Lokpal - Lost in Translation?

Buzzword - 'Anna Hazare ', 'Lokpal', 'Corruption'
Habitat - 'Streets' , 'Media- in India and outside' (All my social media is spammed with Hazare and posts about him even when I am not in India)
Who cares - apparently 'We the people of India' (Including me)



If you survive and breathe in the air that has any remote connection to India, you know what I am talking about. Its probably a crusade of the decade and is getting comparison to the movements the great Gandhi organized. I am still overwhelmed by the situation.

I don’t care about Anna Hazare. I have numerous reasons to do so but lets skip that. India being a land of 'heroes and zeroes' I understand his rise to stardom and how people saw him as a messiah who could bring about The Change. But I would request any inquisitive mind to read the following article.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/blogs/opinions/rorschach-effect-indian-politics-053923332.html

If you cared and went through that you might agree with what I say next or you could be cursing me under your breathe, calling me a fake or worse an Indian in US not really knowing what she is talking about. I hope I can change some of it by the time you finish reading this.

We - the people of India - undermine ourselves. We always look for a savior to help us resolve our daily life cribbing. We fight for causes we hardly understand and are hopeful after each temple/shrine visits. We stand united when our heroes are attacked and things just get too personal from thereon. We are extremists, we go from being dormant to rebellious.

A lot of people will tell you it's wrong. They would tell you we do the rat race and follow the crowd. People will convince you with strong evidence and exemplify how we are a bunch of stupid fellas who do not know what we want from ourselves, our lives, our government. How we do not know the cause, the end and the reason. How we make a man our hero and will die saving his honor. How we are apathetic and hypocrites. How we swear to fight against corruption when we just did an under the table deal. How we are a bunch of hopefuls hypnotized by the words of wisdom and change by a man we hardly know about things we hardly will understand?

Well I beg to differ. Did all of them, and here I am quoting a friend, 'Understand the chemistry or history books that were shoved up their a**'. But we still did and an 'engineer' today is still an engineer though he might hate his job or know practically nothing about it. I am not supporting the ignorance people have about the whole situation but what I do not understand is the downright disapproval of the movement. Anna Hazare might not change the world and the Indian democracy but he is a stepping stone. People support him even though they do not know Lokpal because his stand symbolizes all they want to fight/change. As a friend said, 'The system is the disease and corruption is a symptom to it. With Lokpal we fight the symptom and not the disease'. Agreed. But if we could get rid of the disease in a blow, would the symptom have been ignored/discounted for so long. What we need is a start and I guess this moment is a ripened point. It gives the politically powerless middle class a medium to project their hopes, their idea of self-righteousness and the sense of a bringing about a change to the system they have nurtured, been forced upon and in some cases even benefited from.

Hazare is no Mahatma Gandhi. But he did bring people from all walks of life together for a cause.
Sure his method (of blackmail via the hunger fast) and his remedy (creating an alternative center of power and discretion instead of tackling the root causes of corruption) might be dubious but he did make India stop. He has the focus and determination not many of our leaders can claim. He might not be the most self righteous person but he has struck the right chord with the people. He made them ponder about things they chose to ignore, shook the belief that feeble middle-class vote won't make a difference and brought them together for a cause. And more importantly, he has their trust which sadly is not true for most of our leaders. When was the last time India saw such a build up?


So why the government ‘for the people’ and ‘by the people’ refusing to ‘listen to the people’?

I frankly do not know the answer. But what is important probably is people of India, after a while, think they know what they want. India is thinking. It has changed the notion of time in India to an extent where people are taking time to reflect on a diseased past that has haunted our country for a long time, a disease not only forced upon them but that became the very essence of their living and being. What Anna and Lokpal did was to take the everyday gossip about the system and the disease, make it into a conversation beyond ‘Yeh system hi kharab hai’. The conversation empowered the people towards a change, a revolution. And a revolution that a democracy had been waiting and needing for a while. The more enlightened mind could argue how wrong and stupid their fight is or help them understand and support their cause. This is beyond Lokpal and Hazare, its probably even beyond corruption for that matter. This for me signifies an awakening, a one long due.

