Elections in the World's largest democracy

Elections 2009.. thats the big news story these days..everyone has taken to election fever. There are  stories of scrupulous leaders brewing hatred between communities, calls for debates between national prime-ministerial candidates- rejected quite expectedly by the incumbant candidate, money spinnning schemes by all parties of astronomical sums, frenzied campaigning and formation of new collaborations between erstwhile enemies. 

The media is having a field day- in these times od recession- i think it is one of the few industries making profits by the hour. However, the standards of journalism are a real disappointment these days.How in the world can a story be aired as "exclusive" on 10 news channels at the same time?  Why does the media devote maximum coverage to the personalities who least deserve it? For instance, the "varun gandhi" saga (I even loathe to say his name)..the media just cant let go of it!. I wonder why we never get to hear discussions about potential policies/new legislation that the different parties are comtemplating? When is the media ever going to put up one on one debates between party spokespersons on "the real issues"- and there are many to that list- electoral reforms/education/reservation/economic policies..? It is always focussed on " peudosecular vs deplorably communal" debates or "is this or that alliance going to make  or break the election?" kinda debates. Unbelieveable!

While the politicians play their games and the media continues with its poor quality- no issues coverage, there are a few heart rendering stories too. I am particularly impressed by the social activism growing in India these days. The new age Indian middle class seems to have woken from its slumber and is taking up cudgels with their leaders. Be it criticizing lameback policies on political blogs (which i regard as the biggest step that the leaders have taken to get closer to their electorate) or starting mass media programs to encourage people to vote (JAGO RE!).. these guys are the new faces of emerging India!.I was suprised to know that.. out the 44% of Indians who are educated and socially well off.. only a meagre propotion vote!..its the uneducated 60% that makes up the bulk of the  attendence at the ballot (which is the opposite of many developed countries like the US). I sincerely hope that this 40% puts up a better show this time around. 

I am also impressed by the emergence of a new breed of professional indepedent candidates around the country..a sign of frustrated souls out to solve the problems of their cities on thier own.

All in all, elections 2009 promises to be quite a showdown. All the opinion polls/ exit polls/ psephological analysis of the results when played out on TV, will have a billion people glued to their TV sets. About a month or so to go..

From my balcony..

Looks like my good friend has infused me with some poetic spirit..and as i sip my habitual evening coffee.. this is what i can find for inspiration....

From my balcony, I can see,

neem trees gently swaying in the breeze,

black clouds gathering in the skies,

bees and butterflies, as they fly.

A cuckoo "cooes", hidden in the green,

a waddling cow, "mooes" beneath.

Young lads assemble for their evening play,

just as the ladies, group, to gossip for the day,

a vendor strolls by, with his wares,

an uncle parks his car with care,

a jogger comes on his evening run,

noisy toddlers have their fun.

These and more, 

come my way, 

by my balcony,

every other day!

just some of the bustling scences of life,  enacted each day of life...

Onward sister!

Here are a few words penned down by a good friend of mine..

Run ahead, look straight ahead
Feel the breeze stinging your face
All senses programed on the the task ahead...
The thin golden line barely visible.

The sweat dripping down uncomfortably,
Your eyes straining to stay focussed
Your tongue longing for a drop.

You turn around for a seconds glance at the inviting medow.

Keep onward soldier, your prize is awaiting

Just when your lungs almost give way,
The thin golden line begins to materialize

The golden laurel waits patiently as you finally stop to admire!

Hmm...i really like this piece..it says a lot about the kind of circumstances she has been through in life..although the "golden laurel" still eludes her.. she has remained focussed on the task ahead..a lot of us were/are skeptical on her attitude.. but she has never succumbed to "giving up".. i really salute her attitude.. and pray "the golden laurel" is  soon hers forever.

Reality bites!

Reality shows.. they are all over TV..and they can become quite a addiction. It took me a while to get a hang for these shows (im always a late starter- be it fashion/techno etc). But of late, outside of the news channels (which in a way are 24 X 7 reality dramas), i've become addicted to them. Be it, the fifth season running MTV Roadies or the ever popular Amazing Race..they make the best watch on TV.You get so involved in the going-ons. The sillier they get.. the more we love them. Of course we snigger at the rules, roll our eyes over the cat-fights, ridicule the quality of some tasks..but in the end.. the show goes on..and the channel is never changed. These guys have learnt the formula for successful TV entertainment. Its much better watching the guy-next-door contestant flex muscle or the average Indian women have their verbal duels (like the many that are played out on the streets everyday) than watch over-dressed, powdered soap queens get melodramatic. And of course, you wonder if all this is in a way a "staged" show, but who cares as long as the idiot box has managed to shell out its weekly dose of "masala" and "masti", giving you a much needed time out from your routine.

