A Request from a Corrupt Indian..

Today, no matter where you go, or what you do, you are sure to hear two terms: 1) Anna Hazare and 2) Jan Lokpal Bill.

My friends have asked me to do a lot of things to show my support for this bill against “corruption”. I have been asked to wear black, go to Azaad Maidan and scream my lungs out, wear a white cap stating “ I am Anna”, etc etc etc.

I have avoided all this, because I have not been able to make up my mind as to what does all this mean. As per Dictionary.com, the definition of the word corrupt is: someone who is guilty of dishonest practices (bribery, lacking integrity, breaking the law, etc). If so, doesn’t this term describe around 90% of India? If so, is this bill against India?

Indians across all levels exploit an illegal opportunity for personal gain, aided and abetted by institutional practices and procedures. We feel free to exploit such opportunities due to little or nil accountability and low transparency. Over a period of all these years, an eco-system has evolved in these illegal opportunities, which has become very vital to our economic functioning.

In fact, I’m afraid, if corruption is totally eradicated tomorrow by a magic wand, our economy may come to a stand-still as no decisions will be taken anywhere and many people will not know how to do their regular work! Today, every Indian will turn corrupt or blind to corruption to survive the system. Don’t believe me? Let’s take an example:

Its 8:00 AM, you are on your way to office and you have stopped at a traffic signal. The signal is red, there is no oncoming traffic and no car or pedestrian blocking your way. Suddenly a biker zooms ahead breaking the signal. Seeing this, all the cars beside you start moving. You are still wondering what to do, when the cars behind you start honking incessantly. Except for you, everyone is now moving, in effect breaking the law. You have now two choices. You can wait another 10-15 seconds, looking like a fool who plays by the rules, or you can be like everyone else and go with the flow and the crowd. You will not lose anything if you wait for those 10 seconds. You will not gain anything breaking the red signal. What do you do? We all know the answer. The vast majority of us will go with the flow, because, everyone does it. The same applies to pedestrians crossing the road. Almost all of us cross the road and jump a red light.

We are who we are. We love bending rules and stretching them. We may be fed up with concept of corruption, but we live the lie every single day and moment of our lives.

And then, when someone promises us a law against corruption, we jump on the bandwagon, unquestioning. As if a new law will change anything, while we continue to be who we are!

Can corruption be eradicated by enacting laws or creating more institutions?

In a system where 10-20% of the total lot is corrupt, a more rigorous monitoring of corruption complaints may be a good idea. But, in a system where 90% are corrupt and other 10% look the other way, institutional monitoring of complaints and new laws does not seem to be a good idea.

Let’s assume that everyone agrees on the Lokpal Bill and create more institutions and authorities to combat corruption. Yes, we will have a place to store all the complaints against the corrupt. But will it solve the problem of corruption? No way. After initial euphoria, the institutions created under Lokpal will either get submerged under the large volumes of complaints or choose to operate with poor quality by throwing off most cases.

Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an Indian governmental body created in 1964 to address governmental corruption. It has the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India.

Does the CVC sound familiar to the Lokpal Bill? What has happened to it? What will stop the Lokpal from going down the same route as CVC? Who will stop the authorities in these institutions from becoming corrupt. Will it add to a long list of corrupt Indian institutions ranging from Army to Judiciary?

Its my opinion that creating another institution would not address the corruption issue. We already have many institutions for addressing corruption. The fact is that they are not functioning effectively. So the issue is to make them work effectively.

Corruption is an institutional issue and an issue of transparency. Unless the issue of transparency is addressed, corruption cannot be solved. Transparency of Governance operations and decisions is the only way out for fighting corruption. It will not eliminate corruption. It will enable public monitoring of Governance.

Today Ministries in State and Central Governments operate almost ‘clandestinely’ without the knowledge of the people. People should know where their hard earned tax money is being invested in. People should know the projects executed, decisions taken, reasons for those decisions. The common man does not get to know, even if he wants to know. This situation should change.

Ministries should list each and every activity of theirs on the web. Every project, every decision taken, every reason for the decision should be on the web, visible to everyone. Today, if we break a traffic rule, there is a 50-50 chance of us getting caught by the cops. If we get caught, we would rather pay a bribe, because the official process is lengthy and time consuming.

Ministries should as a matter of process involve people at grassroots level in big and small policy making by direct contact with people and soliciting online feedback. If you think this is a farfetched idea, Iceland has implemented this idea and now have a rewritten “crowdsourced constitution”. After such decisions are taken, atleast they should propagate it and inform them widely.

Why can’t the ministries publish their income/expenditure statements on the web with specific information about the volume of transactions carried out with different business houses?

