We were on the topic of Nehru a few days back. How he is blamed for every wrong that the nation faces today. But his biggest failure goes unnoticed till date. His passing the reins to his daughter. It was one act that turned a massive people’s movement into a family property. It gave India its worst prime minister. That may change three years down the line, but till now she ranks way above others. It also brings his own lineage into question – for…Continue Reading “Nehru’s Biggest Mistake”
During last general elections, I had a lost hope. I wondered if we had become a nation of mostly evil people – violent in speech, thought and intent. However, it seems that more than evil, we are people that’s increasingly hopeless. A new govt held the promise of change,we went with it. Then we cheered judiciary as it passed a few good judgments. We hailed Indian judiciary, a new saviour was on the block. Then the dudes in black suits passed a few callous ones…Continue Reading “Are we heading to a judiciocracy?”
History would have been only a hobby for few if it were not used as a signal for the future. If it were not a powerful tool, no one would have tampered with it, it would have remained factual, probably boring, and would have read like a calendar. It is none of those. How would Kamal Rashid Khan and Rakhi Sawant would be remembered hundred years later? May be, they won’t. May be, with the same mocking indifference that we have toward them today. Why?…Continue Reading “Why we tamper with history?”
Sentiment. We are the only nation that counts that element as a basic need. We are underfed, undernourished, underhoused, undereducated, underemployed and massively underestimated throughout our lives. But it’s the sentiments that matter. From our underperforming minds housed in underfed bodies housed nowhere but in slums that go up in fire in summers, we protest against screening of movies, comments of superstars, publication of books and women entering temples and Dalits getting a few reserved seats and students being righteous, chinkis raiding our cities, Kashmiris…Continue Reading “The solution to our nation’s ills – SEX”
Monday mornings are the most introspective moments in our lives. We generally pull a carpet, wheel in our office chairs on such thoughts and move on. Some idiots have said and a billion more morons have propagated the idea that if you love your work, Monday morning blues just won’t occur. That idiotic son-of-Satan thought has made me switch not only jobs but industries some five times. The Monday mornings are still as horrible, still as philosophically depraved and still as disillusioning about the purpose…Continue Reading “No monday morning blues? You are a freak.”
Spotted this guy at the recent time world music fest in Nehru Park. The kids did not have a clue what the box was, the parents wanted the kids to have a peep. For a moment, I got nostalgic, then I remembered I never cared for the contraption. Even as a child, when everyone kneeled and were filled with glee, it seemed a little idiotic to me. May be, an uncle forced me to participate one time and that’s the only time I looked at…Continue Reading “Nostalgia”
My father is the sort of man that art movies in the eighties were made about. He won’t qualify as a subject, he never went off kilter like the characters had to, but you can see the similarities. Talented man, bogged down by responsibilities of family and siblings, a victim of the corrupt system but insuppressibly aspirational. Each day, he will start with agony and vow to become corrupt and rich like his colleagues, each evening, he will come back lost and browbeaten by his…Continue Reading “My father the stereotype”
Pushpesh Pant – many on my friend list would already know how many times he has gone back and forth on origin of cheese debate in India. I don’t know his stand yet. Only a couple of months back, he spoke at a food and governance session – rabidly attacking the government and showing off his leftist badges. Then he got an award which at best was given to the oldest guy in the business. What most of us know and never say is his…Continue Reading “The slow cooked rightism of Pushpesh Pant”
Honestly speaking, I hate the idea of massive flags at universities. First, it sounds like measures of a desperate republic in identity crisis which we are not. Second, it will always be a reminder of the way it came to being enforced – through oppression, violence and as a measure of shaming students who have an opinion. Third, only the netas cars, houses and shirts and underwear are stamped with flags. We all know how well that has worked. The ones who are in doubt…Continue Reading “Why the idea of flags at universities is all wrong”
Don’t judge a book by its cover is a misguided statement. You see, a book cover is designed by professionals after intensive consultations with the publishers, writers and some close circle review. Not to judge a book by its cover is to discount all such efforts, to undermine such great effort. The same applies when it comes to people. Most of us judge people by their appearances and there is nothing wrong in that. Moreover, so many of us want to be identified by our looks. The…Continue Reading “A fervent, frothing at the mouth argument against selfies”