An Ode to Coffee

Coffee..its simply irresistable..this tan coloured,slurpy beverage is a need in my life everyday. I prefer to have a piping hot "tumbler" of coffee in the mid afternoon.. after waking up from my power nap (read: siesta)..and i love to have it "south Indian "style..served in a standard sized stainless steel tumbler with a small steel bowl beneath it. My favorite thing about coffee is to watch the froth biuld up as i tranfer it from tumbler to bowl and back. I read somewhere, in order to get maximum froth on your coffee, one must first mix only a little milk into a glass with coffee powder and sugar and stir this vigourously and then only pour the remaining milk/boiling water. It works. Its amazing what100 ml of caffiene can do for you. I dont know if it all in the mind. But it really works..instantly all your fatigue wears off..you feel invigorated with new energy to make a fresh start(especially useful if you have spent your entire morning fruitlessly and want to make amends at mid-noon). I have my coffee slowly (like a seasoned wine taster)..taking in all the smell and flavour..its almost a disappointment when i reach the bottom!.But i keep a strict 1 glass a day policy.. and must wait for the next day afternoon for another period of romance with my favourite drink.

Be more Persuasive

Have you ever had a conversation with someone when you start off saying something and after the course of the conversation land up agreeing to the complete opposite?! Well this is one of my biggest weakness. 

Its not that the other person is being malaciously manipulative.Its just that, i give so much leverage, (so much for being polite), that i often hesitate to say something that might upset the other person. Its a big disadvantage. I think i should talk first and talk more.. maybe that will help. But sometimes we just run into "walled" personalities, who don't want to hear anything to the contary of their opinion, that it becomes difficult to convince them of anything. There are others who selectively choose what is convenient for them, and ignore the rest. These two personalities are the hardest to combat. They are invariably pessimsitic  and moan at every hurdle.

Here's something i read about handling these kinda people..and being more persuasive at a conversation..

• First do the work of defining what you really want your audience to know. Otherwise you will simply get lost in your words and either give up or come out the other end not knowing what it is you were trying to say.
  
• eliminate what is of no importance. Why? Because just as you don't want your key ideas to get lost in details, you certainly don't want them to get lost in elements that have no business being there in the first place.
  
• Say what needs to said in minimum number of words.
• People will listen to you better if you show them what they gain by listening to you.
• Display logic and give presise information..it will immediately get the attention of others.

Great gift ideas for men

I was recently reading a women's magazine who had done a men's (!) special for the forthnight. It made interesting reading. For a change instead of appealling pictures of beauty products & women's dressing, it featured watches/shirts & boxer shorts(!). Well that got me thinking.. everytime we talk of male accessories/gifts for men.. all we can think of is the usual shirt/trouser/belt/wallet/watch/deo ideas..which is pathetic for our men folk. Hence i embarked on a mission to find innovative yet affordable alternatives.. this is what i came up with...

1. a massage session at the local spa
2. a male recipe book with easy-to-do dishes
3. a backpack for all his camping trips
4. an all terrain bicycle if he likes cycling, a golf kit if he's into golf 
5. a bartender's set to mix his drinks
6. trendy glares..like the new polaroid ones
7. a year's subsciption to his favourite gadget magazine
8. an all expense paid package to some adventurous little-heard-of destination..treetop living/scuba diving.. the works
9. tickets to his favourite game/concert
10. merchandise of his fav team he supports (if he doesnt have it already)

How difficult is it to keep in touch ladies?

Of late im peeved by old friends who dont keep in touch. I have a friend of 14 years (yes 14 years!).. somebody i spent my entire chilhood (and teenage years) with. We spent everyday of those years together-sitting on the terrace and having endless discusssions about our crushes, playing on the streets in front of our houses, going cycling around the colony, watching all the movies that came to town- that all ended when she got married and left with her husband to live on another continent. It was easier for her, i'd say, since at least her world was new and she had a husband for company. For me, I was left all alone without my soul mate to share my woes/joys. Well eventually, as life moves on, you move along, and I left for different places and made new friends.But she was always my special friend- somebody i so proudly used to say to everybody was so like me. I knew she wasnt the sentimental kind and initially it never bothered me that i never got any replies to my mails/ calls. But as time went, it became an increasing frustrating one way communication. Life was full for her- new friends, family and then later even a son. I gave her many chances, taking the busy life of married women into consideration. I would devise innnovative ways to get in touch with her- second and thrid degree common friends.I would wait till the 20th ring of my 5th call till i hung up the phone. But all i got was a once -in-a-blumoon superficial -inquiry -call back. 