These are just some measures. Bringing in more transparency in our governance is the only solution to the problem of corruption. With more transparency media and opposition can serve responsibly highlighting the corrupt deeds. They can serve as watchdogs.

In every dark corner some shady deals are bound to happen. Appointing a policeman to monitor every dark corner is impossible and cannot to solve the problem. Throwing light on these corners and making them visible will help solve the problem.

Hope, Anna Hazare who is fasting unto death to bring a new institution (policeman) to life realizes this.

As a Corrupt Indian, I make this request to Anna Hazare. Sir, Look around you. Everyone around you is corrupt or have been tolerant of corrupton in their own way. Don't fast unto death for creating one more institution, one more policeman. We cannot keep monitoring ourselves.

Our institutions need to be transparent and people need to be honest to some extent. That's the only way we can fight corruption. Hence quick fixes and solutions aimed at “others” is not the solution, when the problem really is within us. And a thousand Anna Hazares and Lokpal Bills will not be able to fix that.

Inception: "True Inspiration is impossible to fake"

I must admit, that I was pretty unaware about Inception, till the day it was released. Guess, I have been having pretty much on my mind of late. But, ever since I started hearing about the movie, I have been bombarded with rave reviews, advices on how to watch it, etc. All this pretty much gave me the impression that this will be another over hyped Hollywood Sci-Fi flick which will leave me wondering, “Why did I end up wasting two and a half hours!!!”. I was pretty much certain that it will be another case of some ‘talented’ Director trying to show off his so called ‘Charisma’

This gave me an opportunity to walk in to see the movie with a blank slate since I didn’t know what to expect. This turned out to be a pretty good turn of events, making me realize that the term ‘Ignorance is bliss’, can sometimes be true.

I was hoping Christopher Nolan would not let me down after ‘The Dark Night’ and he did not disappoint me by laying out a cerebral movie which had several aspects of human emotions and a plot to die for. The visuals, as expected from Christopher, are mind blowing and did leave me holding my breath many times during the movie. The incredible zero-gravity scene just blew my mind.

The best part about the movie is the plot, which is not just a story, but has been cleverly crafted into layers which unfold as the movie progresses. Every character had a purpose and mattered even though the story did revolve around Leo. We are introduced to the premise of the movie by the introduction of the rookie Ellen Page is introduced to the foreign concept of breaking into people’s minds. As things are explained to her, they are explained to us as well.

Even though this movie comes across as a masterpiece of storytelling, I thought there was a lot of explaining going on. It’s done well but there is a lot to absorb. This may be too much for viewers who walk in thinking this will just be a popcorn visual effects film. It’s a fair warning not to take the film lightly. You have to be awake and ready to take in the film, not just watch it. As I was leaving the theater there were people raving while others were dumbfounded.

The movie deserves and demands viewing more than once with intricate set pieces which are so breathtaking and jaw dropping that staying focused on the movie will need no exertion. I’m sure watching this movie again will reveal even more about the story that I missed because there is a lot going on as the movie layers dreams on top of dreams to the point where a unique keepsake called a “totem” is required in order to inform a character as to whether or not he or she is still dreaming. (which might actually be a good part) The totem, does provide an interesting ending which got almost everybody to the edge of their seats.

Overall the plot and the visuals make this heavy film that much more amazing to take in. I guess all I have to say is that I don’t mind that Christopher Nolan decided to put aside Batman 3 to take time to make this amazing movie.

Hockey- National Game of India, Babus- National Shame of India

Over the past few weeks, Indian Hockey has been making the news much more than the Indian Cricket Team. This got me interested and diverted me, a hardcore Cricket fan, to explore a sport which did not have bats, wickets or a 22 yards pitch. Its not that I was ignorant about hockey, but I did read the articles that appeared in the newspapers about it, or watched a couple of India vs Pakistan hockey games.

This new found interest had me search the Internet for some articles about Indian hockey, some facts which I found online about Indian hockey's glorious past, had my head spinning like a cricket ball delivered by Shane Warne. I'm sure the stuff listed below will atleast make you wonder, "What went wrong?"

The Indian Hockey team made a dream debut in the Olympics in 1928, where they cruized home to our first Olympic Gold Medal. This feat is even more commendable, if you add the fact, that they achieved it without conceding a single goal. Imagine, the Indian Cricket team winning the World Cup without allowing the opposition team to take even a single wicket, (for the whole tournament) sounds incredible, doesnt it?

From 1928 to 1956, the Indian hockey team won six straight Olympic gold medals, while winning 24 consecutive matches. During this time, India scored 178 goals conceding only 7 in the process.

