Mayank Arora

A Great Solution

2008-10-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

I must candidly admit that my earlier reference to the so-called excesses of Mr. Raj Thakrey was rather cynical. "Please forgive me Raj, I really believe that your perceptions and ideologies are not totally wrong. All they are just a little misdirected"

The sheer vigor and passion with which you have taken up the cause of "Marathi Manoos" is adulatory. It is indeed heartening to see how you wish to protect the interests of Maharashtrian people against the so called insurgency by the motley crowd of people from sundry states, specially UP and Bihar.

Now that you have been arrested for hooliganism against some guiltless students appearing for a government examination (which is indeed their fundamental right), you have earned more respect in my eyes than ever before. I know you'll wiggle your way out of the jail sometime soon, but let us utilize the time you are now going to spend in jail for some counseling that I have in store for you to save you form any future discomfort and disgrace like the present one.

Why don’t you try joining the army as anti insurgency officer on special duty. Our country is already riled with problems of insurgency and naxalism all along the borders of Pakistan and Bangladesh . This way your basic ideology will remain same, just that you will now have to look into the interests on a "Bharatiya Manoos", and given the passion and gusto that you possess I have absolutely no doubts that you'll make lie hell for terrorists and naxalites just like you have for the innocent Bihari's in Maharashtra.

This way it will be a total and complete win -win situation for all. Firstly you'll get all the publicity and popularity you are trying to achieve on a pan- India level. Secondly no future arrests for you as you'll be a public servant on special duty. Thirdly we'll be addressing some actual problem that need precedence over your pixilated drama for some cheap publicity and political leverage.

And Last but not the least, if you succeed in this venture then you might contact some out-of-power military dictators from around the world for some future counseling.Well the future is bright. Isn't it?

What say again Mr. Thakrey????

Those Less Uncommon

2008-10-15T03:23:00.001-07:00

Remember how we all are told right from the day we totter down to the kindergarten, how this life is lot less ordinary and we don't just have to be a face in the crowd. High hopes and aspirations of all and sundry are inflicted upon us till we finally start believing in this hackneyed adage.

It was after a long time today, when I could sit back and rummage through the tidings around the globe and believe me, i could really sense this life less ordinary. The whole world is worried about plummeting stock markets, OBAMA and Mc CAIN, Iran and Iraq, Afghanistan, Iceland, AIG an what not. And why not? "If you got to make it big, worry about every little thing that can change your life", is what our parents used to postulate. Uncommon events help shaping up history, they add meaning and substance to the epochal references and help us evaluate ourselves in the light of the way things shape up. Sounds Great! Ain't it?

Just then my stock broker called me to ask if i needed a new account to capitalize on the uncommon that's going around at the stock market. Suddenly a realization of preponderance of so much "uncommon" around made me muse about the "less uncommon". The loving thy neighbor, the lying on the grass and ruminating about the girl next door and what not! Isn't it equivocally true how we have tried so much to achieve the uncommon that the common is so surprisingly elusive. Perish the thought, and lets not get all entangled into this philosophically irksome conundrum. Lets just get on with our lives and kill people in the name of an "uncommon holy war", "religious orientation" and what not.

This way at least our progeny(coming generations) would be able enjoy the merriment of lying on the beach not worrying about some magnanimous company getting bankrupt or someone dying off a bomb-blast for no reason at all, and at the same time they will call it the "uncommon" of their times. What Say ???

They are not coming back

2008-10-13T03:05:00.000-07:00

A distant cry, a cry of pain,

The bellowing and that anguished rain.

I trembled and crumbled deep within;

I knew, they are not coming back.

All they wished, were showers of bliss,

Not knowing it’s a deep abyss.

As they dived and hived off to their end,

I know, they were not coming back.

My lord I know you watch and care,

But some faiths are broken beyond repair.

Bless them all and bestow them peace,

For my lord, they are not coming back.

God is in the Details

2008-04-09T10:14:00.001-07:00

A couple of days back I came across an interesting piece of news stating that a new sex-education manual (sans details) for senior secondary students has been issued by the health ministry which is a toned down version of the earlier manual which was deemed too explicit and odious by a few vigilant sections . To the best of my recollection it was also mentioned rather boastfully that the word "intercourse" only seldom occurs in the renewed version of the manual and the entire thing has been made far less pictorial.

