Newspaper Unity

All major newspapers in India today concurred on what should be front page news- Convicted MPs must go, by the Supreme Court ruling. 

This Closet isn't Big Enough for Us All.

Some of our leading ladies, on what it means to be a female politician in India.

Extortion to Axetortion

You know, I often think of Facebook as a friendly neighbourhood. But that’s for another post, and I promise to link it here (I have finally figured out how to do it).

Today however, my aimless amble around my community turned into a hit and run when I was tagged in a picture for a gig this week at a club in the city.

The gig is called 'Axe-tortion' and indeed, it is promising to be night of face melting guitaring with four very prominent guitarists in the country! The montage of pictures of these four rocker men, were taken from various sources and put together in a line. Below the picture line-up was a list of their names. One of them is a friend of mine so I was able to immediately put the name to the face. That left me three more names and faces to match. However, something was amiss with the first two pictures and their names. The second name said Milind Deora. Milind Deora.. Deora, Milind.. And then my eyeballs began to grow unnaturally large as I took a closer look at the first guitarist. Was that a club dude waist coat, or I'll be damned, a neta suit? Or is that Mukesh Ambani? No fool, that's ridiculous!



Quick, give me Google!

So I googled his name. I had to be wrong, I'm sure I'm wrong, of course I'm wrong, I WILL BE WRONG!

I wasn't wrong.

Hello young India, guess what, your Member of Parliament from South Mumbai plays Jimi Hendrix.

My reaction to this news was violent to say the least.

So I YouTubed his name, and a long result of 'Milind Deora addresses parliament, Milind Deora on RTI' turned up… but then you hit the 'underound culture' that this side-parted MP also endorses. And you see his name in the same video title as 'Stevie Ray Vaughn', 'Freddie King' and so on.


You've heard of teenage girls turning starry eyed when they see their heroes haven't you?
Well it was like that for me (except that he's not my hero), only that my eyes were glazed and I suddenly received an image of a large tri-colour with a sex-drugs-and-rock-and-roll button badge occupying the central position. Oh sorry, in these days of sedition, it is distasteful to talk of such things.


Anyway, this is not some pseudo guitaring that he does, or some sympathy gigs he is given along with some paid audiences. He's actually playing- no sheet music, no hangs. He's playing real riffs, not faff like the odd chords that I play. And he's playing hard stuff, by blues legends.


He is not much of a performer, and maintains a largely impassive face. But this in itself sent me into fits. If I played footsie with him under the table, would I find him tapping to some song? If I stole his iPod, would I find BB King? Does he sing in the shower?

Ugh.

So to greet his screaming fans, his one hand does the open-palm sign of the Congress at a political rally and his other does a sign of the horns at a gig? And then he brings both those palms together in a namaste?


If I swore, I'd swear now. And spit.


I have a feeling I am the only one who finds these things funny. Why am I flipping about this? Politicians can't play music?

No no, politicians can. Like when Bill Clinton played the sax, see now that was cool.

But our politicians are usually more beast than human. Just like our film and sports stars are more god than human. If Milind Deora was proficient in Hindustani music, I wouldn’t be this aghast. If he played chess, made a damn good chicken curry on Sunday or pursued taxidermy, it would still be passable. But this is music that is said to be from the devil, it's foren music! There is nothing remotely politically correct about Jimi Hendrix. This, is like a ball of wool falling out of Manmohan Singh's briefcase causing him to admit that he knits all the sweaters for his grandchildren. It is as random and ridiculous as that.


As a young person who loves her music like any other young person, and is trying to be a good citizen like any… never mind that, I'm being honest- I am not so sure any more.

Like my mum always told me that clubs were not safe, and my daddy told me to never trust a man with a drink. But Ma, Pa, Milind Deora plays on a stage with a large Tuborg sign behind him!
"Ma, Pa, I want to serve my country. Politics?"
"NO!"
"Ma, Pa, I want to be a musician!"
"NO!"
"Ma, Pa, but Milind.."
"Ma, Pa, I want to be a political musician.. " *pleased at the sound of that*
"Dear Child… " "I never did like Dylan."

So you can be a nine to fiver and a nine to twelver also? Hahaha just who says!


