It Is The Time

While a few very insignificant things have happened since this blog saw a post, like meeting Shri Thomas Friedman, frequent trips to the Western region of the country, getting the best deal on Douglas Coupland books, rediscovering music on a wonderful mobile phone, the earth still continues to revolve around the sun and it's still water that pours when it rains.

Nevertheless, what is definitely happening are the General Elections and I consider myself to be very fortunate to be around and to be able to look at events leading to how our country will be shaped over the next five years. I hold my hands together or keep them separate, no pun intended, praying to God to bless us with a stable government that doesn't have to bend over backwards to appease sickle-minded, elephant-sized allies to make sure that the government's policies remain consistent and not change the direction according to the whims and fancies of those with narrow, regional and irrelevant ideological interests.

And what have I done? Doing what I do best - start another blog. Well, let me start the campaign then. Here is the blog - http://indiapolls2009.blogspot.com/

Through the blog, I hope to capture various activities from the ground on how parties mobilize workers and voters, on how the rallies and other campaign activities are held, how various media - different forms, languages and affiliations are reacting to the the election events and what do those who matter the most - the people have to say, or not have to say about the elections. I will also be keen on observing how the urban youth respond to the election activities and see how much of an interest they have in contributing to the most important activity in our democratic process - the elections.

I shall be cross-posting on this blog whenever it is appropriate. Hope all you readers (there are?) are doing well. Enjoy your meal, books, music, movies and sleep.

Dear Aniruddha Bahal, It's Not Funny

Dear Aniruddha Bahal,

Not a week passes in my life without I mentioning strongly recommending Bunker 13 to people I come across and who seem even remotely interested in reading among those. If I were deeply religious, one would have observed that I go back to Bunker 13 more often that I go to the religious texts. Of course, one needs the kind of madness that made MM the man he was. When I die, I will be glad that I introduced you and your writing to a lot of people around me. While I most eagerly look forward to another Bunker 13 and another MM from you, I really can't understand the need for you to invent Tony M at this moment. Yes, we Indians are starved for quality humour and what we are being served now does no justice to our discerning intellect, but I will remain skeptical of this attempt of yours till I watch the said show and find out if it really deserves you. Tehelka was excellent work and I admire you not only for what you brought to the rot to light, but also how you withstood all the persecution that followed. I really admire Shankar Sharma and Devina Mehra for the same. Please convey my best wishes to them and to Tarun as well. One need not look beyond you guys for inspiration on how to fight back in the face of all odds and come back and come back doubly strong. You started Cobrapost much before those of us in the web 2.0 infected world starting throwing about terms like RSS feeds and news aggregators. For all we know, Cobrapost might just take off and make a strong comeback if you spend more time on it that trying to humour us by being Tony Bhasand. And what is this? Is this what Aniruddha Bahal has become?

Is your absurd sense of humour your forte?

Humour is not the fort. If the truth in the joking then the peoples laughing and spreading all over out from the Naini fort on the river.

I really hope you and your publisher are working on another Bunker 13 and you won't disappoint your followers and readers. Maybe your following is a billionth of that of Sharukh Khan and you are not Arundhati Roy, reading whose work kids think they become intellectuals overnight and go around telling the entire world about it. We are you fans by choice, not by the lack of it. Hope you know that.



Maybe I'm over-reacting just on the ten questions you answered for the Outlook interview. But I hope you understand that you are at your best when you are either stinging or you are writing. And please don't meet Vipul Shah or Akshay Kumar, otherwise we'll soon be watching a movie titled Stingg is Kinng, with the unnecessary extra alphabets and there is also the threat of them wanting you to write the script.

Hope to see you back to writing soon.

Regards,
Nikhil


PS. I must mention here that I immensely enjoyed reading A Case of Exploding Mangoes. Just a note that you now have some competition in fiction writing about military, politicians, war, spying and espionage in the sub-continent.

Image Credit: Outlook

Who Cares What Obama Says...

