Wow do I have a lot of things to crib about today or what!?!?!
First off, why are we so in the habit of bending backwards? We are a country of people who will let everybody trample on us, willingly. I know you have this picture of a neatly dressed saree-clad woman, waiting for her husband to atleast show up for dinner, which she so lovingly prepared. A woman, who gave up her career and her everything to play for the same old "good wife" title. I don't know if this is a global phenomenon. Sure, Felicity did it in Desperate Housewives and Oprah has millions of shows dedicated to battered, raped, physically and mentally abused women. But why is my frame of reference the stupid United States? It happens all over the world. In China, women are treated like mannequins, in Iraq, a little worse than slaves. Oh but the whole point of my ranting was the ill-advised vote against Iran. I don't care if they actually argue that it is a blessing in disguise. How can we succumb to the pressure tactics that the U.S so shamelessly uses? This was our chance, a great opportunity to explore alternative sources of energy because, God knows, we need them. How important is U.S support and approval to us, anyway?
I have always wanted India, China and a few other countries(obviously and definitely excluding the U.S.) to form an alternative to the U.N, and to form some kind of a collaboration much like the European Union. I don't know why Manmohan actually brought up Vajpayee at the discussions with Bush. Maybe it was anti-incumbency that ultimately saw the reigns of India in the Congress' hands but it was Vajpayee's government that made the U.S and especially, Pakistan stop their lousy manipulations and tricks and take notice of a nation, that was only becoming more powerful and a force to reckon with.
Talking of political parties, it is a fact that we have a choice between an uneasy compromise masquerading as a coalition front and one which has lost it's ideology and philosophy in all it's internal squabbles. Which is why I was quite amazed by the Bharat Uday Mission. It's aim of an economically, socially, politically and spiritually developed India is quite ambitious, difficult even. But on the brighter side, there seem to be a lot of motivated people, who really believe that change is possible. I, for one, am absolutely excited to be part of this mission. And to me the change is inevitable.
There are very few things that really get me agitated. Indian cricket is one of them. When is the BCCI ever going to learn that it has to start punishing failure instead of rewarding success? When is the BCCI ever going to stop dithering and take a stand? I've always wanted Ganguly to do what he does best. Take his shirt off and wave it around. In the stands. Off the field. Unfortunately, that's just not happening. Yeah, so he did give the team this aggressive, i'll-kill-'em-all attitude. Bloody crap. What's the point having the attitude when all we can do is win against a stupid African nation? It's funny how the BCCI gave a statement saying that the coach, the captain and players will now be selected and retained based on their performance. So, the good thing is, they've finally accepted that their selection procedure was purely based on failure and ofcourse under-the-table money that they frequently got.
Oh that African nation statement sounded a little harsh. I have nothing against them. If anything, I'm glad that they are getting international support but really still not enough of it. The UN World Summit saw neither a review or an expression of political commitment by the so-called rich nations. Okay, the IMF and the World Bank will finance their debt relief. So, when are they going to start the actual process of nation-building? The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) is one movement that is working towards procuring aid for these nations. Their target of 0.7% from the rich nations has still not been met, 35 years after it was first drafted! Africa is one continent that I must visit. All I know is what I see on Discovery Channel, the exotic side of it, filled with beauty and CNN, the impoverished, malnourished side, living with the reality of genocide. Rwanda, Siberia, Sudan - I really don't know what else to do other than signing letters of action on the internet, keeping myself in touch with their world as much as possible and forwarding mails about their living conditions.
I'm preparing for CAT, you see.
Pathetic!
Closer home, what does CBN need to do to win? Keeping the beard doesn't seem to be working for him, unlike someone I know. Instead of concentrating on the Congress' fetish with the Rajiv Gandhi name, he'll benefit by going for a total image change. He should become a scythe-wielding farmer instead of being a laptop-crazy CEO. But that's just a beginning. If he hopes to win the Assembly Elections, he sure as hell, needs to do a lot more.
Now, onto things more personal.
