We the nation

I received this via email. The photograph as well, it seems it is a signpost put up by the Indian army at one of the highest passes in the world. Not sure about the authenticy of the signature, but here it is, uploaded as I received it.

=============================================

 May be a repeat but an apt one in the times that we live today. I hope people who are bent upon dividing India on religious, communal and caste basis see this. I hope Raj Thackre sees this. Some one should tell Raj Thackre that Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan belonged to Kerala, born and brought up in Karnataka, joined the BIHAR Regiment of the Indian Army, went on deputation to NSG and sacrificed his life in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Not only him but most of the armed forces personnel who took part in the operation at Mumbai did not belong to Maharashtra. They are and were Indians. The esteem and respect of our politicians is at the lowest ebb. Yet, we cannot do without them because our democratic system needs them. But what we need to change is the quality of leadership. Before we forget and forgive them, let us demand and get protection from terrorists and fight terrorists on a common platform instead of the beaten path of caste, community, religion on which these very politicans have divided our country. If Advani and Manmohan Singh could not travel to Mumbai in the same air craft to show solidarity, they have gone back to their usual bitching about each party sooner than the pyre of those brave hearts and innocents cooled down. If Modi feels that Rs one crore is the price to show his sympathy to Hemant Karkare's family after all the accusations that were collectively hurled at him, he should be shown the door as the widow of Hemant did. If RR Patil can brush aside this attack on India with a simple statement that "these things do happen", let us tell him that he has no right to be our leader. If Gopinath Munde thinks he can get a few votes by showing his face at Nariman House, then let us show him why he is not wanted in our system.

We need politicians who can be as free as we can be in these times and not sit inside fortressed walls or escorted by hundreds of security personnel after getting sanitized to their under garments. Their life is not more precious than ours. They are not our kings. If we have made them to be our kings, lets us make them praja. This is the time to demand and make India of our dreams and not light a few candles and forget the whole issue of national security.

Over 4000 innocents have died in India due to terrorist attacks, second to Iraq. Have we not had enough of this? Is power to rule the only salvation for our country's political leadership? Do the lives of these people who sacrifice their lives and the innocents who are killed do not matter. It may not matter to our leadership but surely to us.

For 72 hours we were impotent, at loss as to what we should do. There was paralysis and our brain stopped thinking. WE have not realized the enormity of the continued terrorist attacks. No city is safe. Only our leaders are. Do we not deserve better leadership to start with so that we all can be more safe? Think. Let us do something (tragically we do not know what?) to make ourselves life safe sot that all of us, irrespective of our caste, community and religion, live like an Indian. Let us give meaning to the word Indian and shun this communal and religious divide which is making our country a laughing stock in the comity of nations. This may be our last opportunity.

Regards Colonel Sridharan

Today's Mumbai (yesterday's Bombay)

I have been surfing the internet, looking to share the pain and anguish and came across this soulful column by Suketu Mehta, author of Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found in The New York Times.
He says: In the Bombay I grew up in, your religion was a personal eccentricity, like a hairstyle. In my school, you were denominated by which cricketer or Bollywood star you worshiped, not which prophet. In today’s Mumbai, things have changed. Hindu and Muslim demagogues want the mobs to come out again in the streets, and slaughter one another in the name of God. They want India and Pakistan to go to war. They want Indian Muslims to be expelled. They want India to get out of Kashmir. They want mosques torn down. They want temples bombed.........
Do read this column, click here.
I so agree with it completely. The first time I realise that I was a Muslim was in 1992, when the Babri structure was brought down and perhaps realised with a pang that my being an Indian would in some quarters be viewed as suspect. Since then India continues to be fragmented. It is not just external agencies which are doing this, but our own politicians as well. This time, Bombay has risen, against the politicians and rightly so. While it may take time to recover, now I have a glimmer of hope that Bombay and indeed India will recover and be a united front against terror and divisions - no matter what the source.
Jai Hind.
Photograph: Gateway of India with the Taj Mahal Hotel in the background (Wikimedia.org)

I CRY FOR YOU MY BOMBAY

THERE IS NOTHING ELSE THAT I CAN SAY. MY FATHER IS IN BOMBAY CURRENTLY. HE CALLED UP AROUND 11 PM TO INFORM US ABOUT A FEW BLASTS AND OF HIS SAFETY. I SWITCHED ON THE TELLY AND THE NEWS HAS ONLY GOTTEN WORSE. WE HAVE LOST BRAVE MEN, WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN THE COURSE OF THEIR DUTY, WE ARE LOSING INNOCENT PEOPLE. ONCE WHEN BOMBAY WAS UP AND ALIVE AGAIN, THE VERY NEXT DAY, SO TO SPEAK, AFTER ANY CRISIS BE IT TERRORISM, COMMUNAL RIOTS OR EVEN FLOODS WE PAID HOMAGE TO THE SPIRIT OF BOMBAY. TODAY, ALL I CAN DO IS WEEP FOR MY HOMETOWN AND INDEED MY COUNTRY.

The sparrow who broke the ice

Yes, it is true. It is impossible to estimate the time it will take to reach Bengaluru airport. You either reach early or reach late, it all depends on the unpredictable traffic conditions and who wants to miss a flight?

So, like several others, last Thursday, I reached relatively early and was nursing a cup of coffee in my cold hands and watching the world go by and checking my emails as well (in short, multi-tasking as usual).

Suddenly a sparrow zoomed down, right in the middle of the Barista Cafe outlet, hopped beneath a table and helped himself to a few crumbs. He was a cocky sparrow, like most males of any species. He then hopped on my table (and I swear) peeked into my laptop screen.

