Bihari BC : Raavan saved by Corruption (WTF??)

"Jabtak Bihar mein corruption rahega tabtak yahaan raavan nahi jalega." (Untill corruption fades away from Bihar till then the Raavan effigy won't burn).

This was a statement given by one of the national leaders in India. The s#!t was laid by the gentleman, one fine evening, and our ever-so-ready media aired it immediately to sprinkle its fragrance. Later in the evening this good-for-nothing news spread from a local channel to a national news channel ( a channel famous for its updated news about the god-forsaken places and never heard news as if freshly cooked from the oven of fiction) comment lured some other d!(k heads and finally a debate took place over the issue that which party can be held responsible for the failure in the Raavan Dahan incident.

"Yeh sarkar kitni asafal rahi hai iska andaaza aap iss ghatna se laga sakte hain."(You can estimate the failure of this state government by the failure of the Raavan Dahan incident)

Another marvelous statement by another dignitary. Even the host reporters took this incidence as a matter of reputation for government. I didn't get what was the need of such a coverage for such an issue. As the festive season drew to close every other local news channel aired the same news with much more cheesy quotes and worthless punchlines. The issue had gathered more heat than what Mr.Raavan's effigy managed in the evening. What was raised as the light hearted sarcasm turned into an unlikely act of glib talks and rubbish representation of the modern ministers and (self-pronounced) intellectuals. It was a mockery of the Indian Media and I could barely enjoy it.

I don't think that people have forgotten the LALU effect. That time the Raavan effigy used to burn smoothly. What would the ministers have a say about that. The progress of Bihar at that time has become such a stain in the glory of Bihar that still today boorish and disgraceful comments are passed on the state and its residents. Was it that Mr. Raavan feared the CM's famil so that even he feared in residing here, Mr.Minister?


As I slowly lost my patience, I switched off the television fearing that they might blame the national government for giving license for poor firework material, state government for not investing in proper quality of bows and blah blah.

Finally the ice broke when one of the Ramleela Samiti member came in front of the media and took the blame for the event and apologized for such mishap. (Seriously they should come up with something different each year you know. Two years ago they simply created history by burning Kumbhakarna first and then Meghnad in front of the national television. A year later the head of the Raavan was left unharmed as the fire stopped somewhere in between. This year the Raavan had more luck and saved his butts too. At first only his back was on fire!!!)

I don't know what would happen next year but going by the story of the Dusshera eve Mr.Raavan could rest peacefully in Bihar for few more years for sure.

P.S. There is no doubt that the combustion of the effigy by the government is itself a shameful act as it promotes use of fire-crackers which hurl a lot of smoke in the air along with the malicious gases. On one side people are requesting to reduce the use of these crackers due to emission of harmful gases and Global heat issues and on the other hand such demonstrations give away the idea of a general awareness about its ill effects.

Salaam Mumbai ( the cry of the autowala)

They say I do not belong here,
They come and beat me anywhere,
Whether I lie along streets, homeless and alone,
Tired of sweating for every penny I own,
The come,ramp and burn,and destroy,
Nobody is there to here me cry,
When the cameras shoot and the police don't pry,
As the khakis and media have rules to adhere,
They show me that I do not belong here.


When I came here in the city of dreams,
in the midst of people, I was lost in screams,
learned to work for a living and never complain,
I took what was offered and  overlooked the disdain,
when I conquered troubles as trifles and incurred some pain,
either lost in the darkness in the city of hopes,
I was building my dreams on the sundry layers,
and now they tell me I do not belong here.

I offered my service,my sweat,my blood,
When these Babus took decisions and hatred flood,
they took away or burnt every bit I earned,
hurt and burnt I cried lying in despair,
outcasted by those who have my language to compare,
 As now still they say I do not belong here.

P.S This post is dedicated to those ruthless people who plunder the hopes of millions who strive on their hard earned daily wages. They burn their autos and shops just to create chaos and the one on the throne just glib rubbish around. Seriously its time that the MNS workers in Maharastra stop doing these acts of cruelty on the name of social service. May Goddess Durga bless these dumbos with some brains and the autowalas with hope and bestow some fortune on them.

