The many ways we are alike : American and Indian Democracy

[ This entry won the runner's up trophy - an iPod- in the Blogocracy Competition organized by the American Centre, New Delhi]


In 1992 I was just 8 years old when the Rodney King trial verdict had been declared. Los Angeles was witness to wide spread civil disturbances. Watching the riots spread across the city gave me a scary feeling, that 'America' was at war. It took a toll on the patience of the powers that be, but the city resumed normalcy in time to come. President Reagan, had remarked then, "..We simply cannot condone violence as a way of changing the system.."

That system is democracy. Often, Democracy as a system of governance is talked about in the same breath as the Government in power. This is a fallacy, for a failure of the Government to cater to the needs of the people does in no way reflect upon the system of Democracy. The very reason citizens in the US and in India can take to the streets and protest against a move that they feel is against better governance is a testimony to how strong a democracy we are.

Not easy to define Democracy. There are dictionary versions of it, quotations by statesman, however I'd like to say Democracy is a stretchable string which loops itself around the laws, rights and freedoms that define people. The strength of that string is the voice of the people it governs.

Come November, the US will be deciding between the incumbent President and the GOP candidate, which seems headed towards Romney, unless Gingrich and Santorum can stop his juggernaut. The Republican candidate will take on the man, whom they say, killed Osama Bin Laden. That's a tough act to follow!

Similarly, 2014 is the year when Congress is put to the test against the Bharatiya Janata Party and the 3rd front. Party politics is at its mightiest now, to find a challenger to Prime Minister Singh.

If we are to analyze just how similar we are, the largest democracy, India and the most powerful one, US, perhaps we may learn democracy is by no means a feeble word.

Will of the people: In January 2011, a fruit vendor, Mohammed Bouazizi succumbed to burns he had sustained when he self immolated in a street in Tunisia. It was the start of the Arab Spring, that spread across the middle east. President Ben Ali of Tunisia resigned followed by President Hosni Mubarak, bringing a hope of Democracy in West Asia. 

Both the US and India respect the will of their people. Elections in India reach out to the billion strong population, campaigning carried out late into the night, village by village, sometimes miles on foot. The American system recognizes the imbalance of voting rights and has been successfully using the electoral college to remedy that situation.

Candlelit memories of Mohammed Bouazizi
Image source : Google

Diversity of the nation: India, like the US, is a nation of cultural diversity and difference of opinions. A candidate must cater to the needs of the country, the unique wants of each section of society. America, the melting pot, is over flowing with a mix of African American and Hispanic - Italian - Asian - Middle eastern-American voters. You can't please all the people all the time. Well, that's exactly what a candidate must achieve in the follow up to the elections. 
I admire the way Puetro-Rican Americans, far away from the mainland are given right to vote. These gestures cant be orchestrated or put down to vote-bank politics, there's something more than politics here, its how America functions, how it thinks!

Freedom of Speech: In 1984, outside the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Gregory Johnson was arrested for burning the American flag. Texas v. Johnson, was finally decided in the Supreme Court, that stated, this was a constitutionally protected form of free speech. The right to wave the flag, the right to burn it.The Government tried to overrule this judgement by passing acts which bar the desecration of the American flag and every time the Supreme Court has stepped in. In January of 2002, fighting for the people's right to fly the Indian tricolour in our homes and offices, Member of Parliament and business leader, Naveen Jindal won the battle.
Today, anybody in India or the US, may blog, gather as a crowd, walk up to the Parliament or Capitol Hill and demand to be heard. What he says, may be against Government policies, yet, the Governments of our nations do not have the power to stop him.

Right to gather in protest: When cries of 'Occupy Wall Street' hit the financial capital of America, few expected the reach of the movement to be so widespread. Seeing videos and photographs of protesters going to prison, the image of the country was not tarnished, rather it was elevated. Down here in India, the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill or 'Lokpal Bill' gained similar momentum. Anna Hazare, a man advanced in his years, lead a lone battle in support of the Bill, until the nation joined in. What makes the two countries special is the way in which the protests were carried out, never bursting out into a revolution. It was civilization at its best behaved.

Rally in support of the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill
Image source : Google

The recent past has seen issues arise such as the strip-searching of passengers, men in turban and women in burqa, having to identify themselves as innocent citizens, and the detaining of those whose names show up on no-fly lists. However, as Thomas Jefferson once said, " The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure". What is asked of citizens today is sparing the thought of freedom of privacy at the cost of another terrorist attack.

