O’ Erebus

Now this is gonna be a little stirring (if you really see what i am writing)… And that is just one of the reason why i named the title as such.

For the uninitiated, Erebus in Greek mythology was the son of Chaos and represents darkness and underworld.

So what is this blog going to be about?? Well, this is about all of us and my perspective on that.. This blog is also very near to the anniversary of terrorists attack in Mumbai and I am gonna talk about that too..

From my perspective, we are a nation of Ji Hazoors… We don’t know how to say no and how to put things in right perspective. Either we would be too emotional about things or we would try to be over-practical and thus losing any practical approach. We have for a long time neither taken our own decisions nor tried to find solutions. Yes, we are a great nation, but that is because of the brave few who have taken decisions for others and taken all of us forward. For as long as I remember, we have had so few (true) leaders. However, we have been surrounded by people (or leaders) who are the roots of corruption, goondaism, hooliganism and we are the nurturers of such horrible, blood sucking trees…

With the present society we have created a dark world all around us which we love to detest. We have created education systems which help people understand and empathize corruption, we have created graduation colleges for hooligans and we have erected pillars of darkness all around us. We have educated our young ones on how to lie effortlessly, feed in corruption… and we crib about this.. (me included, although first portion is not true, yet!). Our society has taken a turn for the worst in last so many years with us bribing officials to do the right thing (amazingly, the bribe for the right process is always higher than for the wrong thing or equal, thus negating the motivation to do the right thing!), we getting divided easily on the issues of state-lines drawn by the very hooligans we hate, or region, or religion etc. etc. or we not taking any stand on wrong doings across our own neighborhood..

So where do we go from here? Where do we start, or should we start? Is there any need to start at all? Let us take this one head on.. If we don’t start are we really carrying the legacy of the great nation we bear on our shoulders? If we keep up these practices, the hooliganism is going to break all of us and we will be a party to our own destruction. We need to take the right step, to help our society, to help us and to help our future generations.

We need to help each other come out of this abyss, we need to work together to eradicate all the darkness around us..

(looks like this has been a lecture rather than an engagement, i will try and correct this in the next few!!)

-G

Of Leader-SHIP and Leading…

Always a topic on the discussion board in every workplace, table, conference…

Or rather for a some people always a sore point (not that it has happened to me, but who cares, someday it will :)) because this SHIP has no boundaries and the so called “LEADERS” always try to stop you from moving forward by saying “You need to hone your ***SHIP Skills” and that is why you have to stay here…

I will talk (or rather blabber..) about the “try to” part later… for now, let us first try and understand the aspects.

Of all the Ships and Skills in the world, this is the least understood and followed and thus an opening for anyone to create an escape route. From my point of view(and you may disagree), leading and leaders don’t require to be told and repeated telling people cannot create a leader. I mean, how many leaders have been created by forcing your ideas on them? And how many can actually be leaders when they have to confirm to someone else’s idea only? I may agree to a certain extent that leadership skills can be inculcated, but again, that is usually just a learning phase in a leaders’ life to enhance his controlling/maneuvering skills (again arguable, that you may not agree!). Or more appropriately a Polishing phase where the leader yet to be recognized is learning few other skills to achieve his vision.

Leaders are always born, they may or may not recognize their potential, but they are still leaders. No matter which field they choose, they would surge ahead of everyone. They would innovate, they would create, they would discover but would always move ahead of others. Leaders have the uncanny ability to show themselves up in difficult situations and that is how they can be easily recognized. If you throw them a challenge they would solve it faster than anyone else. Please mind that the challenge should be to them and not to you, since there is a big difference in thought process. Don’t take offense since each leader is leader of different domain, some are people leaders, while some might be technical visionary, and others might be business leaders and so on.. So if you give a technical problem to a business leader, what he would do is identify someone (inside or outside his circle) to do the job effectively and vice-versa but this wouldn’t present a challenge to him.