...when he makes an entry for his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention with City of Blinding Lights. Turns out he's been using this song to open his performances since 2007. Yo! Bama, shall we say then?

More CNN-IBNonsense

It's not everyday On IBNlive, it's everyday that one comes across news stories of varying ridiculous proportions, but one of today's headlines is definitely out of the box, the sort that sees a hand with a boxing glove come out of the box(idiot, if TV or a flat box, if it's a laptop screen) and punches you straight in the face. Dear Copy Editor at IBNlive, if you objective was to capture my attention, congratulations, you have succeeded. But if your objective was to make me take seriously what you folks at CNN-IBN/IBNlive say/write , I'm sorry, I won't from now on. Here's the head line and the piece following it. Emphasis mine.

Should the N-deal be seen as anti-Muslim?

A day ahead of the crucial meeting between the Left and the UPA Government, CPM politburo member and trade union leader M K Pandhe claimed Muslims are against the Indo-US nuclear deal. CPM leader Prakash Karat attended Shia rally in Uttar Pradesh to protest against India's vote against Iran at the IAEA as well as George Bush's visit to India. Analysts say the Left must not bring religious sentiments into foreign policy issues.


Thank God for the analysts, we'd otherwise have some serious trouble in our foreign relations with Azerbaijan during Diwali or a sudden thaw in relations with Mongolia during Ganesh Chaturthi. Religious sentiments are high during those times, you see.

More CNN-IBN fun.

Koncerned About Karnataka

No, this is not about an Ekta Kapoor serial on Karnataka, but a really concerning phenomenon which could have a potentially adverse effect on the relatively clean politics environment in Karnataka.

Outlook carries an article by Sugata Srinivasaraju on the rise of the Reddy brothers in such a very short time from being nowhere on the scene till the late 90s to dictating terms in Karnataka politics. The article is rather strangely titled Deep Vein Thrombosis. It mentions that the RSS is said to be "very concerned with the Reddys' growing influence" on the state BJP. Though I don't subscribe to RSS's RSS feeds, meaning don't subscribe to most of their views, I have reasons to agree with them on the Reddy brothers' though. And not just about their growing influence on the state BJP, but of the entire granite lobby over Karnataka politics.

Let's see how this one plays out. In these parts of the world, the granite stone is more valuable than gold and diamond. Sincerely hoping that granite doesn't do what diamond and gold did to Africa.



Image courtesy the Churmuri post on an ad in newspapers by another MLA from another granite-rich area Hospet praising the Reddy brothers and their associate with allegedly criminal records B Sriramulu.

PS. Deep Vein Thrombosis. And I have no clue yet on why the article was given that title.

Polls In Karnataka - A Quick Note

As someone who follows Indian politics very closely, it is a tad disappointing that I haven't been able to follow the build-up to the elections in Karnataka as closely as I'd have liked. But still an opinion or two, or perhaps a couple more. Contrary to what these people have to say, the Congress will not get a majority. In my opinion, no party will. The Congress used the revision of electoral rolls as as an intelligent tactic to delay the elections, and this will definitely not help the BJP ride the sympathy wave. Nevertheless, the sympathy is still there and the BJP will gain from it. According to me, the tally will more or less remain the same as in the previous election. The BJP and the Congress will get a few more seats at the expense of JD(S) and others like JD(U), SP and the BSP will just be making a guest appearance in the analysis of the experts sitting in their air-conditioned studios. Good luck to you guys, hope you get higher TRPs and have more people believe that what you say is actually true. Just a small note, Karnataka is not just Bangalore. There are other regions which are part of Karnataka and people living there are also part of Karnataka.

More as the elections progress.

Learning For The Day - Rukmini Devi Arundale

Till today, in fact a few hours before this post, I was unaware of the existence of Rukmini Devi Arundale.

Funny earlier and it's a life fact now that, as one discovers and comes across more things unknown, it appears one knows a lot lesser than what was thought earlier. That's the joy of discovery and learning.