When we talk of Indian cricket, the one name that every cricket loving fan can think of is, Sachin Tendulkar. We all must know that in case of hockey, there is also a name that is thought of with pride, the name is, Dhyan Chand.

Arguably the greatest player the game of hockey has ever produced, Dhyan Chand's genius crossed national boundaries. During a 1935 tour of New Zealand and Australia, he scored 201 goals out of the team's tally of 584 in 43 matches.

The great Sir. Don Bradman and Dhyan Chand once came face to face at Adelaide in 1935, when the Indian hockey team was in Australia. After watching Dhyan Chand in action, Don Bradman remarked "He scores goals like runs in cricket". The only other Indian sportsperson, the australian has praised is none other than Sachin Tendulkar.
On the field he was named the "Wizard of Hockey" for his complete control on the ball. It appeared that the ball used to stick to his hockey stick while playing. So great was the magic of Dhyan Chand that people actually refused to believe what they saw with their naked eyes. They broke his stick in Holland to check if there was a magnet inside and in Japan they decided it was glue. In Vienna Sports Club, there stands a statue of Dhyan Chand with four hands and four sticks.

Impressed by his superlative performance, Adolf Hitler supposedly offered to make Dhyan Chand a Field Marshal in the German army, but the latter refused. The thought that this sportsman who accomplished so much in his lifetime is seldom even spoken about made me dig more information about him. Sadly, to find out that such a hero died poor with no help from the govt. Compare this to how the Aussies and English have glorified Bradman.

Who would want to be a non-cricket sportsman in India? A couple of years back, I remember reading an article about Viren Rasquinha, a talented player and captain of the Indian hockey team, quitting the game for an MBA. Maybe he did realize that Indian Hockey was an impossible dream and wanted to come back to earth. I remember the press conference where he announced his retirement vaguely, but I do remember him shrugging his shoulders and saying, "It was a practical decision"

I consciously commented about the gentleman mentioned above, because in one of the closely fought India Pakistan matches that I had watched while surfing the channel, I had happened to stop long enough to watch the Pakistan players targetting this individual and hitting the hard hockey ball straight into this gentleman's body. This guy was being hammered by the opposition team and each time he went down, he would spring right up and be ready for the next volley. The game was ultimately won by India, but the sight of such passion towards the game did give me goosebumps to see a game being played with so much patriotism by all the players.

The tiger is the national animal of India, but their numbers are decreasing and is highly endangered. Hockey is national game of India, and seeing the current state of affairs, I'm sorry to say, but it is also endangered. Indian hockey seems to be facing an illness that is common to other sports — basically a disconnect between sports administrators, sportsmen and spectators. The three don’t seem to be on the same page. Hockey needs to be resurrected, but not because it won us medals in the past, it should be revived for its own sake.

As with everything in Indian sport, there is either a babu or politician at the head, all out for what they can get out of it. Hockey is perhaps the most glaring example. After the current fiasco that was flashed nation wide on national and international media, we can only imageine the state of mind the current players would be in, after this unfortunate incident, barely two months from the biggest tournament in the world. It seems highly unllikely that the administrators, did not know about the players discontent over payment issues. In case they knew it and still chose to ignore, is criminal. If they turn around and say that they did not know what was brewing, it is even worse. Either way, the administrators and babus have screwed up.

The only good from this entire fiasco is the amazing unity of the players, and the support they received from the second string team, former players and from the general public. Lets just hope these officials realize that the people are interested in our players on the field and not the politics, off the field. If the team fails to perform well despite having the home advantage, which is considered considerable in any game, we can blame none but the bungling administrators of Hockey India.

If we want our players to make the country proud and bring back the glorious past of Indian Hockey, the least we can do is to look after them financially and give them the dignity they deserve.

Some random thoughts popping out of my head

After a long long long..... long hiatus, I'm ready to strike again.... Back without a bang, but with a lot of stuff on my mind.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry on Earth knows the fact that life is not perfect (Except the little kids going about their lives in carefree bliss). But why can't it be close to perfect? Why does everyone have to go through the motions of life with a lot of crap? Why is our life haunted with problems?

Is it to teach us petty humans a lesson, that everything cannot be served to us on a golden platter?
I agree that hardships in our life are the moulds which shape our character and make us who we are... But, why then do hardships have to be so bloody hard?

Relationships in life which are shared by two people have their own share of ups and downs... But, are the downs the end of life? I agree that we do feel extremely helpless when we are faced with the downs in our lives, but should we let these downs come in the way of the ups as well? We all face a lot of turmoil when these downs do occur....