Imagine this. I finally buy the 5 star I've been dying to have all week. I have a bite. Relish it and keep it on my dash board. Saving the rest for a little later. I get down to buy a recharge card. I come back, fuming and pretty pissed off that the idiot didn't have the denomination I wanted. I reach for my lifesaving, 450 calories of pure heaven. It's disappeared. I look up to see his sheepish grin and an empty, crumpled *talking about it chokes me up*. God, someone please tell him to act his age, and not his shoe size.
I don't know what her problem is. I made it quite clear to her that I wanted nothing to do with her or her life. And especially her problems. But she just doesn't leave me alone. Don't even assume that I should be flattered, in some wierd way, to have my very own personal stalker. She's worse. She sends me sentimental messages about friendship and love. I'm not heartless. I just can't stand it anymore. God, someone please tell her to wake up and see my desperate attempts to lose her.
I don't remember the last time I was happy. I'm not talking about the insane, out-of-control happy. I'm talking about that sunshine-made-me-smile kinda joy. I've just stopped feeling it. Small things just don't turn me on anymore. Yeah baby, bring me the diamonds. God, make me a rainbow and help me wonder at it's stunning beauty and all that crap.
And for everybody else's sake, please ensure that all the traffic lights are on green when I'm running late for a movie.
* inspired by Rahul 'cos he said this -
"u r totally kaamless kya these days. looks u r back in form taking personality tests and praising people u like on ur blog"
:) *
Friday, September 30
Thursday, September 29
this proves i don't lie on personality tests :)
| Your Ideal Relationship is Serious Dating |
 You're not ready to go walking down the aisle. But you may be ready in a couple of years. You prefer to date one on one, with a commitment. And while chemistry is important, so is compatibility. |
Wednesday, September 28
The same old story - in 50 words
Even after ignoring him for ages, Ras shamelessly tagged me again! This time to write my own story in 50 words! Well, I don't really have a particularly fantastic imagination but here it is. For Ras Malai's sake.
It was 11 pm, raining heavily. I was on the almost deserted platform waiting for him.
I could hear strains of Mohd. Rafi from a radio somewhere.
Transmission interrupted for an announcement.
Train no.2493 from Mumbai has derailed near Chitravali village. Casualties unknown.
That's all it said.
Mere mehboob tujhe....
It was 11 pm, raining heavily. I was on the almost deserted platform waiting for him.
I could hear strains of Mohd. Rafi from a radio somewhere.
Transmission interrupted for an announcement.
Train no.2493 from Mumbai has derailed near Chitravali village. Casualties unknown.
That's all it said.
Mere mehboob tujhe....
Tuesday, September 27
It's about time..
How freakishly relevant is this??!!??
As always, Pink Floyd is something else!
"Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.
So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.
Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd have something more to say."
As always, Pink Floyd is something else!
"Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.
So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.
Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd have something more to say."
Monday, September 19
suddenly schmaltzy
I saw this spectacularly sappy movie called "Shall We Dance". The only reason I even saw it was because they had an Oprah special on it and you know, I trust Oprah! The only halfway decent line in the movie is... okay you need to know a little about it?!? Susan Sarandon thinks Richard Gere, her husband, is cheating on her. So she hires a detective to keep an eye on him. She meets the detective for dinner one day, nothing sexual, just to get a status report. They fight their own feelings for each other, just implied by Susan's rather heavy breathing around him or his nervous glances. But then she's always the good or the jilted or the dying wife. Remember Step Mom? Anyway, this story has an ending that is too happy even for the greatest optimist to handle. So somewhere after 70 tiresome minutes..
Susan Sarandon: All these promises that we make and then we break , why is it, do you think, that people get married?
Detective: Passion?
Susan Sarandon: No
Detective: What?
Susan Sarandon: Because we need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet. I mean, what does any one life really mean. But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything- the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things.... All of it. All the time. Everyday. You're saying, "Your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it." Your life will not go unwitnessed, because I will be your witness."
And suddenly, it all seems worth it. :)
Oh, the movie has Jennifer Lopez too.
And suddenly it doesn't. :(
Susan Sarandon: All these promises that we make and then we break , why is it, do you think, that people get married?