It is time for the largest democracy in terms of size and the largest democracy in terms of economic power to work towards a better tomorrow, and not live in the past. In our togetherness lies the hope of Democracy spreading to our neighbors and us rejoicing in their freedom.

Beware the Ides of March...

Beware! The Ides of March, come Oscar time.

Am not about to extol the virtues of, or immortalize the movie. This cow has been fed many times before, in magazines and newspapers across America and the World. I think the movie watching public should be prepared for a monumental disappointment at the Academy Awards if they expect it to win.

Let me start by saying, I think the performance of Giamatti (Duffy) and Hoffman (Zara) were outstanding. They met if only for a few moments at the beginning of the movie, yet their utmost respect and dislike for each other's methods was screaming at you throughout the screen time. It was their opposing ideology growing from the same root that bounced Gosling (Meyers) from one side to another before he learnt the ropes.
What can one say about Gosling? Half Nelson. Lars. Blue Valentine. All Good Things. 'Nuff said?
A young Steve Mcqueen, pardon the comparison.

Few will remember Paul Giamatti as the bell-hop who shares a cigarette with Julia Roberts in 'My Best Friend's Wedding' and most of you haven't seen 'Punch-Drunk Love' or if you did never knew who Seymour Hoffman was.

If anybody disappointed, I guess it was Marisa Tomei, (she was awful.) and Clooney himself, as an actor, as a director.

So why will the movie taper off from the list of Academy winners?

Two reasons.

Firstly, as we have seen with 'Good Night and Good Luck', Clooney is unafraid to choose controversy over caution when it comes to making movies. The McCarthy Era was the weakest time for not just LA but the whole of America. People were ready to turn in friends and family, colleagues and clergymen and mistrust ruled the New world. It was no different from the way jews were hounded up in Germany before the war. Still today, the likes of Elia Kazan, a legend in his own right who has directed Brando and James Dean is ignored by a majority of well known actors, Nolte and Ed Harris being the most noteworthy. Can we ever forget the two of them sitting down holding their hands close to their chest in a morbid moment of shame when Kazan went on stage to receive his Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Academy dislikes controversy. Wasn't surprised when 'Good Night' was bid the same in 2005.

With 'Ides' Clooney courts similar controversy. With America on the verge of occupying itself many times over, confidence in the presidency dwindling, politicians engaged in pissing contests as soon as someone mentions the primaries, the last nail the Academy needs on its coffin is a movie where the unscrupulous Politician wins in the end.

Secondly, Clooney as an actor is unparalleled today. He was the glue that held together Syrianna, provided the kick in Ocean's and stood at par with Tom Wilkinson in 'Michael Clayton'. Where was he? Where was the actor in Clooney? We saw shades of him in Governor Morris but he went into the background while Gosling, Giamatti and Hoffman, with little help from Evan Rachel Wood, stole the show.

An actor directing himself is a tough job. Eastwood seems to be the only one who has pulled it off with ease. Clooney missed a trick here by not giving his character more time to develop.

The fact that self serving political lobbyists make their way to the top and Presidents of the United States have hidden skeletons in their gubernatorial cupboard is an old story. The underdevelopment of Guv Morris' character and the reality shown here shall rob Clooney off his chance to hold Uncle Oscar.

Anyway, I stand to be corrected, to be surprised.

The last rites of the Tiger a.k.a the one about the lawyer and the judge

I really look forward to the news these days. Its not a normal day unless someone from Congress has done something to pi** off Anna-daata. Or, a new-never-thought-of-before-bold-move by Dr Prime Minister Silent Singh has backfired. Or the BJP has asked a minister to resign. Or a self-appointed loud mouth has put his foot in it, and is now walking around rubbing 'it' off on others.

Last evening as I was flicking casually through the telly, I caught the ending moments of a tear-jerker on NDTV. The story was about how a tiger was shot somewhere in Jaipur or was it Nagpur?!
The very same day I'd happen to chance upon the voice of Justice Katju criticizing the media's coverage of Dev Anand's death. I hope the right honourable Justice Katju (of the farmer suicide / taliban beard fame) was channel hopping just as I had and destiny had played its part through which the great jurist would be able to enjoy a story that he'd strongly appreciate.
There they were, the rest of the print and electronic media swooning and lamenting over the passing away of a star of yesteryear, when NDTV broke away from norms to bring to us this enigmatic and epiphanic tale of the death of a tiger. Today, there is bound to be a follow-up story where Barkha Dutt interviews the tiger's parents asking them for their reaction on the brutal murder as well as snippets from the life of the policeman who shot the animal, who now seeks refuge in the Bodhi tree of enlightenment.
William Blake would turn in his grave. Twice.
(I have nothing against Tigers. I sympathize for them and urge fellow netizens to stop the indiscriminate killing of our striped friends. With or without the presence of Dhoni by my side.)
(I don't even have anything against farmers. Like every Incredible Indian I have started accepting all the below-poverty-liners as human beings and am ready to organize and be a part of any social gathering, rock concert or media movement to bring their plight to the forefront. With or without the presence of Aamir Khan.)