Love My Life! I Do! Its Just As Weird As Me!

Its like one of those days, when gloominess envelopes you. No matter what you do, you feel down and beaten. Life looses its meaning and you are left wondering what is that you want. What do you wanna be? Why are you where you are? Why does not any of this look familiar, the places, the faces? Why in this crowded place you feel lonely and lost? And amongst all these whys and much more you wonder why the hell is there even a Why?

At times, God decides to test u, ur patience, ur belief in yourself. Its one of those times, when no one can save you, and you are all for yourself, lonely and ever so lost. Your strongest beliefs seem to shake and there comes tumbling down your dream world. You get homesick, you wanna run and hide in that comfort zone of yours, away from the alleged 'cruel' world, the same one you couldnot get enough of a day ago. You wanna scream so loud that the skies are filled with your echos, cry so hard that tears wash away all that you feel, fight a lion and you know you will win. Such is your optimism about the pessimism. Argh…strange thing called Life and its so true that it sometimes just doesnot make sense. Its so awkward and out of place like a filled room with people in cages with monkeys gaping at them. Its as pointless as using a white crayon on a blank paper and sketching your life with it. So you get it don’t you! Its one of the phase in life when reason escape the reasons, when not the chocolates or the shoppings or the peole you love with all your heart can make you happy. Its one of the days when you wanna be left alone, untouched, pitying yourself and your life and how none of it makes sense making it even more screwed than it is.

Today is one such day. May god bless its soul.

Time to give this blog a fresh lease of life!

Its been ages since I last wrote in here. Not that I have not written, just that I have not shared. I was lost in translation between my heart and my mind. I was picking together pieces and making new memories. I was busy but not too busy to write. I wrote, but for myself and my lies. haha...

Well attempting a new attempt.I hope it has enough in it to keep me going.

Love my Life. I do. Its just as weird as me.!!

Forgiveness

A tear rolled down, thoughts obscured
Reminiscence of the past, will the wounds cure?
Such is the wrath kismet bestowed
And you hear them intoning "let bygones be bygones"
For what will become of d soul you hurt
Will the pain be too much for the decrepit heart to hold up?
You entreat time to have mercy
For present today is not what you had forseen
You had trusted with time the pain would cease
That yesteryears wont sleuth your present with malice
That time would heal the deepest of wounds
That your lips might give in to smile as they should
That the tears will dry and heartbreaks replaced
The glumness the gloom that had usurped your face
But now as you lie, broken, frail
Waiting for the verdict of the sins you perpetrated
Wanting it all to be over nimbly and painfree

But more than anything else its "Forgiveness" that you seek!!

Anathema

In the darkness around, I grope for a face
In the rubbles dispersed, I try to retrace
The pinions make a noise, being hoary they fret
Whats gonna become of it all??, these are the thoughts that beset
A flash across and my eyes are pickled
In another flash the ruckus will be unbridled
I feign a sham, thgh ma stars are bleak
In a moment so decisive can i afford to be weak?
My heart flutters, i laugh at ma impuissance
I clamber to hold on with all d left conviction
Awaiting for aurora, after the eclipse
I wait for the anathema, for me to cease!!

