The big fat Indian attitude!!!

I am proud to be the citizen of the largest democracy in the world. I love my country that boasts of a rich cultural heritage, of the intensely diverse population that speaks around 33 different languages, of the depleting, yet wide assortment of flora and fauna, of the incredible array of landscapes. In spite of all the differences, we relate in some unusual, amusing ways. Is that the color of the skin, the tone of our language, or the unmistakable accent that gives us away? There is much more to it, right? There are lots of things that we all enjoy despite the linguistic and geographic disparities- loud conversations, bargaining skills, hosting bandhs/strikes. We unanimously hate to stand in a queue, be on time, and obey traffic rules. We do not think twice before littering the public road or designing walls with the maroon pan stains or park our vehicles right under the sign that says ‘no parking’ and attend to nature’s call on the pavement. Corruption is not taboo for us; and we see a sudden population rise in places like Tihar jail. A couple of crores from the tax we pay have been effectively utilized in providing security to one of India’s top priority guests- who also happens to be a terrorist! We are well aware of these common factors that bind us and we tend to ignore them. Ignorance, they say is ‘bliss’. So, in the quest for bliss, we have accepted them as a part and parcel of our lives- sab kuch chalega!!!
There is a fresh wave of anti corruption crusade across the country. What began as a fresh breeze has turned out to be nauseating with the amount of politics and personal interests taking a front stage. As TV channels and other news media enjoy a non stop flurry of ‘Breaking News’, we the ‘aam aadmi’ are lost in a whirlpool of bewilderment. A persona hailed today is crucified the next day and vice versa. Midst of all this commotion, the common man continue his odyssey. He has his EMIs to be paid, inflation to fight, prepare himself for a recession that could be somewhere in the corner. He doesn’t care about people who write books labeling him the ‘Argumentative Indian’. He has set his own rules and priorities. Nothing or no one can change his big fat attitude.
“Why should I get involved in the mess? It’s dirty ‘politricks’ after all!! “.We crib about the facilities, about the infrastructure, and sighs “when would our country progress”. All of us cannot be the pillars of the nation, not everybody can find themselves in the Lokshabha or other eminent houses in the country. In building an empire, every stone that goes into the structure plays its own role. We may not be involved in framing a law, but we are the brand ambassadors of it. We cannot fill in the potholes in the road, but we could stop throwing filth in it. Little effort goes into doing simple things like standing in queue, following the traffic rules, apt use of resources etcetera. What is stopping us in making a difference in our own teeny-weenie ways? Let us not wait for someone to come forward and urge us to join the wave of change. We are the waves and let us bring the much needed change…. A change for good…For starters let us kiss good bye to the big fat Indian attitude!!!

Dear Padmanabha...

Dear Padmanabha,
It has been a while since I paid you a visit. I hope you know how much I enjoy a visit to the beautiful shrine of yours. The tears that blur my sight, as I stand hypnotized in front of you. You look relaxed, yet so much in control- the mellow glow of the oil-lit lamps. The sight is such a vista that I forget my prayers and stand, blind-folded in your enigma. Wish I could have a glimpse of the whole of you, but there is a beauty in the darshan through the three doors. From the time, my feet leaves the comfort of the footwear and kiss the coarse sand, I feel your eyes on, my every step. The cold breeze that strikes my face, the smooth stone beneath my feet…the aroma of burning oil, of nivedyam, of sandal, of ghee, of faith, of Padmanabhan…..
Each visit feels new to me, I come to you with a set of appeal, sometimes a bag full of complaints. One look at you, and I am lost. All I can ask for is your blessing. I know that you know what I want in life. Yet, I wanted to talk to you about so many things, things that went wrong, missed opportunities, wounds that hurt my mind, of the mild joys and occasional triumphs. In front of you, I realize it would be stupid of me to recite things that you are already aware of. So, I bent my head and ask you to be with me, take care of me and forgive my mistakes. I return, bliss hovering around me, like the smell of the sandalwood. The cold breeze that strikes my face, the smooth stone beneath my feet…the aroma of burning oil, of nivedyam, of sandal, of ghee, of faith, of Padmanabhan…..

Revival !!!

I have been talking a lot about writing….. Writing is good, is an emotional let go, is a stress buster...so on and so forth. Monday 27 September 2010, 6:11 PM: my blog comes to an unofficial standstill. Not that I didn’t want to write. I kept writing. On notebooks, word documents spread across different drives of my laptop. Things that I didn’t want to disclose, too personal-rather too mushy. None found its way to this page.
As my manager introduced me to a senior in the team, he said “perhaps she is the only one in the team who has got a blog”, I felt guilty. I have a blog and I’ve let it die a silent death, and I tell every second person that I wanna pen a book all by myself. I am talking irony here. Me- who can’t maintain a blog, is talking about authoring a book! While I still dream of getting my anecdote printed, let me do justice to what is alive and breathing at the moment. Lemme breathe some fresh air into this page. Thanks to all my friends who asked me, “no new posts?”