Justice Katju is not alien to courting controversy through his iconic comments. The insinuation that 'long beards' would lead to the Talibanisation of the Nation is a well documented crusade of the Judge. He was the first to realize that not poverty, nor hunger, nor unemployment, but an Osama beard would transform any Muslim youth into a Uzi totting, vile, murderous militant capable of heinous acts of violence. For those who disagree I suggest you have a good look at the career statistics of one Hashim Amla or a certain Inzaman-Ul-Haq. Before the beard they were good batsman. After the facial hair was fluffed and grown, they were pure Chuck Norris-in-white.
(Dean Jones, if you're reading this, its politically incorrect to call someone a terrorist on TV, if even for a laugh.
Its fine if you have a blog.)

Speaking of larger than life action stars brings me to the topic on everybody's lips. Kapil. Kapil Sibal. Phew...!

What's wrong with the World today? No, I AM actually asking you. Dunno? Its our belief system. Now don't get me wrong. I am not talking about religion. I am not talking about the holy Quran or the Gita or the Bible.
I am talking about the Internet. Yes, that's right. Holy books are so passe. Who reads them nowadays?
The whole wide World (www) depends on the Internet. And what it says. It keeps us informed about who is gay and who's dating whom. It reveals to us the dirty secrets of politicians after they're dead and buried. It helps us with our math, it helps us prepare our meth, it helps us procure 'honeys' and teaches us about making moneys.
It is our Savior, our salvation.

When people opine that something posted online could be incorrect, slanderous, mischievous or just plain fun I get enraged.
How could anybody in his right mind NOT take the Net and especially Facebook seriously? What makes a man doubt the crap posted online? Obviously every bit of information in it is researched, vetted, studied, pondered upon and authenticated.
For people to post slander on Sonia ji online is sacrilegious.

Censorship is the only way to ensure a man believes everything a Politician tells him. Just look at the glowing examples of censorship staring us in our faces. Iran, Egypt, Pakistan and China. Democracy at its finest.
If censorship is the norm, I take it print and electronic media would be next in line.
I guess if that happens certain journalists would have to stick to reporting the news as it happened and avoid rewriting it.

They say people deserve the Government they get. I guess its the same for the fourth estate. Or wannabes and megalomaniacs.

How To Avoid Work And Get Paid

We are animals of habit, all of us. From the time we are born till the time we hear the division bell we shall continue to ape the nearest primate. Our language, dress sense, accessories, habits, cars and even spouses are just a reflection  of what we have seen around us. Originality is saved to explain why we do not do things differently. Its not as if we do not understand the difference between who we are and who we could be, we are too scared to be what we might end up as, in case we tried...


From a tender age we are extolled at length about the virtues and the wisdom in being a professional engineer/doctor/lawyer/accountant/stock broker or what have you. In some cases there is enough pressure exerted towards the sports to either create an illusion of being a competitor or as it happens in most cases we end up with an injury for life - its that bad back or the weak knee we see our friends nurse all the time!

How many of us end up as what we desire to be? What does it take to achieve this?

I have to think of the many people I've come across who complain of not being 'in the right job'. None, not even one of them blamed themselves for this fiasco, they blamed their parents and guardians or teachers in school and my favourite excuse amongst them 'situation at home'! Well its time to rid ourselves of this malaise.

Ask yourself now. Sitting wherever you, whether reading this article at work or in your home, ask yourself - Are you satisfied with where you are headed in your life right now?
This question applies to all of us here. Teachers, students, professionally qualified all alike.

Only a lucky few will find that their answer pleases them. A few will fool themselves into thinking the answer brings unease but that they are 'getting there'. Most of you who haven't got the right answer have already left reading this article cause you know the rest of it will displease you further.

To the ones left behind - I write the rest for you.

Firstly, its never too late. Believe me. Regardless of how much you are earning right now, be it more than enough or just to make ends meet, or in some cases not even so, your life will be so much better when you are doing something you have always wanted.

