Mahesh Bhatt declares, "Sanjay to walk into prison like a man"

My inferences from this statement...

1. Sanjay would change his gender to male and only then step into prison
2. Men are not scared of entering a prison.
3. Till now, as a minister’s son or an MP’s brother he was a superman. Court has cut him down to size.
4. His supporters are egging him on to go like a ‘Mard’. “Mard ki tarah Jail may jao, Hum tumharey saath hain!”
5. Recently it was revealed that Sanjay Dutt is a man.
6. Till now only criminals walked into prison. For the first time a man will go there.
7. The SC judgement forced a bad son to convert to a (hu)man being.
8. Till now Sanjay was crying like a woman but now he has to go to prison as a man.
9. He is not a criminal but a victim of injustice.
10. What Sanjay did was correct and he is not ashamed of it.
11. During that time he was unmarried and hence nobody was sure of his gender but now that he is married and has multiple kids from multiple wives we can surely say he is a man. (Actually this inference is wrong. he was married with a kid).
12. Keeping AK-56, helping underworld dons in destroying one’s country qualifies a person to be a man.
13. Some people thought he was planning to enter prison wearing skirt and top.
14. When he committed the crime he was a female but the judgement created hormonal imbalance and hence he will walk into jail as a man.

Pitha at home

Today is makarsankranti a very special day for Hindus and Sikhs across the world. This is the day farmers harvest their farm produce and present a part of it as offering to Mother Nature. Some call the day as pongal, some Lohri, some Bhogali Bihu and for us Bengalis it is Pitha-parbon and Sankranti.

Since yesterday we were all geared up to do something for Sankranti and today my wifey dearest and I prepared some traditional pithas all by ourselves to mark the occasion. Last year mom and dad were here with us and gave us a crash course on how to make Pitheys. This year we tried to put that knowledge to practice.What nani used to make was the best, mom next; ours was just also ran. But by "first time experiment" standards it was great and special acknowledgement to my better half for letting me be her sous-chef in the endeavor.

For all our culinary experiments our comrades in arm are generally present besides us but they are in Kolkata right now for some extremely personal reason. We missed them so much today

Here are few pics of the pithes.

Doodh puli, Pati-sapta, sedhho pithey

Electricity played truant  so you see the candle next to plate.

Railway Budget 2012: Politics Vs Reality

Finally the railway budget 2012 is here. After a delay of almost a fortnight the budget has been presented. At first glance it looks like a positive attempt at correcting many long pending issues facing the railways. In his budget speech the Railway minister said that his main concern is safety and safety only. And by the look of it seems to be so. Unmanned crossings, unsafe working environments, unhygienic travel conditions and passenger safety issues have been addressed. Instead of making a populist statement the minister could dare to act is in itself a big achievement.

But the big question is, will the inter- and intra- tug of one-upmanship between the political parties allow the minister in his goal. That seems highly unlikely in the events that have unfolded in the last couple of hours. How could any person in all sanity oppose a fare hike which ranges between paltry Rs. 2 to Rs. 40 for ordinary classes are beyond comprehension.  If the online responses pouring into several news portal are anything to go by then surely there is a huge disconnect between what the masses want and what the politicians are willing to give. Every person who has travelled in train recently knows how badly the railway needs a makeover.  The squalor, filth and poverty visible near any railway tracks can put to shame any claim of India being a global super economy.  Inside the trains the bad shape of the amenities can put to doubt if we are a civilized nation at all. Twenty years ago we abrogated manual scavenging but the way the Railways dispose its toilet waste is akin to throwing one’s night soil through the bedroom window. And no civilized society can and should accept it.

We the commoners don’t want too many things from the railways but only few such things that can make our journeys better. And that needs money. When in the last eight to nine years the prices of general commodities have increased 10 fold there is no justification of keeping the fares artificially low as if that would alleviate all the miseries of the poor common man. Instead of killing an institution for the sake of appeasement the government should take care of giving proper facilities and value for money to the patrons of this giant institute.

For the last 10 years the railways are working on Collision avoidance methods but how much they have succeeded is anybody’s guess. Yet the average speed of our trains are not more than 50 kmph. It happens only in India that a train that travels at an average speed of  60kmph is called a Duronto. Duronto in Bengali means crazy. Only we Indians who travel 200 km by road in 5 hours can call a speed of 60 kmph a crazy speed. Then I wonder what will we name if (and ever) we manage to touch a speed of say 100kmph and how about 250?

The opposition today called it a budget without vision but I really wonder if they themselves have any vision. Opposing just for the sake of opposing does no one any good. For a change the budget seems to be a forward looking budget. For the political class IR has always been the milch cow which could be used anyway they liked but there is a limit to it. Sadly the common man has realized this before the politicians did. Former Railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav claimed to have made a profit of around Rs. 10,000 for the railways but after the initial euphoria died down everybody who mattered realized that not only were his claims inflated but his policies harmed the railways grossly. Overloading, excessive concessions and establishing stations at every village harmed the railways more than it helped anyone.  Honourable former minister could not even reap any electoral benefit out of it. Just shows how big a failure it was.

