Nirbhaya verdict: Is it the beginning?

The judge pronounced the verdict. The country erupted. The convicts and their families went down on their knees.

The death sentence in the Nirbhaya case is definitely a landmark judgement and in a sense, justice delivered to the family. However, what is indeed baffling is that the majority of the media and the public believe that this is the victory we were all looking for. Is this it?

If you look at it, the rapists are a product of our own system. Irrespective of how we try to move the blame away from the administration, I find it hard to believe that. When you watch NatGeo and see an animal tear into the flesh of another, you feel sick. But that is the natural behavior of the animal. Have you ever asked the question: "What if the rapists did not know that what they were doing was unacceptable?". What if the answer is no? I think that is the scariest part of this whole affair. If you take a baby and bring it up in a colony of animals, it will turn out to be an animal only. Punishment is for those people who know what is right/wrong and still continue to do the wrong thing. I am in no way saying that this punishment was not necessary; it very much was. However, this incident signifies much more. Much much more.

What Kiran Bedi spoke was so simple, yet something the administration seems to miss. "The duty of the parent is not just to bring the baby into the world, but also to ensure that it grows up to be an acceptable human being".  But what if the parents are fighting a battle just for survival? Where is the time for education, values and moral education? This whole thing represents the growing rot in the very heart of the society.

Having a rotten heart and still building your muscles at the gym will never make you a strong man. This seems to be the case with India.

Believing that the punishments is our answer is like saying that all the kids in the school who make obvious spelling mistakes should be thrown out of the school, rather than questioning why the child is not learning.

The rapists who will be hung are the products of your society, your system. You failed in ensuring they became acceptable human beings. Now, you just shoot them. But it is not one isolated incident, so it takes us back to the original question. Why did they become like that? I find it hard to comprehend how the punishment will deter the rapists from future acts. It is not that there is a rapist-colony and they all discuss the day-to-day rapes, do they? I am sure the rapes happen in the remotest parts of the country and they are not even aware of this incident and this judgement.

The remotest parts of this great nation live in the dark age. Believe me, they do. Do some reading and digging around and it will become very evident that it is a scary situation. The rot is evident. Incidents like this happen and go unreported in all parts of the country. When these kinds of people travel to the cities and one of these incidents come to the country's attention, the big uproar begins. But believing that this death-sentence is going to solve anything is ludicrous. But it is a beginning, I hope it is not the end.

Imagine you are running a bakery. Out of every 100 loaves of bread, 5 of them have worms in them. You can either wait for the customer to complain, apologize and replace it; or investigate where the worms are coming from and eliminate it. It just depends on the kind of bakery you are running.

Again, administration. When the poor girl got raped, we failed as a society. The punishment is just a curtain drawn over our guilt. A veil of hypocrisy through which we continue to witness the society fall apart.

I hope it does not stop at this. The great nation deserves much more.

Why the IPL scandal broke my heart

The day the IPL fixing reports came out, I had my heart broken. There was something wrong with the world at that moment and faith in humanity was waning. I tuned in to watch the news. As usual, Arnab was reaching his crescendo and the noise was unbearable. My favorite TV personality Rajdeep Sardesai was running a very clean debate and as much as it hurt me, I keenly listened to the details. The cricket world was entering its darkest hour.

I thought I was fortunate to see some of India's greatest cricket moments. Sachin lifting the World Cup; that day I knew the whole country celebrated with me. Dravid and Laxman outplayed the Aussies on one of the finest Indian cricketing days; I know the whole world applauded along with me. Then now I am seeing this as well. All this only reenforces my belief that we don't deserve the likes of Sachin, Dravid, Laxman and many others. Well, that discussion is for another day!

What interested me the other day was Harsha Bhogle's excellent insight into this that got me thinking. He said "IPL is just a microcosm of the world outside". So true, isn't it? After all, IPL is nothing but a mirror image of the world outside. Money, girls and a farce. And people keep cheering, year after year. Therefore, some people might question why concentrate on the IPL fiasco when there are 'important' things (read government,economy etc.) to worry about. IPL is afterall a tamasha isn't it?