This brings me to the topic of this write - "How to avoid work and get paid". As you must have guessed by now this is not a quick reach scheme or an article teaching you the tricks of the trade at how to shirk work. This is to inspire you in the best and only way I can to make your work, your freedom from work itself!

Sounds crazy doesn't it? I didn't believe it myself till I wrote this piece. Honestly.

We are all born with dreams. These dreams are not 1 in particular but a plethora of ideas and musings over the initial few years of our life. The younger dreams of being a fireman and cowboy and Superman for that matter get replaced by more mature and realistic dreams. Of being photographers, artists, poets, writers, singers, dancers, actors, barbers and running a restaurant . Over time these too get washed over. We shove these dreams under the carpet, forget they ever existed. We instead replace the void by filling them with the dreams of our parents and guardians. Am not saying anyone who dreamed of being a doctor is only following in the footsteps of his parents. Of course, many of us do dream of being in suit, seated in a chair looking out over Manhattan. But millions of us recognize the void in our parents/guardians lives and try to fill that void, that empty need. In filling a void in their lives, we create one in ours. But these thoughts are alien thoughts. Our mind and body fights against them till our will overpowers them all. In absorbing these dreams of others we get infected. We lose our happiness, lose our smiles, our freedom to choose, our willingness to try something new. Then, one day, we teach our children to do the same. Compromise.

The vicious circle has continued for generations. Shall continue for generations too unless You make the change.

Start small. Sit yourself down in a comfy chair and ask yourself - What do you want your Life to look like?
Are you what your parents dreamed you would be and if so, was it also your dream? This is not the time to blame your parents. This is not the time to blame yourself either. This is the time for change.

If you have already mortgaged yourself from head-to-toe then reach out. Get financial help now. Go out to your bank, your parents, your best friend, your colleague in office and ask him for that loan.

Get yourself the arrows you will need in your quiver to aim for a new life, maybe a degree that you couldn't attempt as a teenager or a course that you never found time for, go do that now. Then leave what you are doing now and go ahead and chase your dream. Of course, you may have to resign. Forget the fear of failure. Of being told you are wrong. Of being told its an irresponsible step. They are not judging you, the ones who say this, they are judging themselves. They are scared of being in the position you are - that of risking everything for happiness. But if you are not happy - what good are you to those around you?

Maybe your wife will have to work again. Maybe you will have to move to a smaller, cheaper apartment. Maybe, one day, you can be at home during dinner, sharing laughter and stories, not staring at the keyboard. Maybe you can take your kid out to see the new animated feature like you promised him and not cancel out as always. Maybe, one day, you can be happy again. Maybe, just maybe, you'll get your Life back. Go into office eagerly to spend the day there challenging your mind and not just your body. Maybe, without the burden of expectations to hide under, your work won't feel like work anymore. But you'll still get paid for it. Maybe you will be first one you know, who doesn't work but still gets paid for it. That's a lot of 'maybe's. But then isn't life all about the 'maybe', about possibilities and chances.
Take the plunge. Start your Life again.

Something of Value

In the quiet dark hours of the night, when the country sleeps, when we dream of the finer objects of life, thousands of Indians keep awake dreaming dreams of their own. They epitomize the proverbial small idea that became a movement. We ridicule them, we are loathe to call what they do work, we hold the sum of their existence as means to support our end. They are the unseen and unwanted, the unsung heroes - the Call centre workers.

Before you smile and snigger, before you jump back and forth to investigate whether I've ever worked in a call centre let me assure you I haven’t. That is not my reason to post this here. But this was overdue, inside me somewhere.

Sometimes I see those early morning cabs, with a host of men and women heading home. They are not all pageant winners or dumb blondes. Sitting and smiling to herself, wearing a pullover in summer to save herself against the cold office and office cabs, getting a measly sum after being on the job 6 nights a week, she still holds a dream in her heart. A dream that bears fruit every time she brings home the groceries and refuses to accept payment from her mother. A dream that looks achievable whenever she buys her kid brother the mobile phone she couldn't afford growing up. The guy walking up to his dad and telling him to take it easy at office, the guy forcing the room rent onto his father's trembling hands or passing an extra hundred to his mother, in secret, for the household - now these are dreams worth living for.

But these are small people aren’t they? Cause they have such small dreams.

In a matter of 10 years, our country has grown from being mystical India where people came to find themselves to a country where foreigners and PIO prodigal sons come to find jobs. Yet all this wasn't an overnight effect of a magical plan. We opened our economy, we risked unknowing the effect competition would have on our small and medium enterprises. The result is there for us to see. !ncredible !ndia...

