The Big Indian Tamasha....

I recently overheard a conversation between my mother and a relative of us. The relative was talking about a girl ( a s/w engg. working for Satyam....in the US). She, according to her was not getting married because her parents are not ready to cough up their life's savings in order to get a "good" guy for her. In her words...." After all these days you don't get "suitable" boys for anything less that 2 million bucks" . It was not only a fact she was stating. She said this with unquestionable conviction and a hint of glimmer in her eyes (perhaps reinforcing her belief that the MRP she has set for her just-in-job son is not that wrong...."not" inclusive of all taxes..of course).
Sample this: a girl who is working in a top notch (well...not so after the corporate fiasco) software company...tht too in the US needs to cough up 2 million bucks to find a suitable match.
Compare this with a guy in similar condition....? His family must have gone gaga over him, telling all their relatives how is it like working in the US...and how much is he being paid and blah blah..... His relatives (even distant ones) would show immense proud in his achievements and how as a kid he was so close to them. Marriage proposals would have flown in.....and finally he would have got a "combo pack"....a beautiful bride + money(enough to feed him for 5 years flat even if he leaves his "high flying" job) and gifts (enough to ensure he doesn't have to spend a penny for setting up his "own" home.... (personally I don't know for what... these suckers earn))
I am not out here to give a long speech against dowry system.....that many people give(even those who take it for their son's marriage). I just want to portray what the real situation has become due to this system....for people who consider it quite pragmatic to give a "daughter's" share in her marriage...moreover I am not very sure what percentage of the groom's MRP actually goes to the bride's own kitty.....
When I was studying in nagpur i remember coming across a news article..... It reported that one girl in bhandara district committed suicide so that her parents don't have to carry the burden of saving money for her marriage, and her brother(who was about to drop out) can continue with his education...Female infanticide and foeticide have become rampant.....disturbingly more in so called "developed" states. After all a parent doesn't kill their new born baby..just for fun or sadistic pleasure...do they? Corruption has penetrated our society .....one prime reason of which is the pressure to amass wealth....so that people can marry their daughter off in harmony with their stature.
Solution: Anti dowry Act?.....no....that we made quite a few decades back....Pre Natal Diagnostic Testing Act....no? .....we have already made that 15 years back with no visible improvement in female foeticide.
The only solution is that the young generation takes charge and say no to this age old custom which has created enough of nuisance and nonsense in our society. Consider a groom who takes a high moral stand and doesn't agree to be sold off.....there's no way his parents can make him agree to their demands. This is not only about morals but also about self esteem which forbids us to be sold off in a market as vegetables are. After all when it comes to career choice and other important things in life we are so assertive and persuasive. I don't know why we become so docile when it comes to dowry. After all many of us convince our parents for a love marriage, for a career abroad, for a flat in Bandra instead of a mansion in our ancestral homes...... isn't it...then why not this?
Perhaps, in this ever increasing materialistic world everything comes with a price tag.....even love, relationship and morality....!!!

An open letter to Mr. Kapil Sibal.....from a child....

Dear Sibal uncle,

I heard about you through people who read newspapers. They were saying that you are doing a remarkable job in the field of education. They were appreciating your decision to scrap the 10th board exams. They were also saying that you were doing something for my elder brothers and sisters who study in big colleges.
I thought you are the appropriate person, to whom I can express my feelings...and conditions.....
I don't know whether elementary education is in the state list, central list or the concurrent list. What I do know is that to attend school I have to travel 5 kms daily by foot. What I do know is that we don't have a toilet in our school and 3 of my friends got ill after eating the food served in our school under some scheme of yours. I don't know what percentage of GDP my Govt. spends for our education. What I do know is that we don't get books from our schools in time. Whenever we go to our teachers for the books they tell us that it would be made available in a few days but till date we haven't got any.
Many of our teachers whom we used to respect a lot...don't come to the school.....and if they do ......they don't teach....Some of my teachers spend their time in school by knitting sweaters.....We don't have the courage to go to our principal....who comes once in a week to the school.
I don't know whether I will be able to continue my education. My parents say that being a girl I should learn household chores. But, I want to study.
But even if I study, I don't know what to do after school. My teachers doesn't tell us about what should we do in life. Maybe they also don't know.
I have also heard that you have made education my fundamental right. I don't know to what extent I will get my right, keeping in view the prevailing situation in my village. My mother had to run from pillar to post to get a home under some Indira Awaas Yojana.....Till date we haven't got any. What she does get is the demand for money from the local authorities which we cannot fulfill with the current financial status of our family.
In fact I may have to drop out of school because my brother is in class 10th and he will need a lot of money to become a big man in life. I may have to be content with doing household chores for a man who will take dowry from my family to enable me to do so.
Sibal uncle, I don't know about my rich brothers and sisters who have to undergo a lot of pressure in order to sit for their board exams so much so that you have scrapped the board exams for them. I have even heard that Aamir khan has made a film for them and has earned a lot of appreciation.
Sibal uncle, I don't have any problem in carrying heavy bags to my school. I have absolutely no problem in sitting for examinations.But please ensure that I get an opportunity to sit at one.

Regards

A child with dreams

My alma mater's Social Responsibility Program....1st Newsletter....(Click on the image to read)...

Are ruk jaa re bande......

