I AND MY WORDS

Who the hell is he? Who the hell on earth really is he? Free at last An ear on his generation Protesting against the pedestal of idolism he created Finding his own voice, writing his own stories Having something to say Writing, singing, thinking That is all he is doing Asking questions not meant for answering That transparent substance Around him Hiding his real you What’s wrong with him today? They are left puzzling Not knowing what who when how why They stood all there, looking him today Searching him today And yet, unchanged stands he Unchanged to they who seek to Change him their way. -           Inspired by Bob Dylan and his story in No Direction Home and the content in it.

Chanakya had warned in his supposed sutras that rulers should always be wary of sycophants and subservient members of administration. However, what we have seen at the Chinta (not chintan, since there is more worry than thought being discussed in Jaipur) is exactly this very durbari mentality that Tavleen Singh has copyrighted (wish people were intelligent enough to see it). A few candid admissions came from people like Chidam-broom (thank you Mr. R Jagannathan for the wonderful twist) about the Congress' inability to gain absolute majority on its own were refreshing for a change. However, as if on cue, news channels (especially those self styled conscience of nation who are always demanding answers) started discussing whether a certain OBC leader from a state of 6 crore Gujaratis could create deep fault lines in the Indian democracy. This debate got accentuated further by comments from a politician who still fancies Railways his personal fiefdom about 'secular' and ...

As human beings, we bear the ability to reflect on events that went past us. Hindsight is the best vision as they say; however, it is imperative for us to learn important lessons that the past few days, months or even years have on offer for us to learn. The protests over the past few years have shown the emergence of a new urban population that numbers significantly and is spread uniformly across the country. This population, predominantly young, may not be be considered rebellious, even though it is aspirational and angry about the status quo in this country on many fronts. This population is apolitical so far, since no one has appealed to them significantly, or has quickly belied their expectations, as was demonstrated by the fizzling of support for Arvind Kejriwal's disastrous Aam Aadmi Party experiment. This population is however ready to fight it out on the streets for what they perceive are their rightful demands, what they deserve as citizens across this country. This p...

There is something special about Shashi Tharoor and his ability to put his foot in the mouth when it comes to saying all the wrong things, while pretending to be messiah like. Then again, it perhaps stems from his Stephanian legacy which he shares with equally iconic people like Mani Shankar Aiyer, Rahul Gandhi, Sandeep Dikshit, Barkha Dutt and a list that makes me shudder (except Ramchandra Guha). This time around, Mr. Tharoor, Human Resources Development Minister in the Government of India, has said that we should name a law after the victim of the gruesome inhuman act, as a mark of respect to her bravery. I mean, just how low can someone, who has served at the very top levels of international diplomacy, stoop in their thoughts? What has alarmed me even more though is this whole battery of Limousine Liberals for whom it seems a great idea. There could have been no better a sign of intellectual bankruptcy in our 'intelligensia' than the support that some of...

Fifteen lakh rupees? Is that the value of a woman's body, mind and soul? Our government seems to have shown, as has always been the mentality of the ruling elite, to value a dead woman. This shows how they are no different from the Taliban and khap panchayats, who indulge in somehow think that Eating chowmein induces rape Women's clothes induce bad behavior in men Educated women are a danger to this world There has been an utter failure of administration on all fronts, and this government, nay, most governments, have behaved like a rudderless ship when it comes to managing law and order in our society, our country. Law and order is restricted only to Lutyens' Delhi, Chandigarh and the seats of power that we see everywhere. And yet, why should we forget that the very ruling elite expressing sorrow has remained silent time and again, when violence against women has been seen at the very highest levels, in the corridors of power? Why was Karunanidhi never...

It was raining heavily that night, as if hell had broken loose, and was headed towards the earth to soak it in its pain, misery, suffering and torment. And it was a bad night, was this one, for reasons one can only feel, but cannot express to himself, herself or anyone else, even to the person who is really close to the person in question. But it was a bad night, and would get only worse. He was standing under the ledge of the window that otherwise allows people from within to look outside, but usually allows everyone to look in normal times: nature, people, animals, everyone and everything that can be conceived of. There was a strange expression on his face, as he was feeling the raindrops fall on his outstretched hand. Why would he do that, one would ask, and what is so special about him doing that? So many people do it, and so frequently that we could ignore it totally. But this guy was different, you see. He could not see at all, so he tried to make up for his lack of the s...

Today, I have never been sadder. It has taken such a gruesome crime to remind us of what we have reduced humanity in this country to. I should perhaps stop calling people human, for the behavior we see everyday, against women, elderly, children and all the weaker sections of society, we are worse than xenophobic chimpanzees. And yet, every day, the cases are just beginning to come out - of absolute barbarity, of absolute horror and utter shamelessness. Those who call themselves our leaders get away abusing women in Parliament, outside it, on television channels, and none of us actually were stunned by it. Our leaders continue to hold up the status quo and assure us that things for the better, and yet, what do we do with this status quo? When will things get better for us? When will our women feel safe? When will the weak in our society feel safe, and emboldened enough to come forward and complain on such instances without the fear of shame, humiliation and further vict...