When girls and boys all over the country began waking nights, answering calls, taking in the irate customers and indecent language, the abuse, the long hours, the minimal pay, the inability to enjoy the sunlight which we enjoy every day, on that day they made this country a beautiful place to work in..and they visualized the India we live in today. 

The story does not end here. The story becomes bigger. The banks and mobile service providers started to adopt this dream. Call centres became a 24 hour businesses. They adapted when the call for banning off shore work became loud in America and they maneuvered through thick and thin and red tape of regulatory compliances. Service industry became a buzz word in all our dictionaries. GDP became the key through which we were to achieve our superiority. More foreign exchange flowed than ever before. Exports rose as India became a cost saving haven, a place where quality work came cheap. The Golden bird, the 'soney ki chidia' was flying once again. 

We grew as a nation. Sadly, not as a people. There was never any respect for the menial worker in India and the call centre employee became a menial accessory like other grade 4 staff. We joked about them and still do; we compared them to prostitutes and still do. We started to involve our time in mergers and acquisitions, overseas buy outs, private equities and hedge funds and the call centre became a run of the mill cost saving exercise. The job that started the gold rush was now valued as old rust. Rightly so, for its not a value creator, but a value saver.

Today, if you have the words 'call centre', 'technical support', 'night shift' in your resume you are a pariah. Nobody wants to touch you other than a call centre. I even know of a few who hide and deny their call centre experience knowing very well that it would contribute towards them being shown the door quicker.

Am sure you all have stories for how many call centre workers get paid handsomely and drink it all away or waste it all on their girlfriends. But then so do many others who have smart careers ahead of them, ones who aren't treated as mercenaries.

Fact is, nobody considers the work done by the typical diminutive invisible call centre employee at par with the rest of the Indian corporates. All I hope is, many of you read this, talk about it, and the next time you talk to a call centre employee, you don’t have to be kind to him/her like I am - just don’t be rude.

After all, it’s their dream come true. A dream bringing joy forever, it's loveliness lasts, and will never fade into oblivion.

We have one too...

It rained this weekend. Rarely does in Delhi.

We fly on a perpetual high, every time we see rain clouds and feels the cool breeze caressing our face. This city has never been about the aesthetic beauty. Here, its not what the rain brings rather what the rain stands for. Since it is the monsoon season the Capital must have some rain, mustn't it?

We love playing catch up in this city.

Every street has its Jones' and the Sharmas - Singhs - Chawlas keeping up with them. The signs are so obvious they make one laugh and jeer at the same time. Neighbors' houses often look the same on the inside regardless of the outer facade. Just like delhi people. There are big screen TVs, iPhones lying around, keys to the Mercedes and Bentleys carried around ceremoniously by hand and not the safe way in pockets. Its comical as to how car keys sporting the maker's name end up listening in to all your conversations lying craftily on the coffee table.
Then there are triple door refridgerators from simply Samsung, loud Roca bathroom fittings, meticulous Maspar curtains pulled just enough for you to see the Saint Gobain across the glass.

Popular in the city are...
Salsa classes, even though most Delhi-ites are pappus who can't dance saala...!
Cooking classes, although classy socialites of the city rarely feel the heat of the stove...
Music classes, even though the Dhol and bhangra is what we see in every wedding...

I guess even the rain Gods would not believe that by showering on this city it was just doing its part and helping it keep up-to-date with the happenings in the rest of the country.

The water is used occasionally by some ironically gifted individuals in colonies who opt for 'Rain water harvesting'. Water is scarce in the city and these spaterring of harvesters look forward to these few droplets of water to wet their 'we -are-doing-our-bit-for-this-city' routine! MAD they say...Mad About Delhi. Gimme a break!

The north-east-west doesn't get enough while in the South chauffeurs spray their precious cars with precious water all too many times a week...

While most of Delhi has darkness interrupted with few hours of electricity the Great-greater-greatest Kailash and Kailash hills and colonies get uninterrupted power.

If you live in this city, make it point to live in the south, next to a Who's Who. And try and keep up with him dear, he may take you to his farmhouse one day.

Holi hai !

Tomorrow is Holi. A most popular festival in India for we paint our faces regardless yet having the license to frolic for a whole day is special. Not all of us like the festival. I always end up asking people when did the 'liking' for the festival stop. I believe that's the day one becomes a drone, a robot. Devoid of the thrill of the mundanities (I hope that is a word!) of applying colour to others faces, one can see you've stooped so low in your efforts to be special that you have forgotten common people are special people too.                                          HAPPY HOLI EVERYBODY, GO FOR IT, GET A LIFE :)