Lasting impressions

There is one incident that happened during my school days, which has somehow stayed back in my memory. I am sure i'll remember it forever bcoz it has left quite an impression on my mind.

Our hindi classes were going on and suddenly there was some sound of mischief from one corner of the room. Since our ma'm had her eyes on the book she didn't know who exactly was behind the mischief. She just asked a boy from that corner to stand up and leave the class. The guy argued that he was not at fault, but ma'm didn't listen to him and he had to leave. The class resumed. But then, after some time, one boy stood up and said that it was his fault and not the other person's. I don't know what led him to the confession, but eventually he too had to get out of the class. At this point, one girl asked ma'm to call the other person back since he was innocent. Ma'm refused. When the girl insisted, she asked the class if we too agreed with her. Sadly, no one stood up, including me. Maybe we were too intimidated by the teacher or didn't have the guts to stand up for the truth. Looking back, i m quite ashamed of myself for not speaking up when my words could have made a difference.

This is quite a small incident and it didn't hold much significance at that time. But today when i look at the bigger picture, i realise it's importance. We see lots of things happening around us which are not right, some things which need to be changed. But we don't speak up and just let it be. People will speak hundreds of words when its absolutely un-necessary, but they fail to speak up when required. They just don't have the courage to stand up for the truth.

Hats off to the girl for having that courage at such a young age. I haven't met her after school. But wherever she is, i hope she will be making a difference in her own small way.

Mommy's dearest

This blog is dedicated to all the parents in waiting, specially a very dear friend of mine. While i was carrying my baby, i used to get all sorts of advices from people. There were talks about how our life changes once we become parents. People told me to be prepared for sleepless nights, baby tantrums, hectic schedules and small tensions related to kids. Someone even advised me to garner as much sleep as i can before the birth as i wouldn't be able to get enough later. As if the earlier sleep would make up for the lack of it later. Whatever they told was with good intention as they really cared, but then they missed out on the fun part. No one ever told me how much fun it is to be with ur kid.

Life surely changes, but only for the better. Schedules are hectic for the first few months, then u get used to it. And we really don't miss out on other activities. We go for outings, restaurants and even caught up a movie recently. My son enjoys himself and behaves quite well when we r out. Quite understanding, u c. Afterall, what's a greater joy than watching ur baby's antics?.

Watching ur small baby grow up into a naughty kid is quite fun. His cute pranks, the shy smile, the way he tries to learn new things, the endless banter, the innocent look on his face when he's asleep ( actually he's quite a brat when he's awake), the way he comes running and cuddles up to u when u call him........ u really don't mind the sleepless nights.

So friends, don't worry. Be prepared to welcome ur bundle of joy.

Power play

I was watching my favourite show on television the other day and suddenly the screen went blank. Doing some important work on the pc and there goes the power. This power play doesn't spare me even in the kitchen. I was trying to bake a yummy cake, and just when i was going to switch on the oven, there it went off again. If u are staying in Bangalore, this is a routine for u.

Born and brought up in a city that never had any power cuts, i initially used to get quite annoyed by these frequent failures in bangalore. But then i learned to live with it like all other bangaloreans. But this doesn't gel well with the image that bangalore carries, one of the most developed cities in india or 'HITECH CITY'. It rules in technology but it still struggles to supply some of the basic necessities to it's ever bulging population.

There's one positive thing about these power cuts though. We can take consolation in the fact that by consuming less electricity, we are saving energy. Thus, we are doing our bit for the environment , however, forcefully. Sometimes i think that these cuts are deliberate so that we can help the cause against global warming.

So fellow bangloreans, summer is coming. Be prepared to sit without electricity in the summer heat and help bring down the heat on our planet Earth.

P.S. It is often said that Bangalore was a small town and it was never meant to be a big city. So, the problems. But now that it has grown out to be quite a big city, what can we do? Mass migration?

It might be the voice of India

When i first read it, i resisted writing anything. Then i read it again and couldnt resist myself. When i read all this, my reactions ranged from anger to humour then frustration and finally disappointment. There was this article in TOI few days back, 'Why Gujarat is Special'. And i couldn't help laughing at the ideas expressed by the writer. He claims to have gone deep into the psychological analysis of Gujaratis and studied well the history of Gujarat. He feels communalism is deep rooted in Gujarat since centuries. There were the somnath riots in last century. Then Gujarat lost mumbai almost half a century back. And Gujaratis are angry over these losses and their suppressed anger is coming out in the form of votes to Modi. At least he agrees that the people of the state had reasons to be angry and injustice was done to them in the past. But i wonder how many gujaratis had somnath riots and mumbai on their minds while they voted. Infact i didn't even know about that ages old riots. And what about the cosmopoliton public living in the state and also those muslims who voted for modi? What lured them to vote for such a person? The writers views are just strange and too far - fetched. He is astonished at the elections results. So intead of justing sitting and wondering that how could people elect a person like Modi, why doesn't he do some ground work? Just visit the state and ask the voters. Go and see exactly how much maldeveloped the state is. ( he referred to Gujarat as a maldeveloped state. And it has been among the most developed states of the country since years).

Then i read 'Blame the middle class'. Ahhh! That prompted me to write something.The writer says that the urban middle class of the state is responsible for the politics of hate. Well, how many money-minded gujaratis exactly have caste and religion on their minds on a day-to-day basis? Then here's one quote ' Development in the state now justifies amorality, abridgemet of freedom and collpase of social ethics.' Since when is a job well done called amoral? Is not allowing people to resort to corruption called abridgement of freedom? If a person has the power to lead people and motivate them to work for development is following him called collpase of social ethics? All that the middle class wants is development, a peaceful life and stability. If modi provides that, what's wrong in electing him? At least he is better than these so called intellectuals and psychologists who cannot get the rubbish about caste and religion out of their minds. They are the biggest communal people. Don't they realise that they are doing nothing to help the affected people? Infact they are bringing back the old memories. That's the reason people don't trust them. Those who can't take this rubbish out of their heads cannot rule a state. Because they are the ones who will spread politics of hate. They conveniently forget that there have been no riots in the state post 2002. While Modi was talking about development , they provoked him to talk otheriwise. He talked about terrorism and how the central government has failed to curb it. He talked about how such incidents were stopped from occuring in the state. So blame yourself ' psuedo-secularists'. I fail to understand one thing. Why is gujarat so special? Why do people jump to condemn anything that happens here while turning a blind eye to a similar situation elsewhere? It is not Modi who provokes the people of this state, it is these people who don't miss a chance to say something derogatory at every instance. Afterall it was one of these writers who suggested that decades old suppressed anger is coming out now. And he is adding fuel to the fire.

Alas, 2002 will remain a blot in the history of the state. Everything that happens here will be dissected, analysed and viewed under a microscope. Gujarat has to learn to live with it.

Lastly, there was a question, 'Is Gujarat India?' How about giving India a chance to decide?