'When you were here' ( a poem )

A simple poem:

When you were here
You said things
you did things
I found fault with you
I fought with you
'You were so nasty
you were so bad'

When you were no more
I often did brood over
what you did
what you said
'Was I nasty to you
was I bad!'

Today it matters not
what you did
what I said
what I did
what you said
In moments I shall also be gone

On tree tops
in oceans' depths
in deserts' cool sands
above snow clad mountains
Serenity will prevail
Life will just move on.

Politics

What is politics? Simply 'the art of be-fooling people to be able to rule over them.' Whoever does it better, wins the game. One may want to win in an honest desire to serve the people. But even then one will have to first be-fool them. That's why when well-meaning people try their hands and luck in politics, they miserably fail. Today in India, Mamata Banerjee is the best player in sight.

'No one killed Jessica'

A very well made and structured movie, almost to perfection. It must stir the conscious of the nation if there was any sensitivity left. We know that is not the case and this wonderful movie will go waste except probably stirring the young generation to some extent. Let us sum up what this realistic movie conveys/questions it raises:

1. Though we are a rotten society beyond redemption at large, there is still a glimmer of hope in people's power if we invoke it. And today nothing but that can save the country. For invoking our power, we have to do self cleansing through introspection.

2. In day today life, there is hardly any hope for common man to get justice in normal course. What should come to a citizen of a civilized country naturally, one has to fight really hard and use up one's whole life at times to achieve that little in India.

3. For one Jessica, where justice could finally be delivered, there are lakhs of cases justice is never done. If this scenario continues, we are doomed.

4. Media can still redeem itself, if it so wishes and decides.

5. Against the background of the society as realistically portrayed in this movie, how can we aspire to be a global power?

Montek Singh Ahluwalia

And today this gentleman, supposed to be an economist of standing, occupying the chair of the Dy chairman of the Planning Commission courtesy the government of UPA, was trying to tell the nation through an interview aired by an electronic channel that it was erroneous to think that there was a loss in 2G spectrum distribution as had been alleged by Comptroller and Auditor General in its report. How could Sibals and Ahluwalias occupying such high positions be such fools not to see the evident loss to the public exchequer. Of course they could not be. Then the explanation of their actions is only one. They and the Govt they represent think that the Indian public are first rate fools who would give a serious thought to utter non-sense being uttered by them. While they are power drunk in their actions, they must realize that history will trample on their and their colleagues' (supporting them and their actions) names. Of course if they are not bothered about history and bothered only about enjoying the fruits of power thrust on them by fate, they must be doing what they are doing. My condolence to them and the channels that use their power in putting across such non-sense to its viewers.

Kapil Sibal and UPA II

The new year has started with a shocker, which could turn out to be the biggest shocker of the millennium. Yes, it has that potential. The new Telecom Minister, Sh. Kapil Sibal, called press conference to declare that there had been zero loss in 2G spectrum distribution. He was not acting on his own but his statement had the full backing of the ruling party and the Government in power. Everyone, including those making and backing this statement, knows that there couldn't be a greater nonsense ever uttered. This would mean

1. UPA II, the govt of the day as popularly called, has not only lost its credibility but also its head.

2. And/or that they are least bothered since they know how short public memory is and next general elections are still three long years away.

3. The word 'accountability' should now be struck off dictionaries in India.

4. Last but not the least, one must learn to close one's mind to survive in this great country.

Sh. Sanjiv Chaturvedi- the whistleblower

A very recent news item about him in Times of India contained following:

'Twelve transfers in five years, an illegal suspension order, a fabricated chargesheet, denial of promotion and a spoiled annual confidential report (ACR). That's what forest service officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi was awarded by the Haryana government. His 'crime'? He unearthed a multi-crore scam involving senior officials, implemented the Supreme Court's orders preventing a wildlife sanctuary from being destroyed and stopped government money from being spent on private lands of politically influential people.

For three years, the Prime Minister's Office, state information commission, environment ministry, Central Administrative Tribunal and cabinet secretariat tried to stop the relentless harassment of the young officer, but Haryana chief minister B S Hooda's office paid no heed. Ministers, officials in the CM's office and senior bureaucrats continued to hound Chaturvedi at every possible chance...'

It is the last para which should be ringing alarm bells in the ears of those at the helm of affairs in the Govt, if there is one in India today, and the media, if there is a responsible one in India today. What were they doing when a young officer daring to be professionally correct was being harassed and hounded during best period of his life; while his colleagues, keeping their political bosses happy at the cost of public whose servants they are supposed to be, were being rewarded with choice postings and promotions? With this example before them, what line does society expect the budding young officers to adopt? But the real alarm lies in the reported fact that despite best efforts of none less than the PMO and the concerned Ministry, his harassment continued for years. That tells what the PMO and the Ministry are worth and what their efforts were worth. How many times can one say 'shame' to those very people?

It does not give me any pleasure in the fact that this news item again confirms what I have been posting in my blog all along.

We, the half-hearted warriors

Excerpts from an article by Mr Rajinder Puri published in 'The Statesman' yesterday.

'......In the natural course, such silent cross-party collusions would have resulted in major political realignment across the political spectrum. But that is unlikely to happen. Indians are half-hearted warriors who fight only with half-measures. They are always willing to wound but afraid to strike. Political realignment seems out, more chaos seems in.'

The two italicized sentences above interested me a lot. How true! Most of our evils do flow from these so well defined characteristics.