Is God hugely egotist?

As soon as I stepped out of the Golden Temple, Vellore, I had to immediately switch on my laptop and type my thoughts into this word doc, before they escape the feeble confines of my mind. For those of you who are unaware of this temple, it is a somewhat new temple which has risen in fame to almost rival that of the Tirupati temple, at least in the temple goers circuit.

I have not seen a temple as grand as this one, yet. It reminded me of the Ramoji Film City. That is how grand it is. I was a little disappointed at this as I am a man of simple tastes. Initially, my thoughts turned in the negative with this display of unnecessary grandeur. Then as I walked to the main temple, it got me thinking. And I had a lot of time to do that owing to the long around the temple route that you have to take to reach the main temple.

The first question that popped up into my head was, ‘Is God really this egotist, that he will be pleased by this grandeur in his name?’ I just could not digest this revelation and was actually terrified that the answer to that might just be a yes. But then I recalled the Ramayana that I have read and knew for certain that my Ram was not. But the moment I thought of Ram, Krishna popped up into my head and though they are supposedly different avatars of the same God, they are so different. Somehow I could imagine Nitish Bharadwaj (the guy who played Krishna in BR Chopra’s Mahabharata) giving that smile of his on seeing this temple.

This led me to another question, ‘How could the same God have two such different and opposing characteristics attached to itself?’ And I think the answer to this lies in the simple fact that God understood the complexity and the diversity of man best. He knew there would be men like me, of simple taste. And he knew of the existence of men who would worship grandeur. If a touch of grandeur helps man to stray towards the good and curb evil even if in a very minimal amount, what’s wrong in it? In fact, statistics show that currently there are more men who believe in grand gestures than simple ones. Just compare the devotee traffic of Tirupati or this Golden Temple to that of say Hampi or the Shore temple.

Of course, whether God exists or not is a completely different debate for a different piece, but something commonly called God definitely is worshipped and does help somewhat in taming the evil within.

Educated India, are we ready?

How many of you reading this believe that good, quality education is a basic right of every human being? My guess is, there will only be one in a hundred who will disagree. Well, my argument is kind of in support of that one person. I know the thought is pretty pathetic, but humour me.

Before you judge me, let me be clear that this is just a thought and not my belief.

Now consider this, you live in a world where you don’t have auto/taxi/bus drivers on the roads; where you will have to clean the roads outside your house yourself. You live in a world where there is no labour to construct your home and you have to do it yourself; where there are no truck drivers to transport your favourite soap, shoe, grains or deodorant from the factories to the store next door. You live in a world where there are no road side eateries and you don’t get your cutting chais and hot, simmering vada pavs anymore; where there is no labour available to work in the various factories producing all your necessities. You live in a world where you have to completely lift your own load and do your own work – from scratch. Get the picture?

These are jobs that no well educated man/woman will choose to do (except in desperate need). Now, some of the points I have mentioned above might sound to you like luxuries, but nonetheless, they are luxuries that we have taken for granted. So will we be comfortable without these luxuries?

Like I said earlier, I am not proposing that we keep the uneducated uneducated. I am merely pointing out that are we ready, and do we understand the radical change that this will result in? Of course, every self righteous person will answer to that in the affirmative. Even I did. But as the famous saying goes, ‘we don’t really know what we have, till it’s gone.’

You might argue that the westerners live life the way I have pointed out above. But, there are two points I think that differentiate us from them. One, our economy is not strong enough yet to create job opportunities for every additional person that will get educated (we are not even able to provide for the current number). Two, (and this is an assumption, mostly based on Hollywood flicks) the westerners have a good amount of immigrants to do the somewhat lower level jobs. Are our relationships with our neighbours like Pakistan and China good enough for that? Do we want them to immigrate into our country?

It’s just a thought. Think about it.

Our contribution to History - Indifference!