But why is it so personal for us?

Think about all the factors which can possible unite a nation. Government? Ok, no jokes. Religion? That is the last thing it would do. It is Sport which does that. Cricket does that for India. When Sachin drives one through the covers, every Indian celebrates. When Dravid slowly but surely kills a bowling attack, every Indian thanks the higher spirit. Every Hindu, Muslim and Christian does it. Then there is Laxman who toyed around with the world's best bowling attack for a whole day. Caste, creed, age did not get matter during the celebration. If you look at this, an entire nation is captivated by the sport. In India especially, cricket is a religion and this scandal has hit our gods.

It is a known fact that a sport can life the spirit of an entire nation. Like in the movie Cinderella Man where James J. Braddock lifts an entire nation deep in economic depression, cricket is more than just a television event for most of Indians. When Sachin walks into bat, he is not just living his dream. He is walking in to bat for a billion souls. When Ganguly dances down the pitch, it is not just him who lofts the bowler for a six. Somewhere in Bengal, a thousand hearts dance at the same time.

Amidst all the rot in the society, cricket was one thing which was sacred where the fairy tale could still be lived. India winning the World Cup was indeed a fairy tale. Your life might be bad, you salary might be a joke and you a joke to your wife. But the sport always gives you hope. It gives you the belief that dreams can be achieved no matter what. And this has been hit. A sword dipped in the poison called greed has been plunged deep into the heart of this nation, and I don't know how we will recover. This might be a few crores which has exchanged hands, but for me this is worse than all the other scams. You have taken away something sacred from us. This is nothing but sacrilegious.

But some may say, the writing was on the wall. Well, hearts are always broken in love stories.

Why I do not want to vote this time

One of the first things I remember from my Civics class in school is mugging up the Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties of an Indian citizen. It did not make much sense back then, but I distinctly remember that one of my duties as a citizen was to vote when I was eligible to. Well, I also remember that the Prime Minister was responsible for the 'development' and that the President/Governor was an apolitical member in the state's machinery. So much for education.

I have voted every single time. Initially for the thrill of it, and then with real thought. My corporator is the wife of an ex-HAL employee who had a windfall when he sold his land and whom I had never seen before in my life; I still voted. My government put up MLAs for sale like the IPL auction; I still voted. Ministers were caught watching porn in the assembly, people who could not read and write were given ministerial berths; I still voted. And now, I don't want to. It is not because I don't feel a responsibility to 'vote for change', but because I am not satisfied with the choice.

If somebody gives you 5 rotten apples and tells you to choose one, what would you do? I would not choose any. In fact, 'I made a choice not to choose'. In that scenario, one cannot accuse me of failing in my duty. Giving nothing to choose from and accusing the citizen of failing in his/her duty is heresy. Wise men back then told 'vote wisely', not just vote. Anyway, this again brings up the topic of "null vote" or "reject-all-candidates" where the voter can register to vote and also exercise his vote but in fact makes a choice of not choosing any of the candidates. This is exactly what I want and also many people across the country. Believe it or not, I have asked Kiran Bedi about this (through social media) and she did mention that this is on the Lokpal's primary objectives.

So, is this not present in the current system? It is. It is called Rule 49-O. A registered voter can excercise his null vote. So why is it not effective? Firstly, the paper ballot had this option where the voter could drop a blank paper; but the EVMs do not have this. The voter needs to personally tell the election officer that he wants to exercise a null-vote. This is a bloody violation of the rights of the citizen! His choice should be a secret. Also, the logic of the null vote should ideally be: if the total number of null votes in a constituency is greater than the number of votes of the winning candidate of the constituency, that election is considered to "null and void". However, in our case: the null votes are just discarded and the winner is chosen. This system is just to provide to solace to those people who want to get a sense of satisfaction by voting, but the vote really makes no difference.


I wonder if I am actually failing in my duty when I don't vote this time. Maybe I will get that mark on my finger, pretend that I made a difference and feel happy. But I hope somebody gives a good choice this time around. One good apple and I will take it, does not matter who is giving it.