Came across her profile in the India Today's special issue of 60 Greatest Indians. An interesting fact - she was offered the Presidency by Morarji Desai which she declined. Would've been good to have a danseuse as our President. Unlike the present one, who doesn't quite do justice to her more illustrious lineage . Hope there's no dent to the President's honourable chair during this term. So far so good, Smt. Patil-Shekhawat has been. No action is also good action. And as the elections draw close, I feel India is terribly missing Mr. Pramod Mahajan. That will be another post, but Mr. Mahajan, India needed you and one moment of insanity took us away from you. You were the best Prime Minister our nation never had. Rest In Peace, Pramodji.

The State Of Indian Politics - Post Gujarat Elections

The state for now is definitely Gujarat. Much has been said, written, heard, spewed, vomited, acted, faked, dramtised before, during and after the elections in Gujarat. There was never any doubt about Narendra Modi's victory in Gujarat. Perhaps what was to be keenly watched during this election was Modi's victory margin, in Maninagar constituency where he was facing Union Minister Dinsha Patel and the overall assembly tally. Both the results have given enough fodder for the analysts and experts to stuff their mouths with and shut them. Funnily enough, they still go on. Perhaps it's the TV studio lights or the press printing machines that are to be blamed. I don't think the English language media that Ms. Ghose refers to, gets it. The average Gujarati, definition of which may vary and is open to discussion, doesn't watch any of the English language news channels, leave alone sit through the analyses and the debates. He doesn't even read the English newspapers, leave alone read the complex and sometimes fanciful Op-eds and guest articles. This of course, is in addition to the national media brand of reporting carried in the regular articles. The average Gujarati is a very real person, more concerned about what's happening with him and around him. Perhaps that little time spent through flipping Gujarat Samachar or Sandesh, the time spent through catching on a bit of ETV Gujarati or Alpha Gujarati or time the spent in the trains to and from work is his window to the external world and a source of knowing what is the world saying about Gujarat. The Prannoy Roys, Barkha Dutts, Rajdeep Sardesais, Arnab Goswamis, Karan Thapars, Yogendra Yadavs and soon to come, Vir Sanghvis (with or without Gangulys) are nowhere on his radar. These media men and women seem to have missed this point completely.

What makes Narendra Modi different from the other political leaders is that he's more real and if one were to use that phrase, in your face, than most of them. Compare him with the Gandhis, the Vajpayees or the Karats, and you find there's something enigmatic about them, as if they're only meant for those rare appearances, with the people that is. In contrast, Narendra Modi is everywhere, with his SMSes, ringtones, masks( Tehelka, of course, had an issue even with that, literally. The cover story was titled The Mukhauta Campaign) and even YouTube videos. While he's able to widely connect with his audience at the grass-roots level, he remains being very subdued and measured in his public appearances. Just being seen is not enough, being there is important.

Now that the General Elections are drawing close, we are in for some entertaining times on TV and in the papers. New phrases around actresses will be coined, like BISPASA it was the last time around. Social and political scientists from JNU, Made-Only-For-TV leaders from all parties will join the presenters and the reporters in entertaining us. But what makes me wonder is that if I, and perhaps Seth, are the only ones who seem to know the possible truth? That the country did neither vote the Congress to power because of its aam aadmi campaign nor did it vote the BJP out for its Indian Shining campaign. What helped the Congress, rather what is now known as UPA, were the huge victories in Andhra Pradesh(with TRS) and in Tamizh Nadu (with DMK), some deft coalition cobbling by M/s Ahmed Patel and co. and the Left's compulsion to align with secular forces and not communal forces like the BJP. That is all, nothing more nothing less. And Mr. Advani, you lost some respect when you recently said about the India Shining campaign being a mistake. In fact, it made a lot of us feel good about the state our country was in then. And the feeling wasn't just restricted to the urban middle-class people. Blaming the campaign for your defeat wouldn't be the right thing to do. Let's see what else is in store for us like he said in that movie - "Pichchar abhi baaki hai mere dost". But Mr. Khan, that's movies and this is politics. And politics is real.