In every aspect this budget looks balanced and forward looking. And we the cattle class mass of India don’t mind paying few rupees more for a batter, comfortable and safer train ride. We hope the politicians, for a change, do what is good for the people instead of what may be good for vote bank politics.

Times Of India or The Hindu?

When The Hindu extolls us to read it rather than The Times of India does it do any wrong? I don’t know what The Hindu wrote in its headline but here is the comparative study of the headlines of the top 5 newspapers as on 31st Jan. The snippets have been provided by Rediff updates in their Daily Update section (Live! News).

 

Naturally, the morningers are all full of the slap that has sent reverberations through Bollywood. The Times of India has played the story on its front page, with some interesting details, read it here.

 

The Indian Express reports that the IIT-JEE, the entrance exam to get into the renowned IITs, is all set to go. A common aptitude-cum-advanced knowledge test will replace the IIT Joint Entrance Examination and the All India Engineering Entrance Examination in 2013. Read here.

 

The Hindustan Times reports that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for not caring about her. Read here.

 

Mumbai Mirror reports how borrowed kidneys have brought love to four persons in Mumbai's KEM hospital. Two couples, who fell in love after a series of chance meetings while undergoing kidney transplants at the hospital, tied the knot in December and January. Here.

 

DNA reports that the Rane's hurt and with their Swabhiman Sanghatana, have targeted the NCP. Swabhiman will be contesting the polls in the wards given to the NCP by fielding independent candidates. The task assigned to these candidates is simple: defeat the NCP candidate. Read here.

So, you see, whereas the last 4 papers have reported news which have either a human aspect or a political but ToI reported that genre of news that we associate with a tabloid; sleazy and cheap.

Bangalore Metro and some more

A growing city has many needs and many aspirations. To fulfil them every stakeholder has to be a willing participant in the growth story. Generally the populaces are somewhat reticent in taking a proactive approach but the government has to be proactive and ensure none of the stakeholders fall behind in this race for a better future.

In Bangalore the public transport scenario is much better than what is to be seen in other part of the country and now the metro is all set to get its name added to the plan of things. The metro scene has been the proverbial, “bit too little bit too late”. But we hope it really catches up. 3 years and a dismal 6 kilometres is all there to show, that is a bad harbinger. In addition the route coverage is something that can be a great topic of debate. The areas being covered are by no means the crowded section of the city. In the words of Mr. K. R. Srinivasa, MD (BMTC), “If Metro is to take vehicles off the roads Phase II needs to be completed. Not many people will use the Metro at this stage as it doesn’t make sense to get on at Baiyappanahalli and get off at MG Road, unless you live or work along these lines or close by”.

Metro at Lalbagh Flower Show-2011

So currently the metro does not solve any problem. It just allures to a better mode of transport in the future. Globally it has been seen that metros by themselves are not the best solution to traffic woes or congestions. They need many tertiary arrangements like feeder services that add to the ridership. A good feeder service in the form of buses, trains, mono rails etc can only leverage the full potential of an extensive metro network.

In Delhi also the government provides commuters with park and pay like facility where they can park their private vehicles at the metro stations and take the metro to destination. In addition many dedicated metro feeder buses are there to connect distant locations to metro stations. That is the way going forward. Metro per se is not the be all and end all of all the commuting woes in the silicon valley of the east. Though it is being marketed as one but by itself it cannot solve even a miniscule part of the issues. A multipronged strategy is needed to tackle that. The same should be kept in mind by the Bangalore city planners; the more the cohesion the optimal the utilization.

Multi-pronged MRTS options like Suburban trains, EMU, monorails, buses and bicycles should go hand in hand with an expensive alternative like metro.

On the eastern corner of the city lies Whitefield railway station. Railways can definitely try to augment its local train service to connect that corner to Yeshwantpur, Cantonment and City Central stations. Like the ring roads we can have ring rails too. The Kengeri satellite town has not seen any concerted growth. NICE corridor is still mired in political controversies. Most of these are based on greed of the political class. Mysore has a great potential to become the twin city of Bangalore. A spurt in growth of Mysore will automatically open up a corridor 180Kms in length between Bangalore and Mysore which can be used as infrastructure corridor.

Monorails, metro rails and other conventional commuting options have one limitation though. And with such a wonderful weather that Bangalore has, another option that should be extensively explored is safe cycling options for the dwellers. Almost 40% of the 8 million Bangaloreans are residing in the core of the city. Even if modest 1% of these core urban population shifts to using bicycles this will mean 30 thousand people following a better lifestyle, generating less carbon footprint and above all giving some reprieve to the already bursting at the seam civic amenities.

The government should try to spread the growth horizontally. The future to a decongested city lies in a well spread out yet well connected city. These 6 kms are just a beginning. Let’s hope in times to come we have a world class transport system that syncs with the perception of the Silicon Valley of the east.