Detective: Passion?
Susan Sarandon: No
Detective: What?
Susan Sarandon: Because we need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet. I mean, what does any one life really mean. But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything- the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things.... All of it. All the time. Everyday. You're saying, "Your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it." Your life will not go unwitnessed, because I will be your witness."
And suddenly, it all seems worth it. :)
Oh, the movie has Jennifer Lopez too.
And suddenly it doesn't. :(
Roses are red
They just shouldn't have done this! They shouldn't have started airing Desperate Housewives on Friday night. I've stopped thinking of even daring to dream of making other plans, even by mistake! Man, I'm addicted to the damn show! I'll probably think twice if I had to miss it to go out for dinner on my sister's birthday. I'll definitely think twice if it was with my Jaan! I didn't watch the live telecast of the Emmy's but I sure as hell am glad, Felicity won! Yeah we're Friday friends which gives me the right to call her Feli if I want to. I just love it. I love the fake plastic flowers and the manicured lawns and the cute supposed-to-be-plumber-but-actually-a-detective guy, yes..Mike! You know what, I'm not exaggerating. The reality is, it's much better than all of that.
Anyway, before you imagine a television junkie, let me dazzle you with my brilliance.
Oh gotta sign off. Maybe you'll get lucky some other day! :P
Anyway, before you imagine a television junkie, let me dazzle you with my brilliance.
Oh gotta sign off. Maybe you'll get lucky some other day! :P
Thursday, September 15
Can this be me?
What Path Do You Take In Life?
Was on the path of self-discovery and as usual, there was a slight detour.
Does your name begin with: D
Once you get it into your head that you want someone, you move full
steam ahead. You do not give up your quest easily. You
are nurturing and caring. You are highly passionate, loyal, and intense in your
involvements, sometimes possessive and jealous. You are very sharp &
talented often with sense of humour. When people bother to look deep
inside they cannot resist what they see. You are stimulated by the eccentric
and unusual, have a free and open attitude. You get jealous of
other people and lose your temper .
Traveled. Who
wants to go where everyone else has already gone
anyway? You look for the hidden
paths, ones most don't see and don't care to
venture down. You go boldly and
stand proud discontent with what's been put in
front of you, determined to find
a way perfect for you even no one else will take it
with you. You live as you
want and not for others, but be careful not become
selfish. Others may need you
and you should be there for them, especially the
ones close to you. You tend to
be the leader in most situations and people listen
and trust you not lead them
astray. Your firm in your opinions and beliefs and
unwilling to change yourself
to suit other people. By the same token, you can be
stubborn to a fault, change
isn't always a bad thing you know. Everyone changes
and grows, you shouldn't try
to stay exactly the same or you could be left
behind. Then again, you may change
frequently. Some people change to fit in, you my
little non-conformist, may
change to be set apart. It's great to be different,
but it's also just as great
to have things in common with people, even if those
people are in that "crowd"
you seem to have a vendetta against. Don't try to
be different, just be who you
are, whoever that is and you'll be unique all on
your own. So make some time for
people, let yourself blend into the crowd every
once in awhile, you may just
learn something about them and yourself you never
knew before.
Was on the path of self-discovery and as usual, there was a slight detour.
Does your name begin with: D
Once you get it into your head that you want someone, you move full
steam ahead. You do not give up your quest easily. You
are nurturing and caring. You are highly passionate, loyal, and intense in your
involvements, sometimes possessive and jealous. You are very sharp &
talented often with sense of humour. When people bother to look deep
inside they cannot resist what they see. You are stimulated by the eccentric
and unusual, have a free and open attitude. You get jealous of
other people and lose your temper .
Tuesday, September 13
I couldn't have said it better
A WEEK AFTER KATRINA - A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE
Author - ANIL CHAWLA
The true test of any individual or society or nation comes when it faces
adversity. United States of America faced such a test on 29 August 2005 when
Hurricane Katrina with wind speeds of more than 100 mph touched ground.
