So the Anna Fast Is Over, or, Is It?

Now that Anna Hazare is out of danger (Meaning he has ended another of his famous fasts. Wonder if he should be named "Fast Man."), a few random thoughts, as is my wont. Fasting should be a last resort rather than the first resort to achieve required purpose. Gandhiji didn't fast unless there was an urgent need. At least, I think so. Nowadays, you find a pandal everywhere and people - emaciated, disoriented, starving - fasting everywhere. I have seen employees of government organisations fasting for better wages and misguided youth fasting for rock concerts. (No, I made that up. Forgive me. Happenstance such is my ire at misguided fasters.) We are a nation of fasters. I have never observed a fast in my life and a few sad instances when I tried all have ended in disasters wherein I had to rush for the much needed refreshments.

 

That said.

 

I am in Kerala, a land not much affected by the Anna Hazare movement. I mean there is no frenCorruption is ominipresent here as in other parts of the country. The mafia is a potent force here. The reason is that all the capable youth are in the Gelf and making money. They hike the cost of land. A poor man can no longer build a small hut on his property and live a peaceful life. Life has gotten that much harder without jobs. Yesterday as I was being driver to his home by my brother-in-law, I saw a familiar sight. A man was weaving and staggering on the road ahead of us mouthing the worst profanities. The state goes to sleep at around 8.30 p.m. and after that it is the drunks, robbers and party workers who take to the streets. Meaning: it's unsafe. Anything can happen. Why? Because right thinking people who make up the backbone of every society is conspicuously absent or are too old and infirm to interfere. Hm.

 

That also said.

 

From where I am writing there's the sound of hens clucking, cows (what's it that cows do?), mooing, I think, and a stillness and silence that can only be felt in God's Own Country - Kerala. Guess I will stop here before my weak connection gets disconnected again. Pardon any mistakes because there's no time to change anything, anything whatever.

 
I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Random Thoughts on how Corrupt We Are

Short take today.Packing up for a trip to Kerala. Mother-in-law hasn't been well for some time. I don't know why men are so cheesed off with mothers-in-law. Mine is a sweet lady. Been very supporting. Hate to see some people fade away so quickly. She had an accident and hasn't been quite the same after that. So we are hoping for the best though it may be the end of the road.

 

On the way home today I saw several cases of people's corruption. Should I call it "subliminal corruption," or, corruption at a deep level, without even being aware of it. It's, I think, an offshoot of the corruption campaign being waged by the shrill votaries of Lokpals. Remember, I am still confused, so this might seem like ranting. I still am sitting on the fence and watching the world go by.

 

At Vashi station there was a crowd of people creating a big din beating on steel plates with spoons and ladles. The sight was a moving one. They were standing in a circle and hitting on steel plates making a noise that could harm their eardrums. Why this self-flagellation I ask. Why this flagellation of others? Isn't this corruption of a sort?

 

I see the temporary worshipping places erected on most roads. Agreed it is only for a few days. However, consider that roads are dug up to erect bamboo supports, traffic is stopped, and music is blared at all times. Isn't this corruption?

 

I am at the washerman's shop to collect my clothes. Our clothes are ironed by this man who charge us a fee. I keep my umbrella on the counter of the washerman and turn around to make a phone call. A man comes and takes my umbrella and is trying to walk away. I say, "Hey." The man comes to me and smilingly gives me back my umbrella. Isn't this stealing and corruption of the mind?

 

We are going through a phase when we are nothing but wanderers who have lost their way in the mad maze of modern life. The world is looking at us and deciding what we are doing about the deadly "C" word and how we deal ith it. So let's tighten our loinclothes and pull up our sleeves and do what is rational. We have lost a lot credibility. We can't afford to lose more.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Comparison of Government's Lokpal (Government-appointed Ombudsman) and Jan Lokpal (People's Ombudsman)

Here's a comparison of Government's Lokpal and Jan Lokpal of Anna Hazare. I received this as I was walking to Victoria Terminus after finishing work. It's only now that I read it. Decide for yourself who is right and who is wrong. 

