Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Political Alchemy

 Well, an attempt to write a poem churned up politics, God help me !!


Political alchemy



Don’t shout

Put things on flame

Fumes rise

Use ashes to cover the shame




Beat someone

Its good if he dies

If dead are none

There’s room for lies




Inflict pain

The more you do

The more you inflict

The more you gain




Skull hunting

That’s the new game

Use blood for painting

Shed it and make your name








Friday, January 8, 2010

In Conversations With.... Part 2

On Adoptions, with Ankit Agarwal and afterthoughts
I don't know whether it was the effect of the weather or the Chai that we were having at a roadside tea-stall, but we were feeling back to good old college days. Returning back from the office at 11 30 pm in a chilling, foggy nite, we decided to have Maggie opposite the CSC office, sector 58, Noida.
We were toying with the idea of joining an NGO in Noida, impart education to kids, and even considered the idea of starting something at our own, towards creating oppurtunities in the life of under privileged kids.
Call it stupid, but then we jumped towards our own future kids. I wished I had a girl child, he wished he had a girl and a boy, an ideal pair. And then, out of nowhere, I suggested, is there a probability of adopting a child?
We both discussed the option. We both acknowledged the fact that motherhood is an essential part of the life for most of the women. Motherhood, the whole process right from fertilisation till the birth of the baby, transforms a lady. That whole period of nine months, are unique for the couple, and especially, for the lady. We men can only understand, but cannot experience that pleasure and pain. In that case, we may consider the idea of having one baby, and adopting another, was my simple reply to Ankit.
He brought out the various practicalities involved in the whole process and we decided to go home, for it was already close to midnight.
I reached home and kept wondering. I know there are thousands of reasons that come in way of adopting a kid, especially when the couple can bear a baby, or the couple already has a child.
Social status, economic status, genes, love, emotions, there is just almost everything at stake.
I know there are millions of orphan kids in the world, and that every man has his own destiny, but then, will I not help one change his?
I will give this a long long thought.........................

In Conversation with..... Part 1

The last few days have been quite exciting, and I have had some really intersting and enriching conversations with my friends.
I am writing the extracts here for future reference, for they are quite engrossing and may lead to a better clarity in my thought process.
On Reservation with Ananya Sri and the afterthoughts
Reservation to the SC, ST and OBC as provided for by the constitution of India is an issue which needs a matured relook and solution. Is the sacrifice of merit justified? Or, to be precise, does providing reservation to over 50 % of the population of the country, majority of which is under-developed, help in imparting social justice or strengthen the caste and class divide in our society? Is the provision for reservation a political weapon, or an essential component of the Indian democracy?
The fact cannot be denied that majority of the members of the reserved category have been exploited for ages by the dominant upper castes.
Also, the Indian government has been told by the Directive principles of the state policy to create social and political justice in the society.
Few intellectuals advocate providing reservation to the under privileged on economic criterion. Practically, this is not possible, for there are 500 million + people in India who do not form a part of the economic workforce, and stats can be manipulated by the remaining 600 million.
I as a member of the unreserved category, have seen my merit being under mined by the policy of reservation. If I look at the bigger picture, I see some sense in the policy of reservation, for we need to reduce in equalities. But then, it has been 60 years since independence, and yet, the situation has not improved much. Has the pain of losing on merit by a general candidate gone waste when he sees the benefits of reservation being exploited by generations of many of the so called reserved classes?
Or, if I as a candidate of the reserved class use the benefit of reservation, why does the state not make it my responsibility to seek social upliftment of my community, why does my child need the same qouta which got me a job, why?
Who gains here, and what?
Both the general and the deprived masses are on the losing side, yet, hold each other responsible for the outcomes of the reservation policy.
I am not sure, how are we going to eliminate the evil of caste from our society until such policies hold ground.