The funny thing is that the so called and self-proclaimed leaders, (could be anyone, or even me :)) don’t realize this fact (even after saying all this I may not accept it and thereby bury myself!). They try to force their ideas (not at all revolutionary or up to the mark) on all the others or claim someone else’s ideas as their own. Leaders don’t force their ideas on you, you would easily be swayed by their vision and more agreeing to them then anything else. They have the charm, charisma and conviction to take their vision forward and no matter what, people start following them and their vision. Their vision creates a following and followers. Leaders also have the great ability to identify talent and passion in others and they utilize this ability to achieve their goal.

Leaders and their leadership is what drives nations, businesses and world forward… We should respect them as well as ourselves for making the right decision and selecting our leaders. At the same time we should blame ourselves for not selecting the right leaders and/or trying to push everyone to be a leader.

If everyone is a leader, how would an objective be achieved? (remember each leader has his own vision, his own objective and he has even decided the path to be there…) No war can be won, if every warrior is the leader. In fact several nations destroyed, armies lost, civilizations decimated when there are too many leaders or too many forced leaders.

Paths are what we make, goals are what we achieve..

We are what we perceive, we are what we achieve..a

Back to Politc-picking….

Wow, what an election…

EC goofed up yet again in really providing transparency in voting process, adding the correct voters. People shied away from voting owing to lack of enthusiasm and trust in the democratic system. NGOs blamed people for all the worlds’ miseries. Parties blamed common man for their loss.

And yet, we are at the same place as we were, if not progressed. Before I start writing anything else, I must congratulate the electorate of India and the winners (irrespective of any party) of this 14th Lok Sabha. Each of us is responsible for these leaders sitting there (whether we voted or not, whether it was our candidate or not), so stand up, take your right hand and pat your back!! That is right “A Pat on the Back!!” and lots of clapping.

Now back to the topic…

We are a nation who believes in Kings/Queens/Dynasties and so on and that is why we have selected the Gandhi parivar to rule us. On the other hand we don't have any other choice, have we? If BJP were to provide an alternate to any government or for that matter any other party which dreams of providing a government at the Centre has to have a right mind-set and right set of leaders bringing National issues to the fore.

First let’s talk about BJP, although my hands are itching to blast CPI/CPM but I would wait for few lines before I jump onto them.

Where did BJP go wrong? Rather the question should be where did they go right to even get more than 100 seats in their name. They selected a leader who has been showing unclear mind-set and no vision for India (even Mrs. Gandhi’s Yesman does better in showing a future image for India), then they have these so-called party presidents and secretaries who their own states’ people detest. Mr. Rajnath Singh, the so called national leader doesn’t have a presence in Uttar Pradesh (his home state) and nor does Mr. Lalji Tandon, both of whom are perceived as corrupt leaders. By throwing back better leaders like Jaitleys and Swarajs and not allowing them to come to fore front and show their leadership (not saying that these people are the best but they are definitely better than others). And what to say for the pseudo issues like money stacked up in foreign banks. We are struggling here with our MPs and MLAs stacking more money than which can be stacked outside and also having multiple underground havala and other scams going on for them. The main issues are Employment, equality, education, food, inflation, medical care etc. These people are not thinking about nation, they are thinking about power.

Enough said for BJP, if they will continue to do the same mistakes and lose out even bigger. This is just the beginning of the end.

So now to the other so-called National Parties like CPI/CPM, with leaders like Mr. Karat who is not only negating the good work done by his predecessors, has also become a major roadblock in India’s progress. I mean whatever happened to CPI/CPM being peoples’ parties, bringing out people’s issues? I think they also are in the lust of power and cannot think beyond. Mr. Achuthanandan, kerela CM, is so drunk with his power that he has forgotten that he is after all a public servant. Kicking out Somnath Chatterji wasn’t bad enough for them, they have much worse things happening inside their party. Can you ever understand the statement to not support the decision of the government but support the government? This is utterly ridiculous.. How can someone support something without supporting it? Looks like the leadership has lost all thought process (something which in mid 70s and 80s was synonymous with Communist parties). And their constant bickering of America while agreeing to anything that China says is atrocious. Both the super powers have their own interest and so should Communists think about Indian interest and not worry about America and China.

I think National Parties should start thinking about the common man. (Although I very much doubt that the common man thinks of anything at all). But the regional parties are one step forward than the national parties.