Katrina has been called as "a natural disaster of unprecedented proportions
for America". There can be no disputing the fact that Katrina has caused
extreme destruction in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana (especially
Greater New Orleans). Katrina had a strong impact on Florida. She also
affected Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and many other Eastern U.S.
states.
Having said that, let us note that the percentage of population that has
been affected is less than five or ten per cent of the population of USA.
New Orleans, that has been the worst affected, had a population of less than
half a million before the disaster struck (484,674 as per 2000 census).
USA's population is around 296 million. So, the population of New Orleans is
less than 0.2 per cent of the country's population. Given the fact that USA
is a developed and rich country, it stands to reason that the country should
have had no problems in facing up to an event that affected such a miniscule
percentage of its population.
Compare this with the Tsunami disaster that struck a small poor country like
Sri Lanka (along with India and some others) on 26 December 2004. Sri
Lanka's population is about 20 million. About 40 per cent of the country's
population was affected by Tsunami waves. The number of deaths was much
higher in Sri Lanka than in case of the tragedy in South East USA. Yet, Sri
Lanka faced the disaster with much more aplomb. If my memory serves me
right, there were no rotting corpses in Sri Lanka a week after Tsunami waves
struck. In Sri Lanka there was no looting; there were no rapes; army and
police did not have to fire a single shot against civilians on rampage; and
even though there was a severe shortage of resources, there were no
allegations of discrimination based on either race or religion or caste.
Now compare it with the total anarchy that prevailed in New Orleans. A few
glimpses:
* As I write it, the news has just come in that the people, holed up in the
city's famous (now infamous) sports stadium called Superdome, have been
evacuated. About 70,000 persons had taken shelter in this stadium. Many died
in this shelter due to starvation, dehydration and also due to attacks by
criminal gangs.
* The ambulance service in charge of taking the sick and injured from the
Superdome suspended flights after a shot was reported fired at a military
helicopter. Richard Zuschlag, chief of Acadian Ambulance, said it had become
too dangerous for his pilots.
* Police shot and killed at least five people after gunmen opened fire on a
group of contractors traveling across a bridge on their way to make repairs.
* Organized and well-armed gangs were roaming in the streets, looting empty
houses and ransacking shops.
* There may be no better way to explain the desperation on the city's
ravaged streets than this: In the past few days, two police officers took
their lives with their own weapons and dozens have turned in their badges.
* On Tuesday, 6 September, corpses were still lying all around the place.
Probably, the priority is to move the living before taking care of the dead.
* Voluntary, religious and charity organizations have been conspicuous by
their absence. One reads that about USD 300 or 400 million has been raised
by charity organizations including Red Cross but there are hardly any
volunteers out in the field helping out.
* There are widespread accusations that African Americans (blacks, in
politically incorrect language) are being discriminated against. African
Americans formed 67 per cent of the population of New Orleans.
* Tsunami had come without prior warning, but there was a warning of at
least two clear days for Katrina. On Sunday, 28 August New Orleans Mayor,
Ray Nagin, had ordered mandatory evacuation of the city. All those who had
cars fled. Motorways were jammed. George Bush declared state of emergency.
But no one made any arrangements for evacuation of poor people (read blacks)
who did not own cars. They just moved into shelters like the one in
Superdome where they were abandoned to rot, without food, water, toilet
facilities and police protection.
The picture that emerges from the above glimpses is one of sheer neglect and
callous insensitivity of a country, which claims to be the world's richest
and most powerful. There have been strong comments from various quarters
about the attitude of President George W Bush and his team during this
crisis. He was vacationing when the crisis occurred and he took it very
lightly. It has also been said that he suffers from a
compulsive-obsessive-disorder that forces him to focus exclusively on Iraq
and the so-called war against terrorism even when there is a category-five
hurricane knocking at his doors. These are strong words about a person who
is surely, human and suffers from infirmities that all humans, and in
particular politicians across the world, are susceptible to.
It is easy and a bit too tempting to join the chorus of Skin-Bush-Alive (not
counting the innumerable unprintable slogans about Bush circulating on the
net). While one cannot defend George W Bush, it is important to understand
that the malaise is more deep-rooted and will not disappear if George Bush
is hanged on the nearest electric pole.