As for me, I am still confused about who is in the right and who is in the wrong. For me it's a big grey area, though I once used to read and correct legal documents. Can someone redraft the gobbledygook without all those legalese? Only then would most people (like me) would understand. I find most Government document tedious, with a tendency to obfuscate. 

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

The Confusion over the Lokpal Bill - Fight Against Corruption in India

Well, I am overwhelmed by the hats with "I am Anna Hazare," painted on them, the flags, the show of solidarity, the streets full of shouting boys and girls, the enthusiasm in their midst. For some time I have been dithering between "Anna is doing something great," and "What's so great about it." All around the world such demonstrations are going on: Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Libya to name a few. The reason is the world is going through a big crisis of greed and embezzlement. People are gathering wealth for wealth's sake without rationale. As Al Gore said, "They consider the world as a business under liquidation," where the idea is to grab as much as they can. They fund insurrections, they fund bloodshed with these blood money. The world is in turmoil today because the greed of man has led him into a one-way street with no exit. The world is dying of global warming, the people are being made the subject of exploitation of corporate entities who think nothing of sending perfectly do-able jobs abroad to cut costs. Well, they cut costs at whose expense and whose gain. I don't know.

I can't make my mind about what's going on in India. The din is too much. Everybody is an expert without reading a word of what the Lokpal bill is all about. Don't show your ignorance, man! Read! We are a people who go straight from praise to adoration and to deification because of our ignorance. I read once that when a youth was asked who is the father of the nation, he replied, "Tagore." The reason why he said this is beyond me. By now some people have attributed divinity to Anna. What else is the meaning of "I am Anna Hazare," if not to deify him. To them I say leave the poor starving man alone, save him from this indignity or his blood will colour your hands. Let not his frail stubbornness be seen as a sign of greatness. After all, he is only the poster boy of the movement against corruption and not the initiator and the ideologue. The main ideologues are Mr. Arvind Kejriwal and the father and son duo of the Bhushans. I still haven't studied the full text of the Lokpal Bills (Both Government version and Anna version, which I had searched and found online).  

I beg you people to study these documents before offering your views. Let's be reasonable and let's not jump to conclusions, as many of us have done. I know it has become an emotional issue. Emotions run deep, as I can see from the slogan shouting (some of which have been drafted by Mr. Kejriwal himself). They are shouting in anger. There's a whole lot of confusion going on. Meanwhile I am reading the two documents linked above to see if I can offer meaningful comment on this blog.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

This Child of an Arab Muslim - Who Came to the U.S. on a Student Visa - Is Special

For those in India who think business can't be done the honest way, here's something to mull about, nonetheless from U.S. Anil Dash writes in his blog about the amazing turn around of the U.S.'s most valued company, Apple. Just a few decades ago, I remember reading about Apple's bankruptcy and talk that it will soon be extinct. What Steve Jobs has done is rather miraculous. Who is he? Dash has this to say:

So, who is this man? He's the anchor baby of an activist Arab muslim who came to the U.S. on a student visa and had a child out of wedlock. He's a non-Christian, arugula-eating, drug-using follower of unabashedly old-fashioned liberal teachings from the hippies and folk music stars of the 60s. And he believes in science, in things that science can demonstrate like climate change and Pi having a value more specific than "3", and in extending responsible benefits to his employees while encouraging his company to lead by being environmentally responsible.

For business practitioners in India (except the Narayana Murthys, of course) who think business can't be done the honest, straightforward, uncorrupted way he has this to say:

It's a choice whether you, or anyone else, wants to accept the falsehood that liberal values are somehow in contradiction with business success at a global scale. Indeed, it would seem that many who claim to be pro-business are trying to "save" us from exactly the inclusive, creative, tolerant values that have made America's most successful company possible. I side with the makers, the creators, and the inventors, and it's about time that the pack of clamoring would-be politicians be put on the defensive for attacking the values of those of us on this side.