Hilarious, rather paradoxical as it sounded to me I kept wondering the culmination of all this by the time it finally reaches the students and is taught to them compulsorily. With a paucity of teachers who are not very happy with the idea of imparting the "ultimate truth of mankind" to the over-curious students (thanks to all the flutter of youth and extraneous reasons including piracy bollywood masala and internet ) and an oversensitive moral brigade who seem to flinch and feel offended by the very idea I am not very sure anything is really going to make a big difference to the present condition.

What is the point if we don’t call a spade a spade. And if in the process of trying to call it one why do we want to be less descriptive and pictorial. Lets see the odds against keeping it too "explicit" (as some would like to call it). May be, while trying to be honest we might have to deal with a few unwanted erections or offensive slobbering by the ardent learners. Or on the alternate there might be accidental or impassioned practical sessions during or after the classes. Preposterous indeed!!

But is this not exactly what is happening everywhere; ill -informed teens in multitudes with all the naïve curiosity and delusion about sex are resorting to unprotected and uninformed sex leading to a number of unwanted pregnancies and venereal diseases. Sex being the most staple craving of a human being is unavoidable. Who rendered sex education to Adam and eve? Lets get practical, the idea behind imparting sex-education is to curb the ignorance about a few aspects of sexual relations to be kept in mind while practicing it and not exactly to disseminate the information about how-to- do -it which comes naturally to us. And that can happen only if we stick to the details. (every single one of them)

What say Mr. Ramadoss???

Does India Need a Young PM?

2008-03-27T04:07:00.000-07:00

I will not try to be too academic, but just for the sake of it, the PM of India under the constitution is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ruling party and who takes crucial decisions with respect to the governance of our country and makes policies befitting the interest of people in consultation with the union cabinet. In short, a PM’s job as a constitutional servant is to make sure that the country is governed in consonance with the principles of the directive principles as enumerated in the constitution. However, the first question that pops up is whether such duties have been assiduously performed so far?

With the obscurantist tendencies that we possess the answer may not be apparent, but we sure try to figure the reasons which can be attributed to any failure of performance. (If any). Personally speaking, I have my doubts about any one PM coming up to the common man’s expectations and constitutional mandates and the reasons could be manifold. (Not speaking statistically). For years and years altogether we have seen venal politicians lapping up the taxpayer’s money without the “Great Indian Burp”. We have seen frivolous policies being implemented without a rationale and concern for the “AAM AADMI”. The second question that remains unanswered is whether it was all because of the aging politicians and specially the PM of our country (who is normally the eldest and most experienced of the flock) and their lack of connectivity to the (so called) “Youngistan” (watch your nearest idiot box if you are unfamiliar with the term) which had a different set of priorities and expectations form their putative leaders.

To assess this proposition objectively let us go back to the times of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi who at the age of 40 was the youngest PM this country had ever seen. (Not to mention the highest mandate ever by the people of this country). The report card of the government after the need of 5 years was more red than green. In spite of his strong charismatic personality and fervor for reforms and dynamism he had to bite the dust within two years of his term as the PM. The first two years went extremely well, but there was a reason. This country was sick of voting for those who were already known to the people and had ideas and policies so stagnant enough to give an Indian Gutter a run for its money. When Smt. Indira Gandhi was assassinated the country looked upon the elusive Rajiv to come up to their expectations. And the best part was that various sects had various expectations, but because no one really knew how he will turn out be as a politician and PM, there was a massive mandate in his favor and congress party enjoyed a stupendous majority for 5 years. But unfortunately at the end of the term nothing much could come out of the kitty of the youthful PM everyone was talking so highly about. The answer is simple. One man, be it a seasoned and aging “Neta” type figure or a brawny fledgling and youthful lad, cannot come up to the expectations of 800 million people at the same time. The reasons were also very straightforward, most obvious being his inexperience in dealing with extraneous pressures.

