Dorothy Smith - R.I.P.

"Dorothy Smith known by all as Tashi, a good friend and regular visitor to Auroville, 47 years old and of Burmese/Indian origin,
passed away today at 7.45 am at PIMS. She had a chronic heart condition which worsened recently, said NO to surgery and
decided to go the natural way surrendering to Mother and Sri Aurobindo.

...Dorothy had spent much of the last 5 years in and around Auroville, helping at the Matrimandir. She was loved by everyone who met her."

Dorothy passed away on the 16th of December.
After a gap of almost 10 years, we had been in touch over the phone and facebook for last few months.
I invited her often and she invited me, only if I had any inkling to this destiny and this hurry the gods had we would have surely met.
Dorothy was a cousin to a close friend Sean and that's how we met, for us she was a "firang" who we thought was too sensitive to the issues of Indians, to an extent of ridicule.
the beggars on the streets of Bombay were the largest beneficiary of her doles and so were we at times.
Her extreme views and true passionate concern for poor was often our topic of debate.

It was Her and Paul on who's invitation I had the chance to rid my donkey life.
An envelope with the transportation keys and some pounds awaited me at the Gatwick Airport.
She had particularily advised me to carry my international driving License and she made me use it, more than often.
Every time she got back home or we went for treks or outings, she must have bought me more chocolates than my parents would have got for me.
I missed my flight on way back, she came all the way back to London to arrange for my stay at Claudia's, her sisters house , made arrangements for me to attend all London parties, even with the Hollywood biggies, Salman and Sangita Bijlani.

That was then, we met briefly in Calcutta in 1999, she was still erratic, smoked a lot and had more penchant for going real out of the way for helpless and needy.
she would take favors to an extreme of making someone uncomfortable for the cause of an unknown and deserving in her eyes.
This time she wanted to fly some one out of Nepal to Hyderabad and London as that girls life was miserable here.
That was the last I could do much for her.
I am really sorry for have not taken you as much seriously the last conversation we had, with time and responsibilities, we tend to read beyond the words and i will repent it for life.
I wish you were around and I had one more chance to undo.
Rest In peace, Dorothy.

Judgement Of Democracy

The courts of the great nation called India, on who rests the responsibility of justice to some, one sixth of human population have done what is being popularly known as justice.
The title for the disputed site of 2.7 acres of land has been equally divided among faiths as per majority of the believers.
Justice, democracy style. India after all is the largest democracy in this world.
Meticulously, ten thousand pages have been devoted to rationalize the judgment which is as simple as 66% to Hindu’s 33% to Muslims.
This is the same ratio by which Hindu’s and Muslims could be divided in India, more or less.
India has this strange culture of going by the popular demand. Giving In to the majority.

It’s not that, Indians do not understand the judicial system, if we look at the number of cases, pending and filed in the Indian courts, one will clearly realize that, we are not seeking a popular vote in the courts of law. This could be easily done at our age old panchayat system, or what you could call a “loya jirga” of Taliban, Which was more of a populist court, easily influenced by religion or many such factors.

