The Tamasha

I enjoyed every moment of it ! For two days I was hooked on to ibnlive and ndtv - keeping a track of the trust vote and theprojections for vote splits. Like most Indians I do not understand the finer details of the nuclear detail. Neither do I believe that we require the deal to secure our energy sources. If the government tries to curb distribution losses and also the theft of electricity I am sure that we will be able to satisfy our energy demands. If we crack down upon the coal mafia, we might be able to extend our reserves by some more years. New deals cannot be a substitute for inefficient use of resources.
But then, I wanted the government to survive. It had done nothing spectacularly bad to warrant its removal. The economy was growing and by and large there was status quo as far as most of the indicators were concerned. By signing the deal, my country's sovereignty was not being compromised ( I understood that part ). The general elections were due in little less than a year's time where the Indian electorate would showcase its amnesia. Right now, I want stable governance, I want actions to curb inflation and I want some real economic reforms. If the government had lost the trust vote, it would have meant nine months of bickering and communist overdoses. I was amazed to see how a faint ray of seeing her Prime Ministerial ambitions getting fulfilled galvanized Mayawati into action !
Well, Rahul Gandhi's speech was not spectacular. I do not think it deserved all the praises that it got. Dr. Manmohan Singh spewed venom and I loved it. That man had set us on the path of economic reform and for too long his quiet demeanor was taken as a sign of weakness. I think people underestimated his resolve and what a fitting reply they got ! Laloo was at his lovable best. He has perfected the art of buffoonery and knows how to take a dig or two at hs detractors without being vociferous. He uses humor to inflict sharp wounds - wounds that can only be felt by the victim and not seen by anyone. Omar Abdullah was passionate. He spoke from the heart and I was happy to see him lambasting the 'secular' parties. Wake up people -- the politicians of this country thrive on creating communal divides. They would never like communal harmony - would they ? Wouldn't they lose an effective instrument of garnering votes ?
I am no Congress supporter. But I was happy to see them winning the trust vote. At least it spares me the tantrums of all the Communists and their wannabe allies. And also ensures that I work for the next few months and not track the Breaking News tickers on ibnlive and ndtv.

Random Thoughts

It was a ritual for me. Every year I would travel to Pune – my birthplace. I could never condition myself to like Maharashtra in general and Pune in particular. In fact when my relatives would ask me which city did I like more – Pune or Calcutta I, with a straight face, would answer Calcutta. In spite of its filth and indiscipline I loved Cal. It exuded warmth like no other city. I loved the din of the markets and the tin sheeted buses with the wooden shutters that would prevent any sunlight from coming in.

I continued my love affair with the eastern part of the country well into my college years. I studied at Kharagpur and loved every moment of it. It was a small town with the IIT driving its economy. We were the kings of that place and feared no one.

But those were different times.

I started working three years back. I left my innocence in the cozy environs of IIT Kharagpur and stepped timidly into the corporate world, unsure of what was expected of me. I had not seen much of India except for Pune and Nagpur and I saw India through the eyes of my friends at IIT KGP who seemed to come from all parts of the country. I remember asking a friend from Srinagar how the city was like and he would describe the beauty of the Valley – another would talk about the prosperous fields of Punjab while the third about the sights and sound of B’lore.

In a matter of few months I traveled across the breadth of the country. I tasted the first JP miles and eagerly awaited my upgrade. I started maturing and also started looking at things with a different lens. My travels continued unabated. I have had the opportunity to work in Bihar for two years and also stay in grand hotels. I have spent time on the banks of the Ganges in Haridwar and in Munger. And every moment spent away from Cal has been a revelation for me. I came to know the India that loved to work. I have seen poverty in Mumbai and Kolkata. The difference was in how people dealt deal with it. Mumbaikars would want to work their way out of poverty. They were proud and hard working. In B’lore, the peon in the office was smartly turned out – clean shaven, decent clothes. And in Calcutta people would love to display their poverty. Inherently lazy and undisciplined they would stall all signs of progress. They would bask in the glory of their wretchedness. They would take five years to build a flyover and celebrate it as an accomplishment.

I am not ignoring the fact that the rest of India is also corrupt, if not more than West Bengal. But the basic difference is that the corrupt will extract their share but will also allow work to happen. No wonder people migrate from Bengal in such huge numbers every year.

I have started disliking Cal. It is steeped in lethargy. And things seem to get only worse. I have not been charmed by the materialistic delights of the other parts of India, it is only that I have actually come realize what India is capable of, which Cal in all these years prevented me from realizing.

Just trash what all the critics say about the new B’lore International Airport. Take a car and drive on the road that connects the airport to Hebbal. Your heart will swell with pride at what India can do. And if you are a Calcuttan you’ll grow green with envy.