Maturing With Mumbai

I had the pleasure of being in Mumbai last Sunday after almost a year. Leaving the city at night as I boarded the train back to Vadodara, I had a flashback of the first memories of the city. My first trip to Mumbai was in April 2004 when my sister and I accompanied my father to Mumbai. Living in the northern part of the country, Mumbai had always seemed to fascinate me. So, as the milestones on the road started reading 50,40,30 km and so on, that city popped out of nowhere, and from the car window I saw those huge towering structures, the ones we see in "big" cities. There were luxurious cars on the road, quite fashionable people, youngsters with their girlfriends on their bikes - a scene too fascinating for a boy aged 12 from a city in the so-called North. I went to Mumbai on a few more occasions in the next year, again accompanied by my father. This time I looked to get a glimpse of a film star, not sure if it was really him, but I guess I saw Ritesh Deshmukh somewhere. 

In the year 2006 when the flood hit Mumbai, I happened to be in Panvel for a school camp. As we travelled from Panvel to Mumbai Central in a BEST bus, I had a glimpse of what is called Resilient Mumbai. It was quite an experience to see how the people of a city who remain indifferent even to their neighbours had come out to help when time had called for it. My first visit to South Mumbai happened to come much later in January 2008. It was the day of the Mumbai Marathon and traffic was not allowed on the road, so we walked from CST and reached Marine Drive, sat there for a while, I found the city less crowded for once.

2009-10 was the period when I figured out the city much by myself. I had to make excursions to the city almost after every fortnight in order to take mock tests. Until now I had always come by road, so I did not have any idea about how the transport in the city worked. On one or two occasions I hired a cab or auto rickshaw, and then it was my turn to experience the city's lifeline - the local trains. The more I travelled on my own, the more places I figured out, the more people I met, the better feeler I got. 

Sitting on the Marine Drive under a moonlit sky at 10 PM last Sunday, I realized I now knew the city better. Seeing celebrities or the lustre of the city was no longer important. Fascinations had drowned but the charm of the city remained intact. I could feel that in a subtle way, the city had emboldened me, taught me what reality meant, gave me ambition, and slowly but steadily, imparted a little of what I call wisdom.

Lust For Lokpal: My Stand

I don't think I'll find a day better than this to put forward my view and my stand on the Lokpal Bill and on Annaji, as I feel more patriotic than ever in the run up to the Independence day!

Anna Hazare took the country by storm as he sat on his fast-unto-death to have the Lokpal Bill enacted as soon as possible and to have all the PJ Thomases, A Rajas and Kalmadis brought to book. Fight against corruption began after the emphatic World Cup '11 win by India. Millions joined in, media covered it like anything, status updates flooded the news feeds and pages were made on facebook. Ann-shann became the talk of the town.

When I first heard Anna Hazare was going on the fast, I followed it like I would follow any other piece of news. As people joined in, I grew more inquisitive. On going through the details, I grew against the Lokpal. Why I am against the Lokpal is because it will create a parallel bureaucracy, putting the government and the general public in hassles. Team Anna would put in every effort to prove me wrong by saying that it will be directly accountable to the public but then they must realize every government machinery is indeed, and in ideal conditions, accountable to the people. The idea of Lokpal then becomes cynical and naive. Cynical, because it does not trust the system of administration; naive because nobody can ensure that the Lokpal itself will be corruption-free. If you love your country, the lust for Lokpal will seem unhealthy.

It would be quite appropriate to say that Anna Hazare's integrity is unquestionable but then the government cannot just give in to every angry old man's demand! I would rather like to to see reforms being carried out in what we already have to check corruption. Get the CBI and CVC working to their fullest. Make the government machinery more easily accessible. Enforcement is, after all, more necessary than enactment. And how long, I ask, would we need a law to guide our conscience? Be honest, preach honesty. That's the best you can do for your country. Have faith in the system and in the Constitution that has been designed by learned patriots and freedom fighters. This democracy is as equally yours as Anna Hazare's and as a parliamentarian put it, it faces it's worst peril from the unelected and the unelectable. Choose and vote for the right people, India will prosper. Jai Hind!

The Kolkata Experience

I had not been blogging because of my preoccupations with the work for which I was in Calcutta (Kolkata). This blog post is an account of my experience, keeping the purpose of my visit under cover. Here goes the city, Kolkata or Calcutta whatever you please:

My train entered the Howrah Railway station a few hours later than the actual arrival, which is not really a new thing here in India. I stepped out of the train and after having followed the crowd for a while on the biggest railway station I have seen, I found my own way towards the prepaid taxi booth, hired one of Calcutta's classic Yellow Cab and moved out of the station premises. From the place where I could see the gigantic Howrah Bridge, I could also find myself in a traffic jam. And then started the drizzle as the taxi driver played FM on the radio which would change stations automatically every time the ignition was turned on amid the traffic jam. I reached my place of stay in an hour watching the drizzle, the ruckus in the streets and sights of men at work in a state that has seen virtually no economic growth in the past few years.  After an hour's nap, I moved out to get a feeler, so I walked to wherever my feet took me, tasted food which I was ecstatic to find cheap and tasty at the same time. Came back to my room, slept like a log.