Let me say it clearly in the beginning itself. Patriotism is an outdated concept that is quite out of place in current era of global citizenship. The sentiment to passionately and, if need be, violently defend one’s motherland is a eighteenth and nineteenth century concept, at best, applicable to the first half of twentieth. But in this century, it is only an ideological baggage that encourages divisiveness. The stress on patriotism in our times is misplaced. The discourse should be about good citizenship. But as…Continue Reading “Good Citizenship. Not Patriotism”
Germany’s biggest enemy was not the allied forces. It was the rise of fascism and the silent agreement of the majority with this rise. What happened later is not just history but a logical course of event that will happen in every such circumstance. India’s biggest threat today is the rise of fascism, aided by the govt in power and implemented by a nazi like militant sanghi army. Just like in Germany, the threat comes in the garb of hyper-nationalism, claims of majoritarian puritanism and…Continue Reading “Why we must selectively rave, rant and militate against sanghis”
Being an anti-religious guy in a stupidly obsessive religious nation has all the pains but none of the perks. May be, a few. The perks are frequent, delicious and unlimited if you happen to live in a sikh neighbourhood. No matter what the festival of which there are many, they will spread out tables by the roadside and start distributing food, for free. I have binged on puri, sabzi, halwa and chai numerous times. During the last year, thanks to social media, I have come…Continue Reading “Friendly neighbourhood religious prick”
I have done my best to avoid public transport all my life. Too many people, too long queues, too much risk of claustrophobia, too much sweat, flesh and foul breath. But there are times when one needs to do the unthinkable – ride the metro. I had to, a couple of times few days back. I remember one morning – I had to take the early morning shuttle from Noida City Center to Sector 16. Thankfully, that day all token counters were operational, the token…Continue Reading “One morning on the metro”
Doubt is a good thing. Sometime back, we had agreed that jealousy is a good thing. No going back on that now. Doubt looks like a rabid dog standing next to jealousy, which can be a troublesome cat at best. But trust me, it’s a good thing. Imagine the ancient man. His friend fell in love with his wife, wanted to get him out of the way. The friend called him into a dark cave one evening, not that they had not done it before,…Continue Reading “Doubt is a good thing”
Since childhood, we are raised on a certain set of ideas. Most of the parents insist on a product that passes the social test, some try to create a unique brand of ‘be yourselves.’ The parents love it, the kids boast of it, the brands pick up the idea and create amazing campaigns around it. Some thousand years of evolution based on sheep behavior combined with individuality that could not be suppressed is suddenly pulled by the nose with a “Be yourself.’ Now, be yourself…Continue Reading “Be yourself. May be, not!”
Dear Pranab dada, Sad to hear that dadi passed away. I had no knowledge of the same. By the time I knew, it was too late. Yesterday, I was right across the road from you at Maurya hotel. You may not have seen me, I didn’t see you either. But I saw your cavalcade, as impressive as any I have seen. That massive SUV with jammers in the front is my favorite. Anyway, I am digressing. If I knew about your tragedy, I won’t have…Continue Reading “Open Letter to Pranab Da”
Someone had posted something about being content. That has been the most loaded, critical and depressing word in my dictionary and I have, one way or the other, felt angry at every mention of the word. As it happens, the word is never used in a positive context. It is used positively, but always set against a dreadful background. That guy has nothing but is content; that other guy has lost his job and marriage, works in a pit but is finally content; she has…Continue Reading “About being content”
What are we made of? Dreams tear us apart, sentiments constantly twist and turn us out of shape, reason makes us chase all that is not important. What do we trust? Wishes are like the stars in the sky. Beautiful from far, dust when held in hands. Aspirations are like the next milestone, we are directionless thereafter. What do we trust? Fixing and repairing life is the only constant goal. We think we are building, but we are only adding floors to a hopeless ruin….Continue Reading “What do we trust?”
The thought, before it is a thought, can be many things. It may have been an observation, an opinion, a passing conversation, a strand of hair between your fingers. But once it is a thought, it has come to a turning point. You see, thoughts are like illegal immigrants, or, a vagabond if you want to be politically correct. They live outside the purview of your formal structures. They creep through the narrow lanes, pull over a tarpaulin and make that their home. From far,…Continue Reading “A dirty thought”