Be a dog, all your life!

Dedicated to my dear friend KV Bharat, who is getting engaged today. Spread the love mate. Be a dog!

Everybody has one of those days when everything around is irritating. Everything happening around is wrong, anything anybody says is wrong. You just feel like you have to take it out on people around, and it is usually someone close to you who gets the worst of it. Your wife or husband or girlfriend or boyfriend. Rest assured, you will get it back too. But what about your dog? I have shouted at my dog many a time, and I am not too proud of it. But the very next minute, he comes back and licks my feet wanting to be cuddled. I am amazed that an animal can be that evolved that it can love without any qualms.

I have heard many arguments that a dog has the intelligence of a 4year old, a dog is not an evolved creature, a dog is not very intelligent. Well, maybe that is the answer. We human-beings think too much, that is the problem. If I love him, will he take care of me later? If I love her, will she marry me? He is dark. Can I love him? We think so much that somewhere we lose track of the true emotion of love. I have learnt this from my dog and I can now tell that dogs are much better creatures than humans. When somebody calls you a dog, smile. It is a good thing!

There is this movie called Marley & Me. If you haven't watched, I suggest you do it. You will be happy that you did. Here is a quote from that:

"A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if your rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?"

Seriously, about how many people can you say the same? At the time when people have absolutely no scruples, when people are ready to murder their own kin for money; can you really find someone who can give you their hearts unconditionally? I guess some people can, and they can thanks their stars for that. I have heard many people say "he is not worth it". I did not understand the meaning earlier, but after I have my dog I realize how ludicrous that statement is. Love was an emotion created to be spread unconditionally. When my dog loves me so much, I sometimes wonder what would happen if my dog questioned itself "Is he worth it?" Hell no, he would stop looking at me I guess! Like people say, maybe the dogs have the intelligence of a 4year old. That is very apt. A child can love a person unconditionally. A child does not care whether the other person is dark, SC/ST, crippled etc. But somewhere down the road, as we grow old, we get corrupted. Corrupted by the socitey around, by the people around and by ourselves. We bind ourselves in shackles which are unnecessary, limit ourselves to quench our selfishness. I wish I can be that child again, who does not think twice before loving a person.

I have found my life's calling. To be as good a person that my dog already thinks I am. To be worthy of that pure love.

If you have found another "dog" in your life, thank your stars. Somebody up there must really like you!

A new role for SRK?

This country of mine is a country where people wait for days in a long line just to get a glimpse of their favorite stars. Reel life heros are bigger than real life heroes and this makes the lives of those stars as close to "luxurios" as it can get. I mean luxurios, not comfortable or happy. Well, that is a conversation for another day.

While I was reading the news today, I was stunned by a statement by Mumbai 26/11 mastermind Hafeez Saeed which said "Sharukh Khan can move to Pakistan if he does not feel safe in India". Are you serious? I thought it was part of Cyrus' parody show. It is a disgrace that one of India's most wanted who is mocking us in our face by roaming free in Pakistan is now inviting one of India's biggest stars to come "home". That is alright. I have long accepted the our foreign ministry and the government is impotent to deal with any of this. But I cannot for the love of God accept the fact that a person who has made $600 million from his work in Mumbai is numb after starting this whole mess. Mr Sharukh Khan, the superstar, is a recipient of Indians' generosity. It has not only raised him to the pinnacle of Bollywood success, but also enabled him to be at a position where he can be an influence on the new generation. Well, he is a movie star. This is just another role for him I guess.

He writes a letter saying he does not feel safe in India and as a muslim, he is threatened. Such statements feel like a dagger going through my heart. There are hundreds of young men out there who are looking into the mirror with glassy eyes and wild dreams. Many of them dream to be like Sharukh; and here he is making these ridiculous statements. This has drawn a comment from Pakistan's foreign minister who has asked India to provide security to Sharukh. Well, that just made it to the list of ultimate-jokes of the decade. A brazenly-lying neighbor and an impotent government has made me insulated to all this pain. I don't feel like before when my country is insulted like this, and that fact hurts me more.