I am fed up of Mayawati being called DALIT representative, she is just one person who shares the community for her own good. Did she open schools/colleges etc. for dalits/oppressed? How about health schemes? Ok, even better, has she opened up any job opportunities for the educated lot of the same caste/creed? No… But this is not clearly understood by the dalits/muslims/oppressed/backward class etc. They think parties like SP, BSP etc. will take up their cause. For years now, they have done nothing other than use their vote banks to increase their bank balance. Think about the current worth of Mayawati’s assets! If she was really interested in doing anything for the community, she doesn’t even need any government or anything to start basic schemes.

I am really worried with the sorry state of leadership this country has. The well received congress has MPs and MLAs who just know how to talk but when it comes to doing something useful, they are just not there… (As i have said in my earlier blog)

I think more than small patches, this country now requires a revolution/movement which dethrones this leadership and brings about a fresh change in India. Each of us honest citizen has to contribute towards it to ward off any unruly and criminal leadership. A lot of fault also lies with us, since we don’t do anything much, just sit back and comment (me being one of them!)

Let us all bring a change.

Yes, M* Gandhi!

We are a population who believe in kingdoms, dynasties and prince and princess… We have lived in this kind of setup for so long that we fail to come out of the thought process no matter what and even after generations.

So with this mind set we accept what Mrs. Gandhi or Mr. Gandhi tells us. We are so very happy when they speak and we feel proud that we have their presence amongst us.

Mr. Rahul Gandhi, who is being hailed as the next Prime Minister of this big and burly nation, have done nothing except making scapegoats out of his ministers and/or blame some one else for something. For an example, while he was campaigning for the first time in his constituency Amethi, he promised water, electricity to his voters, however once elected he just blamed the people and the state government with the statement “The state doesn't have a Congress government so I can not do anything!!”

I simply love this guy, who makes statements after statements for dalits but so far has not even tried to push a bill which can bring economic equilibrium in the country. Well, that may be too much to ask from him, so how about a simple thing of trying to help them learn and grow… Well again, I think that is too much to ask a man of only words!! I think he should be treated as an idiot and stupid…

Maybe, Mrs. Gandhi is the person to talk about… She allows the cabinet meetings(meetings which she either preside or she has her proxy on!!) to increase prices and then she declares a reduction. I mean if you have to decrease the price why do the drama of increasing it? Or increase it only by the amount which you feel is good… Amazing people I say…

I can go on and on and on… but can these guys start doing something worthwhile and stop all these politicking… I guess time will tell…

It’s Election time in India and the usual begins…

I have had enough!!

No Candidates to vote for!!

What does this mean to us??

Well, these are the thoughts that crop up when I think of elections… What should one do when elections come? There are myriad of options before us Indians:

1. Do not Vote
2. Vote for the same CASTE candidate
3. Vote for the same RELIGION candidate
4. Vote for a party which supports your RELIGION

and so on.. Isn't it funny that none of the above options are reasonable for a fruitful democracy. Well, that is what the worlds biggest democracy is all about.

We have a party which calls itself the most secular party of the nation, but keeps giving preference to one religion over the other and kills people of another religion per se, brings up religious issues to the fore, is highly dynastical and traditionally has been a no gooder for anything. Then we have the supposedly second largest party of the nation, which is also the most un-secular, has no leaders who can take up real issues, cannot take decisions, has the top brass full of corrupt greedy people who cannot even speak a single sentence correctly (in any language) without looking for help. Then there are the communists, who would agree to all inhuman practices of China but would kill someone who says America or UK and just on papers and manifesto talk about people, when they come to power they do zilch!!! After these come the regional parties, parties like BSP who kill and loot people and organizations to make their leader filthy rich, loot the people who they are supposed to represent… And then the other regional parties like MNS, Shiv Sena, AIDMK, DMK, PMK, RJD etc. etc. who thrive on vote banks built by goondas and rowdies …

So what should we do? How do we bring such people to power?

Well, that is a question we all need to answer….. So let the thinking begin…

After a Long Long Time... And ...

The last I wrote I was really angry, frustrated and wanted to thrash everyone.. And a year passed by... Things have changed, and not for good... I have so many thoughts, I am not sure one blog would be enough. So let us start.... This is going to be controversial, debatable and hurtful for some...

