apart from a few scratches. I was hurt though on my left ankle and right knee which I realized only after reaching home. I was lucky to survive in such an incident.

These are some of the incidents that I remember. Freaky accidents where I incur minor injuries are a regular routine and need not be chronicled!

The reasons given by different people for these occurrences are different. My mother feels that I’ve a ‘restless mind’. My father thinks that I ‘think way too much’ and that also on different topics while doing an altogether different job. Some of my friends feel that it has to do something 'wrong with my brain’ while some think that it is due to ‘lack of fitness’. Whatever may be the reasons, I hope I stay away from these freaky accidents for a while as of now. Amen.

What's In A Name? It's All In The Surname!

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

This immortal statement was written by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet and thence has been an outright hit all through. From time to time, it has been quoted in various contexts all across the world in a variety of occasions. I’ve also taken the utmost liberty in using the same for this piece.

In the play, Juliet Capulet said this when she wanted to emphasize that she loved Romeo the person and not Romeo Montague the name. Even though Montague was a rich and influential family, she didn’t bother about them. She was just happy to be in love with Romeo, the person, and would have loved him even if he was from any other class or section of the society.

But how wrong she was! The society doesn’t adhere to the rules laid down by the free-spirits. It does believe in the institution of surnames (family name and title are the other synonyms). You can be anything but your surname will decide the consequences of your actions. You can be a dark haired, fair skinned, nicely built handsome man. But your surname will divulge your secret and you will be categorized as a Mexican or an Italian or a Pathan. And the categorization will not stop here. Next stop will be your religion, your faith, your community, your caste, your creed and what else! People will decipher your secrets faster than Sherlock Holmes. He at least observed some traits to make his deduction. They will do it with just the surname! (I myself am not different. I also deduce the same way!)

 I remember a debate in my college where a girl said that until the day she filled her class Xth exam form, she was unaware of the surnames and hence was oblivious to the caste and religion of most of her classmates. She knew them by their names only. But that her world changed. Now she knew who was a Hindu and who was a Muslim, who was a SC and who was an OBC. And all the prejudices that are associated with each and every caste, creed and religion come forthright face to face. The individual recedes into the background and he is judged by the action of the fellow brethren from his community (कौम), caste (जात) or religion (धर्म). It has happened so many times with us when we have labeled a Muslim to be a terrorist, a Marwari to be a miser and a Tamil to be Self-Centered. Just because of a few of them, the whole clan is abused.

And this is just not the story of me, my parents, my relatives and my friends. It is the story of all the organisms on this planet who consider them to be humans and hence superior to everyone around them. It is so ingrained into our system that we cannot free ourselves from this mindset at all. In our country everything from winning an election to getting a BPL card has come down to the surnames. Our politics has descended to caste vote bank politics instead of the idealistic pro-governance and pro-people or even the more practiced populist party level politics. People will ask your surnames first and depending on the likeability of your surname they will proceed to your name. But your acceptability will solely depend on your prestigious surname. It will only decide the further course of actions.

But think of a world without surnames! (No. I’m not asking to leave them. Just don’t bias others and centre yourself on them.) Sahir Ludhianvi wrote:

अच्छा  है अभी तक तेरा कुछ नाम नहीं है |

तुझको  किसी  मज़हब से कोई काम नहीं है |

People will love and hate (I believe hate has to be a part of life) each other on their virtues and vices and not on the basis of their respective communion. There would be more person to person interaction instead of the now practiced group to group interaction. At least one dose would be given to the bias ridden sick society of ours. I don’t believe we will be able to include our elders in this but at least the youth can participate and give a fair society to the next generation. Even if you can’t practice at least please think over it!