The next day I dedicated to what I call "sight seeing". So I had my backpack ready and the weather Gods seemed happy. It was humid but all in all fine. I used the metro rail service to get to Park Street. Disembarking from the train, I decided to walk in the vicinity and found the Victoria Memorial and other few landmarks. Concrete structures don't really please me but the whole thing was nice. Then I took the city bus, the trams, the cycle rickshaw to reach places I had never heard names of before. 

The next day was the day for work. The thing got over in the evening and the same night I left Calcutta. Now, if you feel this was the worst ever post, especially when all the possible excitement was expected from a travel experience on a blog that is titled "Nomadic" Diaries, here's the best part: On my way back, I wanted to feel the wind in my hand, so I flung my hand out of the train window; someone was done chewing his pan and perhaps he felt the urge to spit it out at the very instant that my hand was out. I, not only felt the wind in my hand, I also felt the pan in my hand! 

Hoping to make altercations in my mood and consequently in the post. Till then,

Move On...

All Hail The Queen

This post has nothing to do with the Elizabeths and the Victorias of England but it deals with something which is a significant part of their lives. When I say significant I refer to the language they speak, the very language which I will use to convey my views.

The British ruled India for some 200 years and thus influenced the Indian culture and lifestyle to a great extent. With the Queen’s proclamation in 1858, India became a part of the commonwealth and we were now Her Majesty’s subjects. Telephones and trains were introduced, social reforms were carried out and there was this change in the education system: English was introduced. The resilient Indians had no problem in adopting this language as invasions were not new to us. We had allowed Hindi to evolve from Sanskrit, learnt Urdu and Arabic from the Mughals and had plenty of our own mother tongues. English was something we did not mind, not at all.

Come to the present age, look around you and you’ll find the seemingly illiterate person greeting someone on his phone with a “hello” in English. The next part of his conversation is none of our business but I am sure he will have a few English words which have made their way into Hindi quite easily, in his dialogue. So the bottom-line comes to the fact that we are now quite proficient in a language which claims to be the most widely spoken once the sun rises in the Western part of the globe (Chinese being the rival in the East).

People generally have a tendency to learn something that is special and then brag about it as much as they can. English, unfortunately holds a “special” place among languages in many parts of India, I have experienced. Speaking English has been associated with standards and superiorities. I have often noticed people (and myself too) making blunders in Hindi but then brushing it aside with a proud ignorance of the language but when it comes to errors in English, we feel embarrassed; if we don’t feel so there will of course be someone to initiate that sheepish grin on our face, with his/her remarks. Some do it for fun purpose which is quite okay & entertaining while others do it for the sake of pride. Whereas this mentality is quite common, there is also this outlook in some places which does not care what language it is and with how many errors it is being spoken as long as the meaning (even in partial measures) gets conveyed.

As for my personal opinion, languages were developed and continue to evolve to make communications easier and not to induce complexes and differences. Norms and regulations of a language should be adhered to, so that the meaning does not get mutilated. Knowledge and ignorance of languages do not promote or demote us socially; after all, being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn. Every effort has been made to avoid any grammatical errors in this particular post and I hereby request to bring to my notice, any errors which might have crept in. The title comes from the fact that it must take a lot for a foreign language to occupy such a position in any society or culture, the credit must go to the Queen for the state of English in the Indian society.

“Her Majesty is a pretty nice girl, some day I’m gonna make her mine!” – The Beatles 

Boredom: Principles and Causes

Nomads are not boring people and they generally don't get bored. The constant change keeps breaking the monotony of life and keeps it vibrant. We can always find them with a new story or two. I am bored today. I will dig deep into boredom, just out of boredom. 

Boredom does not actually have a principle, let alone the plural "principles". It is inherent and embedded into the human thought process just like happiness, sadness, anger etc. Boredom involves being a little annoyed, finding nothing to interest you. Even things that would give you ultimate pleasure can look mundane. Let's look at the causes: 

Isolation: You must have lived all your life in the company of people who may be categorized as "interesting". Their physical presence (presence, I believe, is physical only) has occupied your thoughts for a long time but now they have left. You look at stray animals who have a pleasant company, remember the good old days, feel blue and get bored due to this empty, hollow feeling.

Routine: Routine can be interesting and boring at the same time, depending on how we perceive it. Some people work all day, some people do nothing. People who work all day get bored because they lack that element of surprise. People who do nothing are prone to being "disturbed" by those who think they should not be just lying around. This keeps up the element of surprise in their lives. Doing nothing is difficult, achievable but can lead to isolation too as it takes endurance to resist the public demand to work. 