As a kid, I was extremely attentive during our history lessons. It was one of my favourite subjects. (besides the fact that my history teacher was a looker) I have always been fascinated with the heroic stories of those times. The various times when kings, commanders laid their lives on the line for their nations, the millions of heroes who fought the firangs and won us our freedom. (and I’m not just talking about the famous ones) All along I used to picture myself to be one of them, in my childish ways tell myself that in my previous birth I was definitely one of them. Or wishing that I would get an opportunity to show my country the love and respect it so deserves and does not get. And sometimes even regretting that I cannot remember anything about that previous birth, so maybe I was not a freedom fighter after all. Dejected.

Now, when such an opportunity is knocking at our doors, what are we doing? Busy building our careers? Seriously? So when the generations after us study history, they will still only study what we have studied. Our contribution to history will be indifference. Maybe we need to pat ourselves on the back for this.

Of course, this is in relation to the Anna uprising that the country is witnessing. I am not saying that his methods or demands are justified or not. I am not saying whether he is clean or not. But how does that make a difference? It is not what a man thinks that defines him, it is his actions. He is fighting to eradicate a powerful and dangerous disease that has taken over our country, Corruption. That is all that matters. They say he is the Gandhi of our age. If you do not agree with his ways, then why don’t you become the Bhagat Singh? What is stopping you?

The issue is not Lokpal Bill or Jan Lokpal Bill. These are just methods, the first steps to achieve what is rightfully ours, what should have been rightfully ours ages ago. I know the seeds of corruption are sown deep, deeper than the oldest standing tree probably. It is a vicious circle, but somewhere it has to be broken.

I have often wondered at how can one not feel the love for your country. How? I somehow blame Manmohan Singh for this. No, no...not because he is the PM now. Because he brought in Globalization. I think maybe that is where the descent of patriotism was initiated. Of course I have no data to back this, but isn’t globalization the exact opposite of patriotism? Strictly literally speaking.

I know what your answer is going to be, ‘Kuch nahi badlega yaar’. I am not going to go on about how things can change if you want it to change, etc etc, blah blah. Just answer this question honestly and you might even feel ashamed at your attitude. If our forefathers could bring about a monumental change after hundreds of years of British Rule, we don’t have the balls to bring about a relatively minor change after just 65 years.

Inquilab, revisited!

Hi! Today happens to be the day when Bhagat Singh, a 23 year old patriot happily gave up his life along with Sukhdev and Rajguru for a vision, a dream of a country. It seems like the perfect day to initiate this. For a long time now (in fact for as far back as I can remember), there’s been this itch, to do something for the country. And for those who know me, it’s nothing new. But, before you ignore this as just another ‘frustration venting document’, I assure you it’s not that. So spare a few moments and read on. This is not about me. This is about doing something real; something valuable.

We’re the youth of the nation. The next generation, and if there is one thing that we are ALL good at, that connects us all, IT IS TECHNOLOGY. In today’s time for most of us, our mobile phones are all we need. Then stuff like distance, time all which were barriers for generations above us vanish and become insignificant. I say, let’s put this to use, to good use.

Let us get together and do some real good for the country, for the people of the country. With our tech savviness that really shouldn’t be a difficult thing to do. We have so many things going for us and so less going against that this should really be a piece of cake, all we have to do is have the will.

I am not saying we will just make a group on facebook that people will forget about in a couple of days or if we’re lucky, we’ll last a couple of months. NO. I have a much bigger vision for this ‘project’. Of course but, I will need all the support I can get and then this will not remain my project, but ‘our’ project.

Let me share a glimpse of this vision with you. We connect through the omnipresent internet, and we help out/participate in various events that could be happening around the country. If there are floods somewhere we help in relief, if there is an issue that we think needs support, we join in. I’m not saying we only join in. We can start our own movement too. Like for instance the various scams. Why is everybody just casually reading it in the papers and why doesn’t anyone have the urge to do something? This will become a place for such likeminded people to get together, and raise a unified voice. It could include a simple act of filing so many RTIs that the government is forced to come out with the information. Or it could be taking out a march (definitely not supported by any political party) to demand action against the culprits or any other radical act to achieve the elusive goal of justice.