This is more than just a gig, at least for Bangalore, and I see this as quite significant. Bangalore currently frowns upon alcohol and music at the same place [Don't look at me like that, yes it's true, you go figure and we are not discussing this here].
"This is the police. We're breaking up this party."
"Good evening gentlemen, my name is Milind Deora."


When men of steel and women of iron become flesh and blood, when they are close enough to touch the hems of their robes, what do you do? Throw your panties on stage of course.

Everyone was hopeful last elections, when we realised there were so many young people- Sachin, Rahul, Varun, Priyanka, Omar and Milind. Sounds like my best friends at college. And now one of them sits in the general spectator stands at the CWG and the other, well, I wont start all over again.


Hey Milind, I presume I can be on first name basis with you, and that neta suit makes you look fat.

12:39PM

Advani filed his BJP nomination papers from the Gandhinagar constituency today, at exactly 12:39pm.

So did, Suresh Patel, who filed his Congress nomination papers today. Also at 12:39pm.

Advani’s filing of papers was preceded by a Hindu puja at his house.

12:39pm is an auspicious time for Hindus. They believe that every thing they do at this stroke of the clock, will be fruitful.

Apart from the stark incongruity of the fact that both rival parties have filed their papers at the same time, both expecting that it will bring them luck in the form of winning the elections, is the fact, that the BJP who is rampantly claiming it is a secular party, amidst wide spread skepticism of the weight of the statement, conducted a Hindu puja over the nomination papers, with no thought to emphasizing their ‘secular nature’.

This issue really pertains to the possibility of a secular-democracy, and the possibility of existence of a democracy in a secular state. I have with me an article I’ve written over a year back, on the same issue. I haven’t blogged it, because I wasn’t able to arrive at a suitable consensus (I will soon, and this post will be rehashed). So I’m not opening that subject right now, but I do want to bring to attention this one fact, as below.

Is it appropriate for a secular party, to embrace the majority religion, as the party religion?

If I stand for election, as the BJP candidate for Gandhinagar, as a Muslim/Christian/Sikh/Jain/Buddhist/ Jewish/Zoroastrian/atheist candidate, am I expected to attend the puja, be decorated with a tikka, and file my papers at 12:39pm too?

All over India, in said secular environments, at business establishments, generator rooms and more, on every Hindu festival, puja is carried out, no matter what the sentiment of the minority community is. The sentiment is ignored by the minority community themselves, as well as the ones carrying out the puja, ie: the majority community. It has become commonplace, such that nobody has an opinion any more, and nobody expects an opinion either.

But, I'm not going to talk about it now. I will when I put up that post I mentioned earlier.

What good can possibly come out of what happened at Mumbai?

Don’t beat me up for asking such a question.

We claim that unity in diversity is our specialty. Up until today, I saw many examples of diversity, but few of unity.

What this attack in Mumbai has done though, is to bring unity in adversity, as the people of Chennai are calling it. It is grief that united.

Did you see how local Mumbaikars, cheered with every truckload of army men that came in? Every time they shouted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai,’ I got goose bumps. India has never been an aggressor. We have been at war only a few times in the last 60 years: The ones with Pakistan in ’65 and ’71 and then Kargil. This is why we have never given a thought to our troops. Thousands of young men and women sign themselves up to the army, in times of peace, with no guarantee that the future will remain the same, prepared for any circumstance.

Unlike the USA where their troops are in much use every day all over the world, India never got to see action out of hers. In the US not supporting their troops is considered an offence. Not legally. But the troops go into war confident that they have their whole country behind them and their country is grateful to them.

But today, these men and women who we never regarded, today we learnt how indispensible they are. We suddenly became aware of their presence.

It took terrorists to make us aware.

In times of peace, when a pacifist preaches his message, no one wants to hear it. Today, when one gets up onto his soapbox to preach peace, he has an audience. The audience knows that he either accepts to follow the path of peace and still maintain some hope for tomorrow. Or he accepts that violence is the order of the day and nothing can change it. And I think more of us want to see the victory of peace today than ever before.

What this attack in Mumbai has done is that it has brought the urgency of seeing the success of peace to the top of everybody’s mind and wish list. There is nothing more anybody wants.

It took violence to make us aware of peace.

Initially, the fear was that communal riots would break out.

It did not happen. At least not so far.