Now, i have given up. 

What is it with girls who get married and think that..marriage/family/career..thats their sole mission on earth..to hell with old friends..to the extent that they begin to avoid all old contacts??..its an emotional draining experience for the poor old friend. I've also noticed that this a predominantly female syndrome.. women never bother to keep in touch with their ol pals.. while the men folk regularly make plans with their childhood buddies.

Its high time women get social with their old friends.. again.

Travelling on the train

Over the past few years, i have been forced to travel to many places across the country, for academic purposes and otherwise. About 60% of the time i have taken the train route. In India, thats the most cost efficient mode of transport we have. I have grown to love train journeys. Its a very satiating experience. 

Looking out of the window, one gets the enduring images of rural and urban India- a farmer ploughing his fields, women stooping over slushy terrain to transplant rice, an occasional mighty river, slum urchins playing in a dirty sewage canal, washerwomen vigourously washing their loads of clothes in the stream-there are many and each one refreshingly different from the prevoius. The most beautiful memories are those of the landscape that stretches beyond what the eye can discern- endless green fields, scores of sunflowers, a lone tree in fields with upturned black soil and sometimes piles of rumble with patches of shrub peeing out between the rocks. Its amazing how the scenery changes within a few miles of travel.

Train journeys are social experiences.One sits hubbled in a tiny chamber with 6 other passengers (sometimes more). Sometimes no conversation ever flows between passengers, but most of the time, there is some communication. There is always a howling kid, an intrusive aunty, an aloof uncle and an elderly couple who give you a share of their food. Some of these aquiantances may move on the become friends.

One always tend to eat more and sleep more on a train journey. Prehaps its the boredom or prehaps its the numerous food sellers that pass under your nose trying to sell their food. No train journey is complete without the cries of "Chai Garma garam Chai" or "masala vada" and like.It hard to resit the whiffs of their savory wares.

Trains are lifelines that criss cross our country to bind the nation. Although divided by classes, each train traveling in this country is a mini-nation in itself, with passengers from all over the country, meeting and interacting. It amazes me to see the sheer volume of people that use the trains everyday. Its no wonder then that the Indian Railways is the largest employer world over.

What Martians need to know about Venusians!

I always have my male friends running to me for advice about "handling girls". Although there are innumerable self-help guides on book shop selves, gender relationships these days are more strained than ever. Well, i may not be an authority on this subject, but there are some things i would like to tell the male bastion out there on how to handle the fairer sex- emotionally, physically and interllectually..here goes..

1. Never go out with a girl just for the heck of it/because everyone else is doing it/for sex only/because it makes u look more appealling/sensitive to others etc. Trust me guys, 90% of girls are looking for commitment..(even when they say otherwise!) maybe even marriage..so if u are a "commitment-phobic"type of guy.. ur better off staying away from girls.
   
2. Never give ur shoulder to cry on to a girl who has just gotton out of/or is in a bad relationship- unless u are serious of getting into one with her!- because thats when girls are most vunerable and go ga-ga over the first Adonis they meet.
3. Never reveal bits of ur physically/sexual activities to any common friends (better not to reveal them at all)..it always messes up a relationship.
4. Listen, Listen. Listen or at least pretend to!..thats a BIG turn on for girls.. makes them confidant that they have got the guy's attention.
5. Never go out with a girl who already has a BF, unless ur confidant that u can be a better (not sexually) and longer-lasting BF
6. Never rush/force sex on ur girl..go slow..go wild.. and always cuddle at the end.. that shows u care about matters beyond sex (even if u dont really)
7. If ur girl knows more about something than u, dont take it for a insult.. appreciate her for it and self congratualate urself that such a smart girl picked U for her beau..also there will be a zillion other things that u will defintely know more about than her
8. Let her be free .. dont restrict her/crush her ambitions/be possessive..its amazing how wonderful this can be for ur relationship..if she's truely ur girl..she'll know how to handle the freedom to the advantage of ur relationship..and u'll reap the benefits
9. Help her with the house work/errands.. a women always love it when the man does things that are traditionally branded as "women's work".. its just like the thrill men get when they see a women fighter pilot.. only women feel no intimidation!
10. Whenever ur girl asks u "How do i look?" or "Am i looking fat in this?" always give a positive booster first, and then subtlely drop a hint, if u think otherwise (better to forget the hint somethimes)..like if u dont like the dress say "Its lovely.. makes u look so radiant..but not quite as the one u wore for.. blah ".. or say " u dont look fat..not like  Miss X (who ur wife/GF hates/envies).. u look voluptious.. thats such a turn on!.