You and Me: In the middle of everywhere

Every now and then, there's a periodic hue and cry about who we are as a people and what we truly represent. Are we Indian enough to call ourselves Indians or are we those who are basically disappearing? Are we so deep in disguise that we don't even recognise the sound of our fading away into homogeneity? The sun may rise in the east but it settles in the west. OK. That was a lame attempt at metaphor. But if you think you've got nothing to do with Western civilization, aren't you mistaken? You may lay claim to all the precious knowledge that Vedic India gave birth to even though you don't know the difference between Sanskrit and Prakrit. One (hailing from our country) can always blame our colonial baggage for this misplaced pride. It's like being in an elevator with the phone dipping in and out of network coverage. You're connected but still disconnected. A simpler method would be to call oneself a citizen of the world. But then, how can you do that if your range of geographical curiosity is limited to your city marked by sporadic vacations? 

More so, if you've become your favourite place and don't really bother to explore? In such a context, what exactly are you? You look very much Indian although it's quite difficult to classify Indianness by appearance. Some of the fairest people are found in South India and some of the darkest in the north. Our diversity is almost ridiculous. We've come to a point where we may prescribe to certain ethnicity or race or religion but our civilization seems very Western—if not completely American. Take a break and look at yourself. The clothes you're wearing right now have nothing to do with India nor the gadgets that have come to define your lifestyle. Your thought process and your wish to lead your life the way you want without paying the price of responsibility has Made-in-USA—if not Hollywood—stamped all over it. 

The way this world is built and functioning owes almost everything to the industrial revolution that kickstarted two centuries ago. We can be nostalgic about our glorious past but our present is remarkably rooted in the TV series that we can't have enough of. Our urbanity is going to be our species' downfall but aren't we enjoying the bungee-jump? Even our sense of humour is nursed by foreign memes. And if you still believe that 35% of the scientists in NASA are of Indian origin or that NHS is primarily run by desi doctors, you're actually attesting to the rise of a civilization that has proved itself to be more embracing than the one we are supposed to have come from. Yes, we enjoy Indian food because to put it bluntly, our kitchen has seen innovation like no other sphere. Not science. Not mathematics. Not business. Nothing. It's OK though. We are only aping the world like the rest of the world is.

                      Yours everyday!

  

I feel down and out

everyday

—every now and then

I feel lost and how

everyday

—sometimes more

    sometimes less

I feel better and best

everyday

—whenever i think of you

    whenever you think of me

    whenever we talk

I feel everything and more

everyday

—because it's you

    because it's me

    because it's us

    because whatever we can be

I feel the point is clear, isn't it?

    Like you say when i let you

—"You're my world."

    Or when i don't

—"You're mine."

    Should i shut up now?

    Or should i shut you up?

Regardless, i feel beautiful because of you

everyday.

                       Truth Spoke Last night

A wind of change whistled quietly

Adjusting itself around the hurdles

Nothing came in between

No one called to stop it

All went swept and strayed

It doesn't happen very often

But the way it did was strange

People shook themselves up

Talked aloud and made a vow to change

It was then when we heard

Something being said, something being done,

Something for the good,

Something for the love,

Something for the kids

This wind changed to a storm very soon

And roared in its full rage

All were awakened, some from laze,

Some from silence and some for grace,

It was a sight to behold,

It doesn't happen every day,

When people come out to see air

And find its voice in their ears,

While hope gives way to life,

And makes its presence felt,

That goodness prevails even today

And pain make hearts melt,

No one would forget such a sight

When truth spoke last night.

                                   Udta Rajan 

The problem with inspirational people like Raghuram Rajan prematurely quitting their position is there aren't many of his likes in our country. It's not everyday you come across public servants that are universally acknowledged as the finest in their respective field. Which is sad because these personalities are known for their work ethics and they mean good. What's sadder is Indian politics somehow always wins against diligence and gumption. One can argue that commoners like myself don't have the depth to understand economics and there are better people up for the job. I hope that is the case. We all know how the last government wasted a decade. We all can see how the chief minister in the capital went from an admirable IRS to an excuse-mongering mockery. We can also see how this government is goofing up big time with its senseless appointments and dismissals. It's not a joke for a central banker to be disrupted the way Rajan was. After all, India is going to pay the price at the end for these mistakes, if any. 

                            The Political Eye

People tend to believe what they see.  Especially, when you are all night up with your smart phone scrolling tweets and reading posts of people blabbing one thing and other about celebs and politicians. In fact, the real fun begins when you see people abusing politicians and celebs on Facebook and Twitter for no particular reason. I doubt if they google for such hard abuses –do they? Or maybe –who knows!  Of course, for politicians you can take a quick guess. You figure the reason behind those rants could primarily be due to not meeting the expectations of people or a situation where a political party has completely failed in keeping their promises they made during canvassing for votes. Generally, a common man in such a crisis finds himself with two states of mind. One: either he shuts his phone and throws it off and probably starts doing something important. Two:  Or he joins the gang and starts showing his involvement of defending or, say if you have a patience problem, offending others with his views and opinions. You get to see only these two types of people. And, in case you don’t fit in the above stupid classification, don’t lose your heart because there is always more to you than that --Yeah the same dialogue Bruce made to his girl in Dark Knight Rises --Remember?.

So the question is: why are they doing that and what exactly are they getting by doing that? After all, nobody is mad for making a dozen Twitter and Facebook accounts and then going nuts on a particular person –it could be a celeb –or in this case a politician. But then you knock some common sense into your head and start digging deep and you wonder if It could be a marketing plan of a political party. Let’s be honest guys. Politics thrives on public perception. Very few people own the courage to get their facts right. For example, lately I got to see a bulk of offensive hashtags being surfaced against Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi. AAP is confronting serious challenges at this point of time. From their MLAs being in news for assaulting on women and senior citizens to the Chief Minister himself being morphed with his statements, people, including me, are now inclined to have a wrong image of AAP. Now the questions are: Is Arvind Kejriwal a politician, way too effective to run a government? Or is he falling a prey to the advanced media strategy of other political parties? Why is the reason that he is being trolled so much even on petty issues? Or Is he being trolled because he is –or seem to be, speaking truth? Or does politics really come up with dud launching of new projects in India? Or is that the dynamics of politics have so changed in last a couple of years that now what matters for a political party is to run a sustained marketing campaign at the cost of tangible development?

Or –it’s an important one, people have lost the basic ability of using their common sense to penetrate small things, easily getting compelled to throw an idiotic opinion on others? Whatever it maybe, we still as being responsible citizens of this country need to play a big role. I would not touch upon everything. However, it could be argued to a great extent that a person residing in Mumbai doesn’t know a shit about what transformation Delhi is going through and when sees this, he loses the right to believe on what people are vomiting on social media about Delhi and its government. So, folks should chill and not keep themselves in waiting for common sense. Yes, it’s important because tomorrow you never know how political things (Thinking too far -You're right!) will be affecting us, our children (no, I am not married) and, of course, our society. So, take time and eye the political truth.