What am I supposed to do then? Cry, sulk and let fate take control of my life? Or should I just slog my ass out and do something to change it? But will that be good enough? Or will it involve the help of the people who have an influence in my life?

If someone you care deeply about is hurt by your actions, you are supposed to change the action. Undoing it is not possible, so not repeating it is said to be the best option. But, that leads me to my next question: Should we, or should we not change ourself, let go of ourself in order to please the people around you.

These questions have been popping in & out all the time. Our future is said to be the consequence of the actions done in our present, so isn't the present action the most important thing in our life. Setting our present well will secure our future.

Nobody said that life will be a straight and smooth highway. Rather it is more like a maze or a network of narrow lanes. Some of them might be smooth, some might not. All the lanes lead to different destinations. It is our call to choose the lane and reach the desired destination using our actions and learning from them as we move along.

Perception: A Dangerous phenomenon (when dealing with imbeciles)

Perception: Wikipedia says: The philosophy of perception concerns how mental processes and symbols depend on the world internal and external to the perceiver.
Does this hold true in the world around us? I think, the philosophy of perception these days concerns how mental processes and symbols depend on the world "internal" to the perceiver.

My school teacher used to say: "Isn't perception a wonderful thing? If we all saw everything the same way, there is hardly anything to learn" This would usually follow with: "Next time someone disagrees with you, remember that it is an opportunity to learn a new perception."

Now, after all these years, when I think about what she said, I say to myself, "Do I have to?"
I would like to remind her that when an idiot disagrees with you, he/she will only drag you down to his/her level, and beat you by experience. Why do I need to go through the pain to learn the perception of somebody who doesn't have his facts right, beats around the bush, & to make matters worse, most of the time doesn't even remember what he is disagreeing about after some time...

I do come across such characters in my day to day life at work. The common thread among all such characters is that the statement mentioned by me in the second paragraph above, holds true. Each one of them is of the opinion that the world that they have created for themselves in their mind is the real world.

Most of the times, their statements will begin with, "My concern is that...." This is where I get reminded of some south indian flicks, which show the fight scenes in super slow motion. I can imagine myself jumping a few feet in the air & delivering a drop kick right on their face, just to remind them, that I really don't give a damn about his/her stupid concern.

I would like to ask my teacher, do we really want to learn such a perception which has no value addition at all. My personal experience is that the only addition it does give us, is a severe headache after you have tried your level best to put your point across, & ultimately given up.
This is why, I think that Perception is a dangerous phenomenon, because at the end of the day, the imbecile perceiver will just ride into the sunset in his own dreamworld, while you are left thinking.... "Why me???"

Vici - My Cute Alarm Clock

I walked home from office one day (as usual, grumpy about my day) to see my parents grinning from ear to ear, and I thought to myself, "Not another of some silly surprise". It was four days after another "boring" birthday of mine, & I was sure, this surprise, would definitely leave a bad taste in my mouth. But, I was wrong (and I couldn't have been happier that I was wrong)
I found a cuddly little fur ball in the corner of my room looking back at me. The warm look made me forget my troubles in office and when I held her in my hand, she fit in my palms perfectly. The initial days were spent getting to know each other, and after a few days, it seemed like she has always been a part of my family.

Watching our new bundle of joy play all over the house would automatically put a smile on our faces, and soon she became the most loved person in my family. (Watch the video & do let me know, if there isn't a smile, while you watch her) Yes, you guessed it right; my parents do love her more than me.

By the time, she could reach up to my bed, she had turned into my morning alarm. I don't know why, but for some reason, she took upon herself, the herculean task of waking me up in the morning. My mom was more than happy that the task had been offloaded her shoulders.

Vici, would be at my bed at 6:30 AM sharp, trying to wake me, so that I'm not late. The best part is that if, I don't wake up initially by her gentle nudges, she then resorts to her sure shot technique of getting me out of my bed. She will push her nose under my knees & lift her head up in such a way that my leg falls on the ground & I'm half way out of the bed. If anybody else would have tried to get me out of my bed in such a way, God Almighty would have had no other choice, but to step aside & watch the scene from the balcony. But, since it is Vici, (and I'm sure she knows this too), all I can do is, end up on the ground, scratch my head & watch her as she prances around me at her job well done. These days, I'm never late to office, thanks to Vici....

I'm sure everybody is thinking that this is the best & the cutest alarm clock in this world, and would love to wake up this way every morning. But wait, before you all start thinking so, let me tell you about the side effects as well. Vici's week does not have weekends!!!! Yes, you guessed it right, she comes & wakes me up at 6:30 AM even on weekends....I have no choice, but to wake up at 6:30 AM, drag myself to the living room, watch her go for her morning walk with dad, and then rush back to my room to catch up on my well deserved sleep.

