Our Journey

(A Nursery Rhyme)
First there was I,
who always questioned why.

Then I became we,
and I lost a bit of me.

When we became you,
I realized what is true.

Moments of Remembrance

When luck seizes to befriend,
and everything seems unfair.

When all hope is lost,
and heart is emptied to despair.

When all light is lost,
and darkness is hard to bear.

When I've lost all I had,
and nobody is willing to share.

When I am sick in bed,
and nobody seems to care.

When loved ones have passed on,
at lifeless photographs you stare.

I then close my eyes in remembrance,
trying hard to hold back a tear.
Why is it only now, Master,
that I feel you are near...

"Jaldi Rahul-Baba, Jaldi!"

“While some burn midnight oil and labor hard in the day to make a name for self, for others the world waits with baited breath for them to do anything worthwhile to hail them their hero.” This statement epitomizes celebrities from our very Indian Rahul Gandhi and Abhishek Bachan, to the Phirangi, Prince Harry (third in line to the British throne. While many a soldier dies an unknown death, Harry is the toast of the nation, its savior having braved a loooooooong 10 weeks in the frontlines at Afganistan. 10 weeks of ‘self-less’ service of the Queen is all it took to erase the playboy image he had worked for in the past several years. But, at least he has something going for him.
What can we say for our Rahul-baba. His exploits in election rallies in U.P. and Gujrat can be deemed little else than disastrous. It’s a real shame, seeing intelligent, experienced work-horses like Ambika Soni, Abhishek Singhvi shamelessly defending him in the media, trying to get in the books of his doting mother. Meanwhile India is braving a weak Prime Minister who is but a symbolic head of the government. And yet, we wait for him to grow up, mature till he is at least capable of reading out speeches like his mother and play the ‘Surname card’. His attempts at public speaking till now have hade the opposition in splits and his party see red (in shame of course!). The future of a billion people lies heavy on his inexperienced shoulder. As I am very skeptical of Indians to get-over their faith in dynastic rulers, at least in my life time. With a roaring economy and even greater ambition we just cant wait too long. So let us all cheer the poor boy, our Prime Minister in making- “Jaldi Rahul-Baba, Jaldi!”.

COPY-CAT!!!!!!!

India might be the largest democracy in the world, but it certainly has deep pitfalls, impaled by malaises like cast, region and religion based pitfalls. Successive coalition governments have only shackles on the legs of a people who are aspiring to be a world power. It is sad state indeed that we are governed not by a shared vision of our leaders, but by a Common Minimum Program, a mere compromise of several parties each with its own vested interests. The UPA led government has been able to achieve very little in its four years of governance weighed down by the ancient ideologies of the Left. The Left on their part have enjoyed unprecedented power over Governance without sharing an ounce of responsibility. Sonia Gandhi has presided (towered would be a more apt word) over the country keeping the seat warm till the ‘Gandhi in waiting’, a certain Rahul Gandhi, is ready to take the reins. The country meanwhile is crawling forward with a puppet prime minister whose strings have gotten so entangled, it seems unlikely the year left is going to throw up any new surprises.
But, it is most ironic that, our estranged neighbor Pakistan who tries to keep a distance from all things Indian, is witnessing the formation of a new government whose formation bears an uncanny similarity to the Indian scene today.
Bilawal Bhutto is essaying the role of The Prime Mininster in waiting like our very own Rahul Gandhi. Asif Ali Zardari is the Pakistani interpretation of Sonia Gandhi who is keeping the seats warm for his ward. Nawaz Sharif’s Party is going to be the Pakistan’s CPM. He to will support the ruling party from outside. He too is seaking the elusive ‘Power without Responsibility’. His excuse of not joining the Ruling party because oh his resolve to not take oath under President Mushsaraf is a master-stroke. The current scheme of things just go to show, how the two countries have much more in common that we would like to think or admit…