I genuinely believe basic education can solve almost all the problems our country faces. We can put together a group that merely helps in educating the needy children. There are a million ways how this can be achieved, but at least let us first agree that we all want to achieve this.

In my vision, I see young professionals like lawyers, journalists, engineers, doctors, managers, and anyone becoming a part of this and offering their expertise in solving the situation. For instance, most people are unaware how an RTI is filed, or whether it still can be filed. The lawyers can help us out with that. If there is any natural calamity, the managers, the doctors can do their bit. The journalists can help in spreading the word. Everyone can help, everyone can do their bit.

One thing is for sure, for this to have any sort of effect, it cannot merely remain an online/virtual society. We will have to get real. The point is to find likeminded people in every corner of the country through the internet and get together as one voice, not just a voice you read online, but a voice you hear out on the streets. Only when we take physical form will the rest of the country take us for real. We can probably think of region wise centres/outfits for this. I want you to understand that we have to dream big. We have to believe that we can make a change, and work our hearts out towards that.

This is my brief vision for this ‘project’. Of course, there is room for improvement. Of course, any point anyone has should be brought up, except cynicism and negativity. If you are going to hide behind those shallow tools, please stay away from us. I already refer to us as us, because I genuinely believe there are many more like me, who want to do something for the country and who are tired of the cynicism floating around.

Let me tell you one thing, JUST VOTING IS NOT ENOUGH. If you want to see a real change, you will have to get your hands dirty. There is no two ways to that. The real question is, are you willing to do that for the country you call home?

No, I do not say that this will not take your time so please join. This will take your time and energy. So please don’t join because of some misplaced sense of morality you might have. Only if you are willing to really work towards this cause, then sign up. I guess it is better to fail right at the onset than to believe you have succeeded only to realise when push comes to shove, everyone’s hiding in their holes.

For starters, we need to gather enough virtual momentum to take things to the real world. I request all of you to use your excellent networking skills to pass this on to as many as you can. I am not promising that this project will succeed. Hell, it might crash and burn right at the onset. But I believe in this and I will give it my best. Probably again and again. If you believe we can make a difference, then please fill in the form and pass on the link/message to everyone you can think of. Even if you are not joining, at least pass this on to the people you know. Any suggestions/feedback are welcome.

Form link:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dC1TZmZrSEdkdG40cUlISUJhSTFHUlE6MQ

For any queries please contact inquilab.revisited@gmail.com

Women's Day!!!

One of my strong, successful, individualist, feminist friends was kind of upset that today is women’s day. Her opinion (and a very strong one at that) is that why do we need a women’s day when there is no men’s day? It’s as if a women’s day gives testimony to the popular thought that women are the weaker sex. Now this is where I tried to curb her aggressiveness and explain what it really is.

I am not aware what the condition of women internationally is. But in India a women’s day is needed. Of course on hearing this, she blew her top once again and it took a lot of my effort to rein her back into orbit. So before you do the same, pray, humor me. This is not a personal comment, ‘In India a women’s day is needed’. It is not directed towards you. You, the strong, individualistic, urban women are a minority in our country. More than 60% of India is still classified as rural. Assuming that the ratio of men to women is at least 1:0.8 there are over 50 crore women in the country leading rural lives. Leading lives at the beck and call of their wife-beating, drunk, cheating and sometimes caring and loving men. This is a day for them. It is a day to empower them. It is a day to celebrate those who have over powered such or worse adversaries to become what they have become today.

This is one perspective. Another alternate perspective is a much simpler, sweeter one. Only if you would not bring in your feminist ego to the table, you would be able to see it clearly. Women are special. And this day is merely to celebrate that special something. Happy Women’s Day!