Kirket: D Indian Way

My heart aches. The emotions that confront me aren’t alien but are willing. I feel lost, heart broken, betrayed, let down. These words might actually seem like a euphemism to my agony. And then again I know my hurt is warranted. I have every right to be mad and yell curses for tonight of all the nights; I wanted my belief to be salvaged and not bedraggled. India lost yet again another match and failed to deliver when they most needed to(story of their life…tell me about it). But the win was so desperately needed to clutch on the dwindling hope of millions that we still could win this tournament, that “yeh cup kahi nhi jayega”. But the world came crashing down the minute Yuvi gave away those 5runs in the last over, the moment we realized how bad Indian batting faired against the short balls those giants fusilladed on us, the moment that newbie Jadeja slogged on the crease as if he was Dravid part2 in becoming, the moment Yuvi got out and MSD came to bat instead of Yousuf and tons of such moments where we were once again let down by the dilatory Indian batting and how even scoring singles was looking no less a herculean task to them. But still many hearts refused to abandon hope, to forsake their warriors in the trying time and hoped for a miracle. Its funny how hopelessly can hope make us hope. They watched dolefully as their warriors lost the battle they so badly wanted them to win, to bring back to them what they thought was rightfully yours, the win, the glistening cup!!! On 14th (err..actually 15th¬ ) June 2009, Indian cricket team wrote another disappointing chapter in their cricket saga, the one that will take a valiant effort to be overshadowed.
Welcome to the despondent (beyond repair) heart of just ‘another’ cricket fan. I might not be manifested to call myself the most proficient “cricket buff” but I share with many across this nation, the brotherhood (or sisterhood or whatever) of ‘cricket hood’. The emotions the game is capable of begetting are phenomenal. Its power can unite the nation in a common wave of hysteria and frenzy, every pair of lips praying, chanting under their breath for their icon to do the miracle he is being deified for. The stats don’t really support the answering of his prayers though but that’s an altogether different ballgame. For time and again we have been let down by the team we have come to idolize but come another game and our idols are again glorified. The ‘Diva’ shines. He is all over the place, making it to headlines, giving candid interviews with an ease that would put to shame the best in the industry. His nonchalance is flummoxing. His every move a subject of pursuit for the ever eager reporters, his every save lauded and with every miss he is doggoned. A moment he is the savior and the next the nation is questioning his allegiance with the team and wondering if he is actually playing to win or has he sided with the ‘Devil’ himself. He is scrutinized for all he does. The delirium of the fans often shares border with insanity with a missed catch being termed as foul play on the part of the player and his house burnt down in one harebrained moment. Well such are the rules of game, and don’t we ‘love to hate it’ and ‘hate to love it’. We Indians are always their to cheer the team we root for so passionately but we wont miss a chance to kick their butts the moment their falter. We curse the Dhonis and the Jadejas for their lackadaisical performance. But then the compassionate heart of a cricket buff is quick to forgive and give it warriors another chance to get it right and so goes the vicious circle, of heart break followed by reckless burning of effigies, of smiles followed by triumphant celebrations.
Our love for the game is deep and passionate. Our love for the game is fickle and superficial. Which is it? Do Indians really love cricket? It is futile to generalise about an entire country – each individual has his own relationship with the game – but certain patterns of love and longing for cricket run through the country. And outside it. Non-resident Indians around the world pine for cricket as if their lover is an ocean away, and go to insane lengths to stay in touch. Cricket is often termed a religion in this nation of crores that bind the Tatas and the Thelawalas, the mantri and his santri, the senile and the juvenile. Though Hockey is the national game of India, it lost its pre-eminence due to the emergence of Cricket. It’s an emotion that transcends all barriors and connects the heart…bole to direct ‘Dil Se’ and you really don’t a telecom company for that, trust me on that. Many regard this game as the one of ‘d commoner’ considering them too high-toned to as much as even glance at it and I can’t help but pity their souls for they will never realize the cacoethes this game brings with it. The EUPHORIA surpasses anything any soul could have witnessed before and brings with it is what the heart of a buff yearns for and thrives on as for them; nothing could taste sweeter than the victory, an Indian win. For the world it might be just a game, for us Indians it’s like an obsession. And many a times our mind wander in the oblivion, thinking, dreamin…Will this obsession change ever? Cricket is already competing with more and more alternatives for a potential fan’s time. What is called the shortest form of the game takes up half a day. Can cricket retain its following as the years go by? Will Indians still have time for the game ten years from now? Reason says it won’t. But what does love know of reason?