This time, those who dare make discriminatory comments are being hounded down.

Instead, all anger is being channelized towards a new target. I never thought this would happen, but it has. We have taken our politicians to task. This is how, this times attack, was different.

Politicians usually manipulate every situation to their convenience.

This time we didn’t allow it.

Scour the internet. Remember I said that’s where the youth of India lives? Every young person is suddenly demanding answers out of them. They are not all sitting back and complaining.

Suddenly every young person is aware of their rights. Their right to information.

Every young person today is resolving to go and vote at the next elections.

Suddenly every young person is aware of their duty. Their duty to vote.

NOW we have finally agreed, that ‘Enough is Enough.’

It took terrorists to make this happen.

Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar and all the other police and army personnel who died fighting for our security.

It appears to me, that India would not have been so shaken up if their deaths hadn’t happen. This reminds me of the movie Rang De Basanti. Talking about the movie later with a friend, I complained that the ending should have been happier. He said, “It just wouldn’t have been as good if they hadn’t all died in the end.”

So thick headed India required 102 deaths, along with 12 police and army men and 300 injured, to actually feel and be affected.

Why did it take an attack in our own country to get united? We see terrorism all over the world. But we had to wait for this to happen, to be affected?

If we continue on this path of reconstruction, those 102 deaths would not have been in vain. Or else, they will remain as wasted unfulfilled lives. They will remain statistics. And their blood, and the blood of more to come, will be on our hands.

I don’t think those 40 men anticipated that they would actually stir up the people like this. They dug their own graves. 1.13 billion people(according to the latest estimate made, in March this year) and more, are waiting to throw mud on it.

As one man said on NDTV, “The fire is not on in the burning buildings, and the many funeral pyres being lit. Now it is on in our hearts.”

Ask me again, what good could possibly come out of what happened in Mumbai.

Gripped By Terror - Part 5

Did you listen to the Prime Minister’s address? Sonia Gandhi made her address even before his. I had been waiting eagerly for it. When he finally made it, I didn’t know what to think.

'Strongly condemns.' These are the 2 words everybody used (Barack Obama included.).

I’d like to know what exactly they mean by it.

Just how much is their condemnation worth (Or us swearing for that matter. Everybody’s swearing at the terrorists.)?

If words of displeasure could end this, I’d have enough to say for you and me, and we would be in a happier place now. These are not little boys with genteel natures, to be insulted by our contempt.

Manmohan Singh said, “We are using the strongest possible measures to ensure that this is not repeated.” Then he said something about how confident he is that the people of India will maintain their unity and integrity.

Wasn’t this what he said last time? That this wont be repeated?

Why all this airy talk?

If the law can’t protect us, who will?

At this point, I’d like to tell you of some very strong things that Shobha De had to say.

“Enough is enough. I want to tell all politicians not to use this as an opportunity for their political agenda. Do not come to Mumbai. We pay millions to give these politicians Z level security (I am yet to find out what this is.). Remove security from them and give it to us. Let even a hair on these politicians be touched by this crisis.”

Too true.

With regards to politicians.

The virtual world is ablaze with arguments frustration and emotions you may never have thought could be emoted through the www.

Young people today do 2 things- party and have fun. Or stay indoors and online.

And pretty much everybody is bashing up the politicians.

Whose side am I on? Certainly not the khadi-clads. But this is addressed to all the youth who have been lamenting. I’ve heard “India is never going to change its so corrupt” a lot in my little life. And I hate it.

Did you go out and vote? Because if you didn’t, then you are in no position to hold by the collar the man you had no part in putting into office. If you did vote, you have every right and responsibility to do so. But if you did not, you are not in the right place for bad mouthing.

So don’t whine. Don’t complain. Bite your tongue and stay put till the next elections.

Either vote. Or contest.

Its not called a democracy for nothing.

Some more questions, for anybody who can answer them.

So far only big cities have been targeted. Why? What if they decide to target less popular cities, where they can easily cause the same number of casualties, and things will be much easier for them since no one was expecting it? Is anybody thinking about this?

Where are these weapons being manufactured?

Who supplies them?

How are they smuggled?

Who is sponsoring this?

Why wasn’t our intelligence able to pick up on this?

How did the terrorists get into the hotels, with all their weaponry?