So who says people with liberal values can't do business the open, honest way? Certainly not Steve Jobs. I am a great admirer of his though I haven't bought a single product of his: iPhone, Mac, iPad. Why? I think they are good products, but are expensive.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Orhan Pamuk's New Book "Other Colours"

Here's the Book Review of Orhan Pamuk's Other Colours by Richard Marcus on Blogcritics.org. Judging by what's happening in India Pamuk wrote about the social changes happening in Turkey with increasing conservatism and the straining at the leash of secularism. Though secularism is enshrined in our constitution very often we work against its principles as can be seen in what happened in Gujarat and Bombay during the riots. Excerpt:

Whatever the reasons, Turkey is experiencing profound changes, and reactions there are as good an indication as any of the moderate East's opinion of the West. I can't think of any man more sensitive to, and capable of documenting, these events than Orhan Parmuk, and if you care about the world beyond your borders, you would be remiss not to read every word of this book carefully. Somewhere within lies the secret by which we might all survive the next decade or so as the world's balance of power shifts. Pamuk might not come right out with the answer, but he asks the right questions to put us on the road to discovering it.

I was present when Orhan Pamuk visited Bombay and was interviewed at the British Council auditorium. You could miss him in a crowd as he is quite conservatively dressed and he talks very fast with an accent. I haven't read the book yet, but I mean to. I find his books a bit tedious, but enjoyable after the first half has been huffed and puffed through. Most good writers of fiction mature after the first half of the work has been done away with. Wonder what the reason could be. Right now I am reading the monumental work of Jack Kerouac, "On the Road," which is about his frequent escapades (in a broke and beaten condition) with his friend Neal Cassady.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Visit to My First Office, the Place of My First Job

This evening I climbed those steps I had first climbed... thirty-one years ago. Yes, three decades and one years ago. I felt trepidation, anxiety, and excitement as I climbed those steps which led to the office where I got my first job. I worked there for only three months and each of those days seemed like eternity. 

As a fresh graduate I was thrown into this office, a job which followed a good friend's offer. I was unemployed after getting my degree in science and wanted to somehow earn money. So when a friend offered a job I fell for it. I was a science graduate and the company sold chemical dyes. Those days - more than thirty years ago - are still fresh in my mind. The sort of clothes I wore, the movies I saw, the books I read. Bell bottoms were a rage then and I remember wearing bell bottoms to work. The wooden steps of the old building, falling apart and encroached by hawkers and booksellers now, frightened me at first, as did the moodiness of my bosses. They were small men and didn't rise much. One was called "Dhansukh" (enjoyer of wealth) and being unlettered he spoke only Gujarati, which I didn't understand at the time. When he spoke I used to panic because I understood nothing. Nothing, at all. Forget him, for he was a very venal and restricted man. I don't think he came to much.

The friend who had given me this job, luckily, was working with me then. He would help me out from tight situations. I learned to lie to my bosses and keep them in a state of suspension all the time. Once my boss asked me what I was doing. I said nothing. I got a scolding for not doing anything. My friend told me never to say this. Always pretend you have lots of work, otherwise they fire you. Good. I was too honest and eventually I got fired. My first salary then was Rs 300 a month. But then a lunch with rice and chapatis cost only Re. 1.25 then. 

Everyday, with a lot of reluctance and dread I would climb the stairs of the dilapidated old building on D.N. Road, Bombay. The worn stairs would creak, the smell of paint would fill my nostrils - the office was being given a new coat of paint. I would smell the musty smell, the smell of carbon paper and typewriter ribbons, the smell of moldy letterheads and envelopes. 

I saw it today. I saw it as I made my way to the station. I never imagined I would do this thirty-one years back. I never imagined I would come back to inspect my first office. I never imagined that I would be me, better or worse. Those days were difficult, but I cherished them. I did what I wanted and didn't have the mantle of achievement constantly troubling me. I was only a clerk in a private business owned by a Gujarati businessman. But I remember being happy.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

The Lokpal Bill: The Anna Hazare Version and the Government Version: Both in This Blogpost: You Decide

As friend and fellow writer Manjul Bajaj says in her Facebook update: "Its the discontent, the noise, the media hunger, the ugliness of it that I abhor completely."