Why do I feel guilty?

" So often people respond to guilt by engaging more in the guilt evoking act in an attempt to drown the sense of guilt" : Martin Luther King, Jr.

I feel that it's really an awsome way how nature works. If one hurts others we have a surge of emotions towards the person and empathy rises. This leads to shame, after all we are social animals right, no matter how bad we are we feel responsible. And the most astonishing fact is that we hurt those things too which we care about every second of our existence, ourselves.

The problem is that there are many ways we try to avoid guilt that result in more guilt. Its an unconscious process and also cyclic. 

What I mean the feeling of the fact that one does wrong to someone by not performing up to the mark. At times it demoralizes you and crushes you from the inside.

You know how to overcome this guilt. Yes I found some ways. To curb the guilt one need commitment.  There are a few simple things that I have changed and done and that has helped me to regain some self esteem in the recent past.

1.        If you commit to something stick to it: It’s simple if you can’t complete something in or at the time you should never commit to such a work. It avoids further guilt and shame and saves a lot of time for reasoning and prevents unwanted arguments that may prove as source to more guilt. It took a long time for me to understand it and I would recommend it for each of us out there in the world who are troubled with being stuck in the cobwebs of their commitments and make their life a chaotic one.

2.       Completed work = satisfaction= confidence. : Another simple equation and this really boosts you morale and you would be compelled to work further more. So we again have a work cycle and the output would be pure relaxation.

3.       Forget the past..After you have learnt from it: The moment we look back in the past we tend to realize our failures and we are loaded with remorse. So my way of looking at the past is that you see your past as a learning experience. Don’t ever go crying over it, learn, and learn to overcome obstacles and avoiding mistakes. Learn to move on!!

In the memory of Bapu

Keep Smiling,

JGD.

P.S. : This post was written by me when I was listening to ‘Trouble’ by Coldplay for 4 hours straight and couldn’t imagine how much this masterpiece shook me from inside. Today on Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti this post is a homage to one the greatest teacher and leader that ever inspired this world with truth and non-voilence.

IN DEPENDANCE

IN DEPENDANCE

Fascinating isn’t it, the way we can look at this word. When read as two different words it conveys a meaning as being in “the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else”. On the contrary we all know the meaning if we combine both the words. 

Today on this patriotic occasion, I feel quite happy for the 1.2 billion people around the nation and salute the martyrs who made this day possible. 

But apart from all the celebrations around do you feel any guilt inside you? Yes, I am talking to you. Do you feel any guilt?

Let me clarify, I give you a set of examples 

1. Do you feel sad when you see any poor child around your neighbourhood?
2. Do you feel sad when you see children younger than your age working at Dhabas or as a street hawker?
3. Do you get disturbed when any disabled comes to you for any financial help(begging for alms) in trains or bus stands or even outside big temples?
4. Do you feel bad about the farmers committing suicide due to starvation?

I think these many examples are enough to invoke the idea inside your mind. And believe me, though it has and will be repeated a billion times in the future, ‘this was not the INDIA which the freedom fighters had dreamt for us. On a lighter note, “These are dark times there is no denying”. 

So, are we slaves? I think we are. We are slaves to corruption, poverty, female homicide, scandals and inflation. But more than any of these we are slaves to ourselves. Luckily, we don’t need a national movement to change ourselves. But we need a bigger force on our side, our own willpower, with a pinch of inspiration and a touch of enthusiasm.

As Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple spoke in one of his famous speeches at Stanford University on June 12, 2005 for the graduation commencement.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

And believe me we can make a change in the ever changing world. Speak what you think is right, express your thoughts. Let’s not make it freedom for the ‘free-dumb’. Learn to be free and make everyone aware. And soon you would be free from every guilt inside your heart and that day every day of your life will be celebrated as “INDEPENDENCE DAY”. 

I leave you with these eternal words of wisdom by beloved BAPU.