In short, the sparrow broke the ice.

People sitting on different tables smiled at each other and began to talk to each other. A techie going to Chennai who had a scowl on his face while he punched furiously at his blackberry shared a few crumbs from his cookie with this sparrow who was now joined by his wife (the sparrow's wife). The person sitting opposite me, native of Belgium, but now spending his time between India (his current place of business) and Portugal (his holiday home country) began to talk to me. Incidentally, TOI had reported just that day on how sparrows were becoming more scare because of increasing use pesticides. We realised we shared several common interests including photography, writing and blogging and perhaps may continue to keep in touch.

A little girl travelling with her Dad, shyly came across to my table, fascinated by both the sparrow and my laptop. Hopefully, after our little chat, she will never keep a caged bird as a pet.

And all it took for a bunch of sour irritated human beings to smile again were two tiny sparrows. Now I don't mind bearing the long distance drive to the new airport. The sparrows make it worthwhile.

The above photograph is taken from wikimedia.org

India Coffee House and other stories

I met S after a year, even though we are currently in the same city. We have been friends for many years, dating back to our Mumbai days. Our birthdays are just two days apart and we celebrate either before or after our respective birthdays. Feeling jaded and old, we decided to walk down memory lane. So it was Bheema's for lunch - we opted for our favourite menu -fish tikka and dal makhani and lassi (Had to settle for fresh lime soda instead as lassi was not available). The other dishes continue to be as perfect as we remembered them to be. Then, we met up her friend, T, who has recently given up his Phd studies and is now blissfully teaching on the outskirts of Bangalore.

This meant we needed another place to sit and chat, where we would not be thrown out - haunts like Barista and Cafe Coffee Day would be choked with the Saturday crowd. What better place than India Coffee House, on MG Road? However, today, we hadn't even finished our coffee that the waiters started hovering around, wanting us to leave. No sooner did we gulp the last dregs than we were asked to leave as they had a few customers in queue. Well, just one family, which for some strange reason wanted our table only - perhaps it is because it was beneath the fan. Things sure have changed at India Coffee House, in more ways than one. A brand new LCD screen now shares the walls with old photographs and a grandfather wall clock. It is here that one sees Bangalore, as it really is. A mix of old and new. Customers at the table were a mix of those who were born and brought up in this city and those who strayed here thanks to the IT boom or otherwise, like I and S did.

While we were there, we noticed an old man walk in, nervously clutching his pants - as if he was scared that they would fall, he then shuffled across to a corner table, ordered coffee and began to talk to an imaginary companion opposite him. He spoke for long and passionately, finished his coffee and shuffled off again. I wanted to do something, but didn't know what. I was too scared. Just felt he shouldn't be wandering around alone. Perhaps I could have gone and sat on the seat opposite. Would this have helped? I don't know.

It is easy for me to shrug and say, I didn't do anything because I don't know the local language and had I upset him, I would'nt know how to deal with it. But, perhaps a smile would have soothed him? Perhaps we could have all joined at his table and brought him coffee. Perhaps...

I hope this old man has reached home safely and has a loving family. I can't but help think of him and wonder about the very callousness of humanity (mine included).

One random act of kindness

Hello Readers,

I have been thinking of the impact the slow-down of the economy may have had on NGOs. In fact, I posed this question on LinkedIn. There were several suggestions on how best to continue to maintain Corporate Social Responsibilty programs during the downturn. Some key suggestions were:

• Let employees volunteer during office time
• Let people know where their money is going
• Individuals must now stand up for what they believe in, rather than letting employers play the lead role

If you would like to have a look at all the answers, click here.

I am sure I am suffering from a mid life crisis, because a part of me, wants to move on to something that can be more socially responsible. Government aided programs are not enough, further thanks to corruption and the multitude of layers the money flows through, perhaps the end receiver does not end up with what is rightfully his/hers.

While I scoffed at the Book, The Secret, sometimes I do feel that perhaps the 'Force of Attraction' concept does work in some way. I hated this book because my interpretation of its teachings is Make a wish and then let the Universe do its bit. I am too much of a cynic to buy this logic.

Anyway, to come back to the point, I switch on the telly, zoom down to a movie channel and not to my usual fare of News, Discovery, National Geographic and I end up watching "Evan Almighty". Here God appears towards the end of the movie and tells Evan that the way to change the world is by doing one act of random kindness.

This has provided me with a ray of hope. When confronted with scenes of grief and misery, I tend to quesiton superior powers and the inequity that prevails. I haven't found an answer to that as yet. All that I have found strangely enough, through a movie, is a straw to clutch onto. Every tiny act of random kindess does help in a little way. Perhaps I don't need to search for that elusive CSR oriented job, for which I may not even be qualified.

Yet, I need to concentrate on my own random acts of kindness, so do you.

God Bless

Lubna

How our office celebrated Diwali

Dear Readers,

Belated Diwali greetings. I am a bit late in posting this, but the growing intolerance in our country, the ever increasing barriers based on religion, caste, creed is getting to me. Yesterday was Karnataka Day and what happened? A radio channel was ransacked for playing Hindi songs. Of course the chill in my former home town of Bombay (Mumbai) continues. I have a sinking feeling that we will continue to drift apart.

I wonder whether a day will come when we will even stopped singing our national anthem because it is in Bengali, and not in Marathi, Kanadda or whatever else. Each culture and each festival is beautiful in itself, if only we could rejoice in our diversity.

Julie of Human Flower Project kindly posted "how we celebrated Diwali at our work place" and even wrote a story around it. Perhaps we should have a Happy Diversity Day and at least on this day tolerate each other!

Lubna