To Ms. Suhasini Haider, Senior Anchor and Correspondent, CNN-IBN

Dear Ms. Suhasini Haider,

Warm greetings. I'm writing to you regarding comments made by you during the night bulletin you were presenting on CNN-IBN on Dec 6, 2007.

At the outset, let me share something with you, which hopefully, you will be glad to know. A lot of young people in this country watch you on national television, and one day, hope to become what you are. They form their opinion based on what you say, based on what you show them and based on what you make guests on your shows say. That's a fine art, putting words into people's mouths, and you and your brethren in the media seem to have perfected that. These young people, being impressionable considering the age they in and the age they are of, appreciate that fine art as well. Stupid as it may seem, they take a lot of what you say very seriously. Hence my humble request to you is to be measured and balanced when you say something on national television.

On Dec 6, 2007 while referring to the exhumation of dead bodies at Nadigram you said - "It is still not known which party the dead belonged to" The dead, Ms. Haider, are dead. Please do not politicize their death. Those young boys and girls, you see, will talk about it in their college, talk about it during their bus and train commutes, talk about it during their numerous hang-outs and chill-outs and soon they will come to believe that the dead need to belong to political parties. Such is the power of your work and the profession industry you work in. Please use it responsibly.

Regards,
Nikhil Kulkarni

To Mr. Meghdoot Sharon, Correspondent, CNN-IBN

Dear Mr. Meghdoot Sharon,

Warm Greetings. I'm writing to you regarding your article headlined BJP makes bachelor CM its ladies' man in Guj on IBNlive.com on Dec 3, 2007.

While I understand that Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai is your boss and you might feeling honoured to work with an intellectual like him, it doesn't necessarily mean that you share the same disgust that Mr. Sardesai has for Mr. Modi. It's a different thing if it is a company policy in CNN-IBN to always spew venom at Mr. Modi, however flimsy or trivial the reason for that great piece of journalism maybe. If you and your team are that sure about Mr. Modi's complicity in the riots, which are to be condemned in the strongest of terms, please come out with hard facts and take on Mr. Modi. Do not fight from the comfort of your air-conditioned glass-walled studios, that's not fair. Give the other person a chance to respond. And if the belief is that the evidence is all there and still there's no action, then there's something seriously wrong in the justice delivery system in our country and maybe that is what you should be looking at setting right, and not targetting an individual. In fact, Mr. Modi appears more dignified with his silence compared to your repeated diatribes, which are, more often than not, are needlessly vitriolic and below the belt. What about this article headlined Modi sells Guj Inc, 'appeases rich and ignores poor' which appeared on Nov 18. Articles like these, Mr. Sharon, are not, in good spirit and smack of vengence and a huge sense of political and maybe, even personal vendetta. It doesn't appear to be reporting or journalism, it's sleazy and sickening.

I don't think I need to clarify, but I'm no supporter of Mr Modi. If that man is found guilty by a court of law and even if he's to be hanged for the crime he's to have committed, so be it. But do not become the judge yourself. I'm reminded of that famous quote from Spiderman here. At least, credit him for the work he has done in his term as the Chief Minister. And if you stay in Gujarat and have seen things around you while you report, I'm sure you'd agree with me, that development in Gujarat has happened, and has happened at a good pace.

Good Night, And Good Luck

Regards,
Nikhil Kulkarni

For Shrimati Sonia Gandhi and her co(terie)

Related post - All The Presidents Were Men

Related not as in brother-in-law or someone's husband. Well, not really.

All The Presidents Were Men

Ah yes, tried playing on this. As I cleared my Deep Throat, I felt the definite need for it.