You might think that, all I need to do is keep the door to my room closed on weekends, but that doesn't work either. God forbid, if I keep the door closed, I do get my full sleep for that day, but then, I am not allowed to go anywhere close to her, or even pat her on her head. She will just not let me come close to her, & will have the sad face, which looks like she is telling me, "You don't love me at all...." This is the scene, till I go down to the shop & get her a packet of gems. This, Rs. 5 packet is my lifesaver, she will forget all her anger & go about prancing showing off her gems to each & every member in my family before asking me to open it & give her those colorful pieces of her favorite treat.

So, everyone, this is the deal, if I'm supposed to have my full quota of sleep, either I'm supposed to sleep early, or else, I better have a packet of Gems near me in the morning. A Sweet Deal, isn't it?

Suyodhan/Duryodhan - (Mahabharata Reloaded)

One of my colleagues at work, (who is fondly called as Rambo), brought up this really interesting topic about the Mahabharata during one of our chats at work. Now, the Mahabharata has fascinated most of us since childhood, and the topic does bring back fond memories of the colorful characters splashed across our TV screens every Sunday by Mr. BR Chopra.
Getting back to Rambo, he enlightened us by mentioning a chapter in a CBSE textbook regarding the Mahabharata from Duryodhana's point of view. He mentioned that the chapter nearly convinces us that the Kauravas were more 'rightful' than the Pandavas.
He also brought to light the fact that the real name of Duryodhan was infact Suyodhan. This fact got me thinking more than what he said about the 'rightful' Kauravas & Pandavas.
On checking Google, I found my answer in Wikipedia, it says: "He is actually named as Suyodhan which means a great warrior, he changed his name to Duryodhan which means impossible to conquer, many people have misconception that he is been called as duryodhan because of his misdeeds"
For a long time (before Google, Wikipedia and the Internet in general), our knowledge of history has come from our history text-books. I could never really trust my history text books, because a quote I had heard in my early days, always crossed my mind: "History is written by the victors"
I guess, had the Kauravas, won the war, we would have had read a different version of Mahabharata, or seen a different interpretation by Mr. BR Chopra.
While searching for my answer to Suyodhan's roots, I came across many articles claiming that the Kauravas were the real good guys, etc. I came across the names of a few books, which put across the views of the losing side, ‘Duryodhan’ by Kaka Vidhate, 'Mrityunjay' (another book on my Mahabharata hero Karna), etc.
Now, history tells us that the Pandavas were bound to win the war because they were on the side of truth, (dharma). The online articles ask us to take a closer look at what actually happened in the war. Each one of the Kaurava commanders were killed rather than defeated (‘hatya’ as they call it as opposed to ‘vadh’).
1) Bhishma was killed when he refused to fight Shikhandi
2) Drona was mercilessly beheaded after he laid down his arms on hearing the false news of his son’s death.
3) Karna was defeated when he was without his weapons trying to get his wheel out of a ditch.
Till now, we generally accepted all this, since, our books told us that the Pandavas were 'right'. Our history regards him as a villain and the instigator of the war. Whereas, the articles tell an interesting and often, heart-touching tale of Duryodhan, a prospective (and maybe, even rightful) emperor wronged by fate, his father, his friends and his dear ones, leaving him to wage a lonely battle to get what he regarded as rightfully his in life.

Now, after reading all this, the only thought that comes to my mind is, SO WHAT?? One side was right and one was wrong (Kauravas or Pandavas), or maybe both sides were wrong (in their own ways). The story served its purpose- Good over Bad. It is meant to teach us something, and it does. Though Pandavas' actions are still not highly appreciated by everybody, and thats why Ramayana is considered a more revered book than Mahabharata. In Ramayana, one kills a demon, in Mahabharata, one kills humans, ones own brothers.
We are forgetting the purpose of these texts in our lives. These were not written to prove who is right or who is wrong, but to guide us in our life by making the right choices. It shouldn't matter whether the Pandavas were right or wrong. What they did was ultimately shown as good or bad. We need to pick up the good points of each individual and mould it into our character. (For example: Karna's generosity)
I am fortunate enough to look at these things the way i am looking now. But many of us do not want to budge from our stands ,and perceive things from a narrow point of view. Its views and opinions like these which lead to communalism, conflicts and religious fundamentalism.

I guess its never too late to be human, all we have to do is open our eyes....

P.S: I do intend to read the book ‘Duryodhan’ by Kaka Vidhate and 'Mahabharat ki ek Saanjh' by B.B.Aggarwal soon