A fair trial and a fair decision is a core of a civilized society. Without, which no civilization could ever move ahead. The governments would always have vested interests to influence the judiciary, because they are perceived to be the representatives of the majority. Only, the courts of law have the authority to cut the govt. to size. What better way, to reduce the judiciary to pressures of popularity, which is the biggest and only strength of the elected govts.
They would introduce the “Panchayat Raj” so that popular decision could be taken at the grass root level, by the elected bodies of Sarpanch. A grass root judge elected by its own people has the authority to sentence his people to rigorous prison. One could guess how honorable the Sarpanch would be to sentence his opponents.
The Allahabad court has brought the Indian judiciary to a level of the panchayat.
A title suit is the most important legal proceeding to recognize the rightful owner of a property.
Even if the evidence was not clear enough, it cannot or in this case surely it should not have been divided as per popular beliefs and faiths.
Justice should not just be done it should be seen to be done.
Every decision becomes precedence; the courts know it too well. This cannot be anything other than a sinister design to surely set precedence.
This is the first step to chaos and anarchy. It might sound too harsh, but strangely, if things persist like this and we set truth aside for so called peace and tranquility. If we forgive the sinners for some complacent attitude of ours! It surely is an invitation to anarchy.
“India has moved on” wrote the influencers, it surely has, for the govt. and the agents tried really hard for last one month harping upon the date of the decision. Revisiting the shameful days of Babri destruction, images and speeches, to a generation, who had either forgotten or did not care or didn’t know. The agents of power, made sure that an event was created.
But to their dismay, India had after all moved on, they didn’t really care and it will be a forgotten episode for another 30 years after this common wealth games.
Like Pakistan, Kashmir and many such bad dreams.
With our complacency we allow the so called prideful democratic representatives to mold our futures in populism.
What we need to learn for the future of our children is to stand up for truth, so what if it is for someone else.

Ego

An existence so small
Much a little smaller than the mole
An identity perceived so huge
Larger than the largest deluge

That “I” is the center of the universe
Woven is destiny around this energy
A Force to survive
A reason to live
Uniqueness meant to fight death


Is it some periphery of obscurity
Webbed to stay stuck
Being stimulated by the more aware
Cuisine for the masters
A purpose for the absolute transience
Living so that I could eventually die


Or does I have shades of either
Maybe neither
Wholesome could be this “I”
Ego so large, so holistic
Where the universe would submerge
All identities merge
Purpose, reason, existence and end are all but none
Forgiveness, love, in concert, futile and naïve
Bliss, untrue, pure to thrive
Maybe “I” is such a life

Miles to go before I sleep

Energies are low
Synergies unheard
New is old and old is now
Where to start and where to go

This transition is a vacuum
A silence of the mind
Of many strings that moved this puppet
Some are gone and some idle
Shall we wait for those fingers to move
Or shall we get out of the groove

There are strings that I lace
There are beings that look upon this face
Who Wish to see a brighter day
Look upon to show them a way

Aspirations mine and theirs
Yet to realize
Make them find their orbits
And stay on course of what is mine

Of some more then me
Of some more than mine
A little more than today
And much more than make hay

A world small as I
Big as the universe
And everything between them
Has a pull and push

There will be a tomorrow
With or without my sorrow
There is only enough one can do
Occupy one’s mind with much ado

For the day will come
When I shall reap
Till then, I have,
Miles to go before I sleep.