Once in a while, it makes you think if the chosen role-models of mordern India are supposed the ones we need. A man who has ordinary people guarding him with their lives has the audacity to come out and tell that he does not feel safe. He keeps silent when due to him, the nation is insulted by the neighbor. I was never a big fan of his. Thank God for that. Well if he does decide to go to Pakistan based on Saeed's advise, we won't be losing much apart from a few crores in income tax. I guess we can live with that.

An intense love story..an end?

I watched the India-Pakistan match today, and everytime I involuntarily wished I could see Sachin walk in to take guard. Yes, Sachin retired. He will never wear the Indian blue again.

It just took a small press conference, but now I am feeling the enormity of that announcement. This means no more being happy at India's first wicket falling, no more waiting to leap in joy for that flawless cover drive and no more seeing divinity brush shoulders with mortals on a cricket ground. No more Sachin. The thought itself  is scary, disturbing. Accuse me of being melodramatic, I plead guilty.

For a country which is only captivated by actresses, politicians etc.; this man captivated everybody's imagination. A kid to an old man. I think he is one of the few factors common across generations: "I saw Sachin Tendulkar bat". Now coming to think of it, there will now be generations in India which will not be able to see Sachin live on the ground. I don't know whether it was correct for him to retire, but all I am saying is that I miss him. People told it was "logical" for him to retire.

Logical? What is logical in sport, especially with Sachin? Was it logical when he stood alone against the greatest bowling attacks of the world? Was it logical for him to be decimating teams along with carrying a billion expectations? Maybe it was good that he retired, when he still retained the divinity. No debates on how much the team misses Sachin, and even Laxman, Dravid, Ganguly, Kumble. But we miss them too.

We are fortunate to have him in this country. However finally, the little master's love story with India seems to have ended. I am happy to have been part of this affair.If somebody asks me about the highlights of my generation, I will just say this: I have seen Sachin score a hundred hundreds, a double century and lift the world cup. I have seen Sachin Tendulkar bat.

Rape and everything else

My country was devastated by the recent gruesome rape of the girl in Delhi. It is probably one of the worst crimes "reported" in this country and one of those few which have struck a chord with the nation. I cannot but grieve for the girl's family, and also ask for the most severe punishment. However, I am intrigued as whether the death penalty through fast track courts is really befitting of our society. I understand that this is a heinous crime and it is natural to ask for castration etc., but is that what our society wants? They say, "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". Ours is a civilized society and we cannot let some animals get us down to that level.

Instead of concentrating so much on the punishment, should the focus not be on prevention altogether. Assume they are castrated, what is obtained? A few dicks. But the girl is still dead. Her family is still hurt and their hearts broken forever. How does this punishment achieve the purpose? It might make a million people satisfied, but does not bring back that girl. That bright future, that gentle soul. The other question is: why is the government acting now? Of course due to public demand, not out of will. Why death penalty only for rape? Is murder any less horrendous? Is child sexual abuse not bad enough to be fit for such punishments? The list is endless. The focus needs to be on having better laws and more importantly, good implementation.

The recent arrest of the sexual abuser is Bangalore threw another important issue to the focus. This was the 23rd time he was caught for this offence and the past 22 families did not lodge a complaint  due to social stigma. And we, as a society,blame the government for everything? After all, we put them there. This is a time for self introspection. We can chop off a few dicks and we are satisfied? What next? We really need to think how we can tackle this. How the kids are educated to respect people, to understand the difference between good and bad. It is time we introspect if our education system is good, if our ideals are correct. Ours is a country where little girls are still sold off by the family, where innocent children are married off for money. Yes, the punishment needs to be meted out; but I pray it does not stop there. The only way to make sure that the poor girl's death does not go in vain is to work towards ensuring no other girl faces the same.

The change needs to come from us. Our politicians have raped the motherland for decades, this one rape will not change anything. Unless, we are the change.