Happy New Year!! Hope we see the light at the end of this tunnel and more importantly we move towards it and not against it, as so far we have been moving.

Let me start with touching over the last few events which have touched, moved and hit us...

We have had a terrible year as a country and we are going through worse times. We have had certain so-called "leaders" of our nation killing the national spirit and certain other "Moral-Polices" beating down on innocent public, trying to live their life their way. Many of us have at one point or another supported such sections of our society (consciously or un-consciously) due to one or more selfish reasons. Maharasthrians have unconsciously/consciously supported the controversies by maintaining silence, for what I call hypocrisy. Are the Rajasthanis not related to Maratha clans through history and family? Aren't Scindia's and Tope's of the north not Marathas? Wasn't Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi (born in Kanpur and queen of Jhansi) a maratha, while Kanpur/Jhansi the heart of North India? Aren't we all Indians who have a right to live and do wherever and whenever we feel as guaranteed by the constitution. I would brand these leaders and thought followers as bigger terrorists than anyone, because such people sow the seed of terror into the minds of those who are living around them. Such people are worse than the terrorists which come to our country to kill people since they kill the spirit in the people for their benefit.

And who are these Moral Polices? People among us having hypocrite view of things? Or we who beleive that relegion means that what clothing should be worn and how... These Moral Polices are worst kind of religion keepers who break all the laws and the rules of religion by doing everything immoral and yet are left free by the sick governments because of their vote bank politics and their wicked and criminal styles. (If beating people is not a crime, then what is? and if letting their own "janta" being tormented and tortured is not criminal then what is?)

The other important event which hit us was the terrorist attack on 26th November (I refuse to call it "India's 9/11" and you will see why.).... Firstly this is not the first event in the history of India where terrorists have sneaked in to our country and bled innocent blood. But, this is definitely the first time where in the "Who's Who" of India has been hit and found _insecure_ ... And we are angry, yes we are very very angry, because the big industrialist has been hit???
Whatever happened when the strings of blasts (which ironically took more lives and had a bigger potential of loss of live and property and National Integrity) hit us a few months back? We never said "enough is enough" then, in fact our "Intelligent, Sauve and Truth reporting" media never asked for "Action". Nor did such self-acclaimed journalists like Rajdeep Sardesai's and Barkha Datt's conducted public polls and debates. (Now what does these polls and debates help us is another set of debatable discussion, which i am bound to cover later in my other blogs).

Having said that, no my dear friends this is not the time to be angry, this is the time to be decisive. This is the time to decide what is the next step as a nation. Now is the time where we not only lay out our opinion but take strong action on it. I am surprised by the reaction on claiming Police as our ultimate heroes. I would rather blame them and other intelligence agencies for such debacles, where in they should have stopped some one from entering our beloved home land. I am more than surprised, I am worried and horrified that if it is so easy to sneak into the prime locality of the country, what is happening to the common man? This clearly shows that Police has been negligent and playing into the hands of criminals (including our Netas, which are nothing short than criminals) getting bribed at every step and not heeding to requests by the common man. Not only has it time and again cost us lives of our beloved family members, it has led us to beleive that any crime reported to police is actually calling for more trouble than solving it...

Why I refuse to call the incident as India's 26/11 is because of so many reasons.

1. First, we are not America (USA) who have only one such moment in their history. We have had tonnes of such events, that we have lost count.
2. Second, we have not learnt from this... We have shown our anger and gone back to the things we do best "Crib"
3. Third, We are not going to show the rest of the world that India will not take this lightly... We are going to learn to live with this...
4. Fourth, why should one gross incident which has contributed to lot of loss be made an example. It should be condemned to the fore and action should be taken against such incidents.

I think the time has come for all of us to realize our own position in the society. We are this nation, we are the people who define why a law should be there, why police is required and why leaders are required. Let us all stand up and take new resolve that we will evolve this nation into a beautiful place, we would fight against crime and bribery and criminals and we would be united above cast, creed, region, religion, colour or any other divide we have been offered by our so called leaders/pandits/etc...

Let us stand United, if not for us then for the very future of our country, for our beloved Motherland.

(Some of you may not agree with my comments and I welcome their thoughts!)