Fundaas of Indian-English

The Indian version of English has been on a growth trajectory that has led to the evolution of what is for all practical purposes, a language of its own. A hybrid form of English stalks the land, flaunting its illegitimacy, brashness and popularity. Its terrain is an overploughed one, its IQ dangling between the primary and the geeky, its memory garangutan and capable of summoning words from centuries past, its survival instinct similar to that of the chameleon, acclimating with the locales to pander the Indian tastes: Hinglish here, Tamglish there.

The country's fascination for the language has caught up over the years but if it has resulted in English usage getting more communicative is still a question that might get answered by" I can Talk in English, I can Walk in English" and god knows what else. In Delhi and Panjab receptionists always have a "massage" for you which most guys find hard to accept without a baleful smirk. SMSes can't find its existence without the usage of this cocktail of language. But its the newspapers cliches that keeps Indian-English growing, its vocab accretion phenomenal, squeezing out non-existent meanings, dragging in reluctant Hindi words to serve as the morning's laugh inducing headline. And I often wonder what a "Firang" makes out of this heading:"FM maange more!!". Such nuisances have Hindi as the backdrop but borrow heavily and frequently from English to buttress their language and also as a password in elite gatherings which many of us have witnessed with one mausa or distant kin from Jhumritaliya doing what ever it takes to prove their expertise over the language of "So-fis-tication" and ending up making a travesty out of it.

Bollywood again has contributed benevolently in extending the scope of the Indianized English. Spoofs of the language have found immense potential to tickle the funny bones of the viewers and in the end added new vocabularies which have easily segued into everyday usage, be it then Ajit's argot or famous one-liners like" Mera Bad Luck hi Kharaab hai" and so on.
Classifieds are written so fluently and captivatingly in broken English and Indian hearts are left chanting "Yeh Dil Maange More!! or the corny ICICI adline:'No chinta, sirf money'. Analyzing the roadside advertisements can turn a mundane ride into an awe-inspiring one with advertised services like ' Great care of all sarts of diseases without medicines...........If you are overcomed by jaadu, bhoot and/or palit' and quacks assuring solutions to all S** Problems and Boost to Great S** drive wid one medicine called 'Vigoura' with a 'shake well before use' instruction.:)

Websites like Shaadi.com and Bharatmatrimony.com are a haven for lonely hearts. The classified trying to win over women bring out the best in practitioners of Indian-English for they are burdened with not just of putting together a sentence-an arduous task for most of them- but they have to be humorous and romantic and hip to boot which leaves their lonely hearts quite flabbergasted. Here is how one lonely heart tried to seek a fe-male
Hello viewers, my name is Hardik, I am single and without a female. If any one want to marrie me u can visit to my home. I am not good education but I working all field in Bangalroe..if u like me u welcome to my heart.
All I pray is there's enough space there. Here is another one which I had to share coz it left me in a laughing fit...
I want one girl who love me or my mother. She love me heartly or she have a frank skin color 'normal' nor a black or whitey. I think the main think is heart if your heart is beautiful but I am not a handsome boy but my mom says that I am a good boy. My father already expired. I am 'Aeklauta'. The choice is your.
Now I am wondering if it yours' or your's? But using the wisdom of a man who wants a 'frank skin normal' colored lady, he decided to go for the safe third option that is to drop the possesive 's' and stick to your. At least he wouldn't lose a wife for a sake of anything but a misplaced apostrophe.

The English does not easily segue into the Hindi lines, as we see in the party number. But who cares? The English makes known the movie's ambition and the viewer in the front row gets to see a sexy number- cleavage,legs and all that. He doesnot complain. Why on earth shoud he? So when the lady sings 'Let's party tonight', none of them thinks that the movie is going to take a political turn and a new party is going to be launched to counter the Samajwadi party in UP.
Indian-English, for all our contempt, is set to unifying thread across the nation. In hoardings, in ads and movies, Indian-English is already, without doubt the accepted form. With its own bizarre grammar, spellings and vocabulary, Indian English has defeated the Queen's English in a centuries-long battle. The intrusion or acceptance of Hinglish is now nationalized mainly due to the assumption that the ipod generation prefers to 'cut the crap' and go straight to the heart in local lingo which is again a forensic topic.