An Open Letter to Azim Premji Of Wipro

Dear Mr. Premji,
I like many have been an admirer of the company that you have built. Your entrepreneur skills and persistence, of your integration capabilities and diverse nature of your businesses, all this while were carrying a legacy baggage of an earlier generation business.
It all came to an end, while reading your views in times of India a few days back on the unnecessary spending of 28000 crores on commonwealth games; in fact, you go to an extent of calling any expense on sports as unnecessary.
It feels at this stage of your life’s achievements, crony capitalism and unrealistic philanthropy has taken over, as this cannot be a strategy. You have actually started thinking wrong.
• It cannot be denied that common wealth games, which are happening in India is an absolute bed of corruption, and better things could be done with that money. But you see, even if Rahul Gandhi did spend that money on MNREGA the fate of that public money would have remained the same. Government spending money they have not righty earned will always find the wrong hands. A person of your stature, when airs his view on gullibility of the social schemes and general tax paying citizen, who feels that sports is bad for the country and MNREGA is good.
• This is an absolute fallacy, MNREGA has almost 100000 crores outlay and not even 30 % reaches the needy, which also land up hampering the usual rural SME and Agriculture. Social schemes are a bigger disaster for India than common wealth games.
• You have mentioned about, Bihari’s getting unfair wages and perhaps they would have been better doing stuff back in Bihar. Well, the migrant laborers also built the metro project in Delhi and so many other projects, fair and unfair is an individual’s choice of staying put or going back to his village to dig earth. MNREGA is a way to keep the migrants at home and keep the cities clean of slums, but working for unfair wages and conditions happen due to better opportunities, infrastructure and life available in the cities. It will never stop, no country or civilization ever in the history of this earth has been able to stop migration, the migrants, with time, will earn their fare share.
• Wipro and many other such companies are a product of entrepreneur skills at its best, capital used for pure motive of profit, benefiting, millions directly or indirectly, not because your intention was other people’s benefit but because your motive was profit. When you seek dole money for your good intention of spending on education and health, you have killed enterprise. Thousands of individuals and organizations who are in these fields with a pure motive of profit are doing far better jobs than all the governments put together. There are private schools who seek rupee 1 a day per student and still make their profits. It’s like Wipro selling a shampoo sachet for the same price. Government sponsored social schemes, even in education and health can only construct buildings and pay salaries. They can never offer services.
• Sports on the other hand, besides celebrating the human spirit of excellence, creates enterprise, profits, jobs and infrastructure. There are countries that survive on sports tourism, and if India is a country of poor people with a massive human resource, India perhaps is the neediest of this industry and has the best resource of being a sporting nation.
• 28000 crores of public money is surely down the drain, but if it was a private event this money would look trivial. IPL has a brand value of approx 20000 crores, which does not have a state sponsorship and its core value is profit. If cricket was to survive or any other game, it will be due to the profit motive involved. In the interiors of the villages you will find pitches and boys in their creases in bare soles.
Recalling Gandhi ji’s advice to recall of the poorest person, in taking an affirmative step. Now! You think very hard Mr. Azim Premji, would you rather let that man learn how to fish and leave him a clean pond, or would you rather feed him a fish today?
do give it a second thought, before ending opportunities for millions you have already harnessed to arrive at a state of philanthropy.

Warm Regards,

An Unfair Wage creator Bihari.

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved…….!!!

There is something fundamentally wrong with the above line.
“We” should be “I” and “people" should be “citizen”.
A collective resolve is no one’s responsibility.
And this is where all civil society where the state is supposed to be a big “we” start to decimate.
India historically and religiously has been a country of individuals.
It is only when the property became for common good did we start denying our roles.

We Indians are too busy feeling good of our democracy and freedom.
Celebrations are for the state to handle, we would rather sleep late on a holiday.
After all, isn’t that what freedom is for?
India, rightly, known as a land of festivals could draw parallels to other Indian festivals!
Well! If you do something religiously for 63 years it’s bound to become a habit.
One tends to forget the significance, value, like age old religious festivals, it gets associated to your culture and routine.
Celebrating, any age old festival as every adult Indian would know, has a lot to do with responsibility as well.
We would clean our premises, update our records, bring in new stuff, devote time with the family, sit in front of the deities and remember our vows, and of course the paraphernalia of the younger lot, sweets, food and the celebrations.
We also make sure that on this day we do not leave the underprivileged unattended.
How it that, this festival of democracy has become a state sponsored festival, where only the state celebrates.
Here, we have the individual’s sleeping on this festive day and their oppressors (state) celebrating.
Well, the state surely has a very good reason to celebrate.

They have our property, (right to property was taken away in 1977) our money (taxation, at times has peaked 90% of our incomes), the basic right of justice,( a well crafted effort by the state is to delay justice, as good as denial) social (reservation of every vote worthy section of society) economic, (till very lately, there are still industries and other means of economic activities that only the state can practice) and political ( only the socialist can represent the people of India in the parliament) have all been infringed upon and the citizens are sleeping.
Isn’t that a great reason to furl the tricolor on all state buildings and distribute sweets?