There isn't any media worth its name which is not in a frenzy about Anna. I think creating hype is good for their staple Television Rating Points (TRPs). I can see it from the media vans that clutter the roads outside Azad Maidan. God! If there were these vehicles during the actual Civil Disobedience. Imagine Gandhiji giving sound bites like Anna gives them. Straight in the face of the television anchors, and so unfazed. Some call it the second Civil Disobedience, the second Gandhi, a second coming. I say let's wait. 

A lot of unofficial spokespersons have been basing their diatribe on a lack of knowledge. I think it's the "Argumentative Indian" which is at the forefront here: grumble, grumble, complain, complain. Because the ignorance is huge. The misconceptions, terrible! Nobody knows anything about Anna Hazare or the bill except that it is against corruption. As Manjul states, "the, noise, the media hunger (frenzy?), the ugliness which I abhor," how well expressed.

I have not read the Jan Lokpal bill.So I went on the net and got together the two versions so that people can read them in one place and discuss and debate:

Here's the Anna Hazare version (which states that the Prime Minister can be investigated when he is in office).

Here's the Government version (full of obfuscations, clauses, sub-sections, sub-sub-sub-sections, which states that the Prime Minister can be investigated only when he has demitted office).

I intend to peruse it in the next few days, that is, when I can take time off from my busy schedule. I suggest you also do the same and let's have a healthy dialogue on this blog or elsewhere. I don't mind. It's better we understand and then raise our voices instead of just shouting:

"Abhi Nahin to Kabhi Nahin," which is what I heard today while passing by Azad Maidan on my way home.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Anna Hazare Is Big News

Anna Hazare is big news. Yesterday, on the way to work, I walked through the underground passage to Azad Maidan (Azad Ground). I was accosted by these enthusiastic gentlemen to turn around and go home, or, join them in protest. Quite frankly, I am not a big fan of Anna Hazare. But he is fighting for a good cause and I think he needs our support. So I stood by unable to decide. It was then that this man caught my eye. I clicked his picture. He had a slogan written and bound on his chest with threads. The slogan read, "Please arrest me." 

What? Whoever would like to be arrested? But then I remember Gandhiji had used the same tactics. I was reminded of the "Jai Bharo Andolan" (Fill the Jail Movement). I don't think one man can fight a big establishment and the true onus is upon us citizen to prove that we are honest and not corrupt. We live in certain degrees of dishonesty all our lives. We make promises. We break them. We pay taxes. We hide them. We bribe clerks to get our work done. We deride them for accepting bribes. We give donations to get our children into English-medium schools. We curse the schools. We pay tutors a huge amount to get our children to earn a good percentage of marks to get into professional college. Then we criticise the college for taking bribes. After that we pay to get our children into masters of business administration. There, too, we bad mouth the colleges. If they don't get a good job we again criticise the education system. We are facing systemic corruption in our lives, which will not go away by shouting a few slogans.

So, tell me, please. Who is corrupt? We or them? What's one man when it's a whole way of life that we are against. I took the narrow cracked road cutting across Azad Maidan to my place of work, still undecided. I didn't bother with Anna Hazare, though I know he is fighting for a worthy cause. 

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Independence Day - The Times as It Looked on August 15, 1947

The Times of India has brought out a supplement which is what the newspaper's edition on August 15, 1947 looked like, when India gained independence. The layout is black and white and basic, the content is of a bygone era of letterpress typesetting and the ink has run on the pages giving it a blurry look. 

Inside the pages are a revelation. The accompanying photographs shows how India looked like at that time. Bombay included a major part of Gujarat also. Uttar Pradesh was United Provinces. Bandra had a separate municipality. And, please see the advertising, which is a revelation. "Girls' dainty art silk frocks," goes one ad. 

Loved the idea. Thank you Times of India.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.