But, enough of past, let us now try to envisage the similar proposition in contemporary context. With the multitude of voices and diversity of interests who are clamoring for attention, any naïve policy maker is not expected to play miracles by placating everyone at the same time. However, I must clarify that I am not suggesting that dynamism and knowledge cannot supplant the present chaos, perhaps I am suggesting that for these virtues to be present in a leader we need not insist on a younger lad over an experienced man. It is quite simplistic to suggest that a young India with a young PM would be true combination of potential and dynamism, but we are looking at a bloated picture. This is not a country with a common language and dialect. This is a country where diversity is palpable at every few kilometers.

To sum up, the complicated question we are referring to in a “yes” or “no” would probably be a misnomer. Only age as a factor to determine the efficiency of a PM, without regard to other crucial factors like his qualification, policies, family background etc. is perhaps whimsically absurd. Let us look at this a little more pragmatically and start looking at the bigger picture where this democracy can not just elect but select its own leaders who can at least understand and know the importance of the “Preamble to the Constitution of India” and aim towards realizing it. And I am saying LEADERS, perhaps not just PM.

Lesson learnt I Guess!!

Eternal Stupefaction!!

2008-03-18T03:20:00.000-07:00

I was not very surprised indeed to learn about a British teenager's rape and murder story at Anjuna Beach, Goa, perhaps it somehow invoked an ire inside me. It was reported that the teenager was under the influence of drugs (which are now being peddled and sold in Goa like peanuts). But what if may be its was not a destitute teenager who got drunken stupid to make a folly out of her own life, may be it was all the rest of us who were. (borders nationality religion notwithstanding)

Puritans have looked critically at the entire episode as failure of the state administration and a dissemination of a pervert culture by some foreign tourists and drug lords. However I couldn't help but look at it differently.

Sad but true, our youth culture is stupendously under he influence of bollywood and we under an illusion that this culture is benign so far we can censure and cut down the nudity and indiscriminate cloth-shedding. Then comes some other social mores and the so-called moral police regulations that we as youth of this responsible country should abide by.

However as matter of fact the entire society is befuddled and intoxicated to such levels where they are unable to see that there is something far more toxic than nudity that is corrupting the spongy young minds other than and all exclusive of Nudity (which we are so hell-bent on eradicating like some kind of a disease.)

To quote a few examples...

Not a lot of parents tell their children that money does not make all the difference and life is not all about a quest for making money and that too with hard work knowledge and perseverence. (And the vicious circle continues...)

Not even a single "bollywood ishtyle" flick that I happen to watch at any given time, could romp home the message that shortcuts do not make a life...

Not a lot of teachers in our country are ready and comfortable with imparting sex-eduction to senior students.

Not a lot of finishing schools have sprung up in our country unlike the omnipresent coffee-kiosks and hookah-joints.

And the story is unending...

But too good that now we know a few things we've got to deal with after the hang-over

We the People

2008-02-23T12:03:00.001-08:00

Isn't it ironical, or so it seems to read the words "we the people of India" so haughtily placed in the opening lines of our constitution and which have started to sound intriguing to me. After what transpired in Maharashtra in wake of the anti north-Indian comment by Mr. Raj Thakrey, I believe that things are finally going just the way he wanted.

I am quite naive politically to judge the outcome of this bizarre episode but to the best of my knowledge Mr. Thakrey Junior will be able to garner a few extra votes from i-don't-know-which zealous section of the society.

Another aftermath that could possibly arise from this public stunt could be that more and more netajis, not excluding Mr. Senior Thakrey, would embark upon a similar slew of invectives with domino effect through the entire territory of India trying to annex a profitable vote bank.

But the moral of the story is there's got to be a solution. May be a constitutional amendment or something more concrete. Lets face it Mr. Thakrey, this is exactly what you probably want. That having been said i am eagerly waiting for that proposed 28 word amendment in the constitution ( one word each state ) which would really be the last plausible solution to this never-ending controversy about who is in whose state.

So, get ready, the constitution is about to start by words like , "We the people of Maharashtra, UP, Bihar , MP, Karnataka........"...

What say Mr. Thakrey ???