With our Presidential election having come down to the streets, we, the villagers of Domlur couldn't be far away from it. Now that there looks to be a distinct possibility of Shrimati Pratibha Patil Shekhawat becoming our President, the grandmother in our neighbourhood remarked - 'Nodi, Ee kaaladalli hennu makkalu yaariginthanoo kadime illa. Namma Mahila Mandalada Presidentoo hennu magale, eega deshada Rasthrapatinpoo hennu magale'. Meaning - See, women are second to none. The President of our Women's Club is also a woman and now, the President of our country will also be a woman. Just that, the President of the Domlur Women's Club(if such a thing exists) has to be a women. Oh yeah, the grandmother part is definitely made up. Do not take anyone in our Domlur for granted. And do not take Domlur itself for granted. Nothing less, it has a Wikipedia entry.

What makes me feel sad is that a lot of people enjoy such nonsense, they're missing out on much better fun - our Presidential election. Reading about this in the newspapers, hearing about it and watching about it in these news channels, with these pretty dumb things on air, is immense fun. For example, let's start taking everything they say literally. Pratibha lashes at critics. Imagine our future President with a whip and lashing her critcs, and they squealing on every lash. Or even if you take the phrases that these guys and pretty dumb girls generally use, mud slinging, for example. Imagine Shri Advani and co. on one side and Mrs. Gandhi and co. with Comrade Karat and co. to her Left (and no one to their left, because they are the Left) throwing mud at each other and the winning party candidate becoming the President. Wake up and realise, it is for nothing that they call this dirty politics. Huh, the Dhobis in Delhi will have a nice time.


It was not long back that the Left propped up Capt. Laskhmi Sehgal against the joint Congress-BJP candidate Dr. Kalam. Things have changed and how. And again, it is not without reason that they say politics makes strange bed-fellows. Now, taking that literally would be taking it a little too far, no? No wait, this piece in Outlook will make that clear as well -

Shalini Sharma, close to Shekhawat when he was Rajasthan CM, was accused of supplying women to powerful BJP ministers. Shalini was made VP of the state social welfare board by the Shekhawat regime.

The Congress and the Left would think they've effectively checkmated Shri. Shekhawat's chances by fielding Shrimati Patil Shekhawat. Fielding of course, in the cricketing sense, can add lot of fun too. Imagine Ahmed Patel running to 10, Janpath, panting heavily and breaking the news to Soniaji - 'Madam, we've caught Shrimati Patil'. Mrs. Gandhi will say - 'Good fielding Mr. Patel'.

So while those supporting her will think they've checkmated the NDA and allies by choosing Shrimati Shekhawat Patil to be their candidate, imagine what will she say to Shri Shekhawat(not her husband Mr. Shekhawat, of course) if they were to come face to face. 'Shekhawatji, check my mate - he's a Shekhawat too!' Huh, killing two birds with one stone. Take it literally? Not quite, we're non-violent people.

So while there can be birds, can horses be far behind? No wonder we hear about horse-trading around such events.

To me, the first memories of President of our country will always be Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma in his penguin-like walking style taking rounds of the different ghats laying wreaths to pay respects to our departed leaders. Such fun, those days were. Geetanjali Iyer, Usha Albuquerque, Minu, Avinash Kaur Sareen, Neeti Ravindran and I can go on listing those wonderful DD news readers. And man, the Sukanya Balakrishnan. And now you have these pretty dumb things. And yes, not to forget those commentaries during the Republic Day and Independence Day parades. And now you have these pretty dumb things.

And as far as the Prez election goes(hate the use of the Prez term as much as the pretty dumb things), I'll be happy if Mughal Gardens gets a good care-taker. Hoping Mr. Shekhawat(either of the two) will take good care of the wonderful flora there. The President's post was for someone scholarly, someone erudite, someone who is a true ambassador of India and someone who brought a lot of dignity to the post. Was, is the word now. For all the talk of a woman President or a masses man becoming our President, as a nation and as a political system I was quite proud of, we've lost something along the way. Sad.