Tango To Tangle

We are a nation of couplets. This by no means allude that we are very poetic. Au contraire, we are bit off note in most of the things we do. Yet everything that happens, or is happening lately to this great country of ours is happening in pair as if everyone is in a mood to do the tango. The “one is lonely two is company” adage is being pronounced and highlighted in a never before brazenness through sheer coincidences or malintentions.

When it was about corruption, we were being inundated with double whammies; CWG Vs. 2G, Reliance Vs Tata, Petroleum vs. Coal. Even the politicians are coming in pairs, be it quintessential Pranab babu or the archetypal Sibbal ji; or King and queen pair of Raja and Kani. Even our saviors have come in pair, though disparate, in the form of Anna and Baba. The list is endless, but the pattern is for all to see; we are being swamped by pairs.

Now we are coming to terms with two train accidents in a span of mere few hours. The twin tragedy was preceded by a not so welcome comment by none lesser than the captain of the law and order brigade in the capital of India, Commissioner Mr B. K. Gupta. This followed by the captain of India cricket team making a losing statement even at the podium of victory in the recently concluded Caribbean cricket cruise.

Sadly, both comments when seen in the deglamorized world of pure logic or reasoning sound correct and reasonable too. Yet both incidents left a bad taste in the mouth.

"If you travel alone after 2 am and become victim of a crime, the police alone can't be blamed. It is advisable that a relative or friend is with you at odd hours," said Gupta. This coming from the top cop is a telling comment on the failure of the law and order enforcing agency in one hand and the judiciary on the other. This is the same mindset that propagates the belief that when a girl is sexually exploited she is as much or much more to blame than the perpetrator of crime.

Why can’t a democracy that takes pride in being the holy grail of everything humane and epitome of righteousness provide its masses with at least a sense of security. We the people, long back stopped expecting much from the government but at least in its words can’t it show some degree of maturity and restraint? We all know that police can’t be everywhere all the time but it is the lack of will on their part to be a strong and able police force that bodes ill for the country. By asking girls to avoid going out at night or if really necessary, to go escorted is a negative step and is a nasty way to shirk responsibility. A society that has to force its female populace into the confines of the walls to ensure their safety cannot call itself a civilized society.

Now coming to the field of cricket, aren’t we at times too timid and careful. When we are trying to show our supremacy in every field how can we expect our timidity and over cautiousness to hold us in good stead? Whatever happened to our long held belief of, “In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail”. Of course looking at the batting lineup and the required runs to get, it would have been foolhardy to compare the target to something great. Yet by calling for a draw they have somehow let us all down.

When the coach and the captain repeatedly say that they did not want to risk the series, is it that that are trying to convince themselves or us? Don’t they realize that pusillanimity can never be passed as cautiousness be it the field of cricket or any other sphere of life.

Aspersions may be cast regarding why instead of basking in the glory of a series victory we are lamenting about the tame draw. The reason may well be that world cup win has raised our expectations sky high or may be we want to see our cricketers do the brave act and show us some killer instincts that we so much lack in our life but the answer lies somewhere in the middle. For all the inaptitude and shirking of responsibilities to be seen all around we feel our cricketers as the upholders of all our dreams and hopes. We want to see in them everything that we lack as a nation, a will to win, strength of character and the power of conviction to show the world that we too count as a nation.

For the common man on the road the police force are a sign of strength and the cricketers are the sign of success, or at least this is what we want them to be. Any sign of fallibility or doubt worries us.

Whether cricketer or policeman, everyone strives for success and glory but actions like these can put a blemish to that yearning. Yet, the question remains; do they care. Because if they don’t then there is definitely something wrong with the way we strive for glory. Let not success be covered by the halo of fear for it makes the victory facile and fake.

Waiting for her

She came in unannounced and stood behind me. I know every step of her; I know every breath of her. After spending so many beautiful moments together, even today my whole body tingles whenever she is around. I know why she has come here today. She has come to show me what she has worn.

I deliberately take a long time to turn around; I know this annoys her.  And when I look at her I can't believe my eyes. She is looking like an angel who has just stepped in front of me. I spend a long time gazing at her. I want to hold on to this moment for eternity. Time, space, and place everything seems to lose itself into oblivion in this moment of beauty.

With a mocking voice I tell her, "you came long back ago and now you get the time to meet me. Don't you think I have the right to see you before anyone does." She looks at me with those "I am only yours" looks and I forget everything else.

It's almost two minutes and she has not uttered a single word; so unlike of her. In her presence I lose my words or should I say, I pass on my verbal abilities to her. But today even she knows that she is dressed to kill and even a million words can’t match her beauty.

I stretch my hand to touch her. How I have spent my last 12 hours, every moment just thinking of her.

Suddenly a drop of water falls on my face and I come out of my day dream. No, she has not come today. I am missing her. The dream is lost. The moment will stretch to minutes and minutes to hours but she won’t come. It’s time for me to go. The rain has started falling hard.

I slowly pick the wilted rose from her grave and replace it with a fresh one i carried with me. She loved red roses. I will come here again tomorrow. One day she will come to meet me, and if she does not, then I’ll join her in the other world.