Freedom is individual.
The role of the state, which is formed by the representatives of these free individuals, is to protect their freedom. Not to increase its own size, citing that its citizens are not capable enough to think and act on their own.
We achieved freedom from oppressors.
Not to give it away to our own Frankenstein.
British like the Gabbar of Sholey, only wanted a handful of grains in exchange of the security of the people of Ramgarh.
That’s what this state is slowly up to.
Oh the poor are dying, so let’s have MNREGA
Oh the roads are terrible and so is the education system so let’s have a little more Cess.
And the farmers need subsidy and a waiver as well!
The planet is getting hot and thus we might need another Cess to take care of it.
Yeah! Ok, first we created Naxal’s, and now have to fight them, and perhaps we should give them a special package as well, little more of that doe please!
Oops! We won’t have enough water or electricity or we need to fight the terrorist and Pakistan also china!
We need all your money.
And by the way, the companies have not been doing much for the society so we will have a CSR bill passed shortly.
And are the individual citizens doing enough for the state, hmm! Some day we will have a “Jaziya” like Aurungzeb did to serve the royalty.
Oh, we did not find many sponsors to the CWG, so can we have more of your money!

Let’s wake up people; we didn’t know that the British were oppressors till 1857, that too we realized the importance of the struggle only after a thin old, bald man made us realize the difference, in being a subject and a citizen.

By being a free citizen we imply that we are committed to the creation of a society based on principles of freedom and tolerance, every citizen has a responsibility that comes with freedom, to protect our own freedom and that of others.

Don’t we need to question the oppressors, why do we need to give all our money for Suresh Kalmadi’s and Omar Abdullah’s of this country, why Arjun Singh is not tried if we don’t have Anderson for 22000 deaths? And a million more questions!
Stop feeling good about everything that is taken for granted. It won’t last long; we have a responsibility to the coming generations, least we have to do is not just pat our backs but question the establishment.
Resentment and disagreement is the essential tool of our freedom and democracy.
Let’s get into the habit of practicing it. To practice freedom one should always have a choiceice and there should always be an alternative.
Do we have one today?
Are you free?

Just like our other festivals, the responsible have a job to do, clean up the place, with some incense and flowers remember the dead and chant that oath.
Freedom and independence is ours and ours alone
Happy Independence Day!






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Remembering Anniversaries.

What kind of moron would forget a close one’s Birth day!
Well, I am one and there are many like you who would scratch their heads with an apologetic grin.
Shit happens!
For men it is more like dysentery.

Besides the social insensitivity associated with the issue, lately, more so often, if we really think rationally about remembering anniversaries, its, hm…..kind of questionable!

There are different types of wishers:
I for one, wish some people out of habit. I remember the days as they have been around for a while and since childhood days, when birthdays were a big thing; these dates were slammed into my mind. Close friends, ex girlfriends, their friends, and sibling’s et al. remembering these dates are like remembering telephone numbers or car plates, before the advent of cell phones.

I also wish some people out of fear, sisters, their husbands, wives relatives and especially kids who won’t let you forget.
With the modern cell phones and other memory devices and social network sites who keep on beeping like a cuckoo bell before and after every remember able available date, the job has been so much easier for social compulsions.
But then, what is the essence of wishing someone on their important landmark dates?
And is it in the same spirit that everyone makes that call?

I suppose, except for your parents, and possibly someone who is madly in love with you ( which will have a short duration) anyone and everyone who would call you, is to let you know that he or she has managed to remember the dates and let’s see, if you could do the same.
How many who wish you, actually mean the words they use. “Have a great time” a common line, “wish you the best” there is a such a bankruptcy of even choosing the words suitable to that individual, who has an personality of his own, who could surely do with some personal lines.

Well, in a way its fine, as at least we do get to remember the new and old ones, once a year.

Archie’s and event vendors have worked hard on making a festival out of this Georgian calendar.
We are stuck to exchanging pleasantries, filling our memory devices.

P.S : The characters in this article are fictitious and any resemblance or inference to persons living or dead is purely coincidental."