Extra Excitement: Extra excitement is dangerous too. You may have this amazing one day in your life and then the next day feels so boring. I have often heard people being bored a day after a rocking rock concert, a late night party, a fantastic cricket match etc. Extra excitement should not be avoided due to its repercussions, I emphasize here.

Mr. B: We all have a Mr. B in our lives. Mr. B is that not-so awaited person who was born to bore us. There is a Mr. B made for all of us. There could also be a Ms. B but hardly it so happens that men find women boring, I add here that I am an exception to that. I can't deny the presence of a Ms. B. I'll focus on Mr. B however. So, Mr. B will find you however hard you try to avoid him. Mr. B will make sure you get those needed breaks from happiness and feel bored, it's his duty to do so. He will just poke into the fun part of your life. You are listening to your favorite music and he will crack the worst joke (fact, according to him) that offends your sentiments. He will ask you for the title of the book that is entertaining you at the moment and try to make out and tell you some story which he believes could go with the title. He will kill the suspense of a thriller movie. He will just "talk" when you don't want him to. And finally, people who use the mass media (blogs for eg.), like me, are special Mr. Bs, we are born with a greater purpose: that of saving the human race from the routine called "happiness".    

On that note, I conclude hoping that I have been successful in doing my bit. Till the next time, 

"May you live in interesting times!"

-Ancient Chinese Curse

Being April Fool

I was born in April. I celebrate April Fool's Day like my birthday. I cut cake, wish others believing it is their birthday as well. I have not really been a prankster but I have been fooled a lot of times and done foolish things. Although I have grown quite smart now, autorickshaw drivers, fruit sellers and other smarter species continue to fool me, not just in April. I won't go about insulting myself much. This article will proudly boast of things I have experienced which have been quite foolish. Comedy comes from tragedy, here's my side: 

On a bright summer sunny day in Kanpur (just for the effects) I returned from school quite excited. I had been informed about the supposed first summer camp. So, as always (and with a bit more enthusiasm that day) I started telling my elder sisters about what I was told, word by word as I remembered. "Pata hai, summer camp me swimming sikhaane wale hain!", said I beaming with exuberance as if they were paying me to advertise. My sister, I fail to understand how, asked me with some surprise element, "Accha Ankie! Kaha par?". "Paani me", I replied. I had wanted to say "river" but then I just blurted out whatever I felt like.

Then on a not so bright day, the computer needed to be shifted to some other place in the house. I guess I was in second grade then. My father always knew I was intelligent and took keen interest in electric equipments and procedure etc. (reference to the shock incident). So, he asked me to check if the power socket was working. I peeped into the hole, looking for "electric sparks" which I was sure to find in any working electric socket. Sadly it wasn't there, but to my amazement the socket worked like wonder! 

Foolish is as foolish does.

"Think about yourself at least once in your lifetime, otherwise you may miss the best comedy in this world!" 

- William Shakespeare

Where the Civilization Stands Today

Time and again to this nomad inside me, it has occurred to know the whereabouts of the human civilization. I have been bored to think about others as such for I have lot to ponder about myself as of now. In the literal sense, I have often seen the human civilization standing : in queues at the railway stations, bus stops, during admission processes, concerts, cricket matches, football matches, protests, revolts etc. etc. We as humans have always loved standing, be it by force or by choice.

Well this of course is not about the literal standing thing but would certainly need some serious consideration.

Picture: Statues of Ahu Akivi 

Let's see: at the current figure of about 6 billion people inhabiting the earth, we surely outnumber any other mammal species if not insects and rodents. As the population figures have grown, we have seen civilizations emerge and form kingdoms and nations. We have also tried and succeeded to some extent in reclaiming land from the seas. Food production has grown and so has its demand. Unlike some 70 odd years earlier, we now have global economies and open markets. The scope for a world war has certainly reduced and we have nuclear weapons for mass destruction. Science has made the unthinkable quite possible but the population explosion still remains a concern. Population explosion and global warming. Natural calamities can still not be dealt with easily. Time and again these disasters inflict great damages upon us. And then we look at other "human" problems; corruption at its height gives a clear picture of declining honesty levels. We are not really in serious trouble because the good old days have always been good. These days as well would be considered good in the coming years hopefully.

So, although just like other futile posts this too makes no sense, I would like to emphasize that our civilization must be looked upon with greater concern. Of course we have all the time in the world to save tigers, pandas and elephants from vanishing if we can first avert potential dangers that face us. Consider this, we claim to have stepped on the moon and we have got a spacecraft on Mars and yet we stand on the earth which gets crowded as you read on.

"Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities."
- Mark Twain