In Mumbai, I was feeling very hungry and wanted to eat something.....What better than a bhelpuri in Mumbai rains......so we stopped at this Bhelpuri waalah and enjoyed bhelpuri....Every thing was very normal until I notice the slogan "Jai Maharashtra" written on the utensil he was using.....Even that was not abnormal....It is quite normal for an Indian to love any state or city of India....But I sensed something fishy about it...I asked the bhelpuri waalaa bhaiya from where he was...he named some obscure little place in UP...
He was living in mumbai since the last 10 years and earning his living without doing any harm to the city. He loved the city. One day some over zealous self professed guardians of Mumbai (the same brave young men who were nowhere to be seen when the terrorists struck Mumbai) attacked and threatened him...after which he had to publicly proclaim his love for Maharashtra....
It was not PDA (public display of affection---a phrase which became common after the moral policing incidents) but an instrument of survival.......
This bring us to a question......do we have to paint our forehead every time we visit one or the other state of India (all being home to me and a billion other ppl).
This reminded me of a song of the Indian ocean musical band which featured in the movie black friday criticising the communal rights which applies here tooo::::::" Are ruk jaa re bande.........Ye Kudrat Has Padegi...."
However in the scenario of prevalent cynicism and insanity a few examples keep the hope alive......Like that Maharashtrian doctor who died working for the flood victims of Bihar and Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan (a Keralite who belonged to Bihar regiment) who died fighting the militants who attacked India (only Mumbai for Raj thackeray and co.)( Ironically Bal thackeray chased away the south indians and raj thackeray is chasing away the north indians).
Only love and harmony between the people is a perfect antidote to this cynical politics of hatred..!!!

Privatising Profits.....Socialising Losses.......

Private airlines in India have threatened to cancel all their flights on Aug 18th, if the demands for a bailout package is not met.
True, the airline industry is in disarray due to high fuel prices and need a bailout...But do they, or for that matter any corporate entity deserve a bailout package by the government.
One, the private airlines are running a profit oriented business....Absolutely no problem in that......They slashed rates, provided better service to increase demand and thus their market profitability. Let us be very clear about this, there was no social service in it. The common man still doesn't travel by air. Till their purses allowed they kept the fares low.
Now came economic recession. Fuel prices went up, market demand and liquidity shrank and the airlines started suffering losses...They hiked fares to recover losses. No issue in that.
The problem starts when they demand a bailout package from the govt.on the state exchequer.
When they were making profits, buying private yachts, flats in spain just to see F1 racing, they never cared about the Government and its various social schemes. Apart from few symbolism like bringing back Tipu Sultan's sword, that too for political gain...these corporate honchos never contributed towards the social sector....they kept the fruits of economic boom to themselves...
Now they are suffering losses, who are they to demand bailout from the Government.
This bailout culture if we will copy from the western countries will go a long way in privatising profits and socializing losses. If I set a shop and it fails, does the govt. bail out me.
When the players start performing badly...that day is not far away when the Indian Paisa League (IPL) will too demand a bailout citing public entertainment.....Be ready for it Mr. Pranab Mukherji......!!!!!

India Lives on......

During my recent visit to Mumbai I happened to visit the sites of 26/11 attacks....and was amazed to see the extent to which the people have returned to their normal life......as if nothing happened ever here......
Be it the Marine Drive (at which the Oberoi is situated), The Taj Hotel, CST or the Leopold Cafe.....all these places are swarming with the ever enthusiastic, ever resilient people of Mumbai....
This brings me to a question.....whether we are really resilient or are we resilient by force?
I hope its the former.....
Whatever it maybe it definitely represents the hope of the people that nothing will go wrong.....Its not only Constable Ombale and Ashok Kampte......the people of Mumbai are also the heroes of 26/11.....They have shown this time too......as always...that come what may be......we will never allow our enemies to permanently cripple our civil life.......(obviously the damage done to the victims of 26/11 attacks can never be repaired)........
CST is still full of running people eager to reach home after a long day at work........People are still taking their snaps with The Taj in the backdrop.........Leopold Cafe is still full of foreign backpackers(not withstanding the bullet marks still present there)......and Marine Drive is still getting lively by the playing children......

Mumbai lives on........So Does India...........

"Jai Ho"...is not....."Chak De"!

Recently got an opportunity to watch the current craze "Slumdog Millionaire". First of all let me have the pleasure of congratulating the entire cast and crew for making waves in "Hollywood" and winning oscars.

I am neither a film critic nor a trident wielding nationalist. But with the senses of an ordinary Indian citizen I found the film "Offending" to say the least.

Let me first delve into the reasons for this film becoming such a huge hit.

The westerners are a developed lot. Of course they have achieved success and prosperity on their own and I truly appreciate that. But sadly, they don't have something which we have in abundance: "poverty". So whenever they want to see it they turn towards India with unrepentant hope and obscene excitement.

Slumdog....has all the masala of a poverty flick. It shows India in the way the westerners want 2 see. A slum boy in deep shit(sic), inefficient call centre employees, exploited children getting trained to become beggars,communal violence, rude policemen, nude children.Rope in a love story mired in suffering and the picture becomes complete. It is slum tourism at its best....or perhaps worst.More aptly it can be called a "Poverty Porn".

All the hoopla about "Slumdog...." being an "ode to life" and it representing hope in the times of economic despair is simply rubbish. It does shows hope, but quite an unrealistic one. I felt like this was a way to ward off any negative impression about this film.

Indian film industry has made a few better films if not all. But, they were not considered for Oscar coz
1. they were not sent by the Indian Govt.
2. those which have been sent didn't show what the jury wanted to see......

Questions raised are many:

Do we need an Oscar to know whether our artists are good enough? It smacks of our defeatist mentality which makes us yearn for foreign recognition.

Do we need a "Danny Boyle" to extract an Oscar winning performance from Indian artists?


I know I'm against the popular perception about this film but I am entitled to my own view.

From the "Land of snake charmers" India has become the "Land of Slumdogs"........and we are celebrating!!!