Sitting in India, nobody I know can understand how a rape can occur in a
sports stadium packed with 70,000 people. Women in India feel safe when
there is a crowd and are afraid only when it is lonely. Temporary camps are
routinely set up in India to house persons displaced due to either floods or
riots or tsunami or some other calamity. Police protection in such camps is
virtually non-existent. Yet, women have never felt unsafe in any such camp.
There must be something drastically wrong in a society that cannot remain
peaceful and orderly without an omnipresent policeman.
Americans like to talk about this or that poor country drifting into
statelessness. The truth is that their own country has reached the stage of
societylessness. Society, as an organic being, has ceased to exist in USA.
New Orleans, with its population of less than half a million, is a small
town. In any small town in India, everybody seems to know everyone else and
while in normal times there may be petty rivalries and quarrels, in times of
crisis, the whole town stands up together as one. This did not happen in New
Orleans. The looting, ransacking, intimidation, rapes, and murders were the
handiwork of citizens of New Orleans. The so-called normal law-abiding
citizens had no spirit or willingness to rise up and face the destructive
elements within their own brethren. Each one of them trusted the state to
take care of these matters and abdicated their responsibility as a
responsible member of the society. The fiasco at New Orleans would hopefully
make Americans realize that there can be a society and a country without a
formal state, but a state without a society has a precarious existence.
Every society needs leaders and traditionally persons heading the state have
provided leadership to the society in times of crisis. Though, of course,
there are many other leaders that spring up in difficult times. New Orleans,
in particular and USA, in general, have suffered from the total absence of
leadership. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has been fuming over what George W
Bush did not do. He may well be right. But there are things that Ray Nagin
has also failed to do. He failed to provide leadership to his people in this
hour of crisis. I saw an aerial photograph of large number of inundated
school buses lined up in a yard. Why were these not called up on the day
before the hurricane struck to move people out of town? Was it not possible
to make teams among people holed up in the Superdome to take up self-defense
and policing? Was it not possible to contact, inspire and motivate voluntary
agencies across USA to take up relief work? No American commentator has
raised these questions. Probably because, all this sounds too strange in a
country where people are held together by the order of law implemented by
the state. In most other countries, social bonds and duties are stronger and
more important than laws laid down by the state. In times of crisis and
adversity, it is these social bonds and duties that help the society
survive. In USA there is no society, it is just individuals who tolerate
each other to the extent that the policeman in the street bids them to. When
there is no policeman, some of these individuals jump at the throats (or
groins) of some others, while everyone else just looks away.
United States of America must take a critical look at its social bonds and
structures. For two centuries or so the values of America have been
selfishness and self-centeredness. Religion, as a way of thinking and life,
has been dying a slow death in the mainstream of American thought. There is
no doubt that Christianity is today more potent force in American politics
than it ever was in the past hundred years. Conservatives and evangelists,
who exploit Christianity as a political weapon, have reduced Christianity to
either a ritual of going to Church every Sunday or parroting all that is
written in the Bible or a set of family values where one rises above one's
own selfishness and spends quality time with one's children on every
weekend. The classic Christian values of compassion, universal brotherhood,
love and care, willingness to sacrifice one's pleasures for the other - are
essential for the existence of any society. It is these values that seem to
have vanished from United States of America.
An oriental value that could possibly be useful for America is respect for
elders. Americans see old persons as painful but unavoidable baggage. In
oriental societies, old and experienced provide moral guidance. In a way, at
a micro level, aged persons provide leadership to the society in eastern
countries. In the absence of such a leadership in America, might-is-right or
bullyism or ruffianism holds sway, as it happened in the Superdome at New
Orleans.
But, one cannot really blame the bullies of New Orleans. They were only
doing what America has been doing for the past many decades on the
international arena. Unfortunately for USA, the ethos of might-is-right when
internalized among her own people leads to results, which are truly
terrible.
Hurricane Katrina, in spite of its category five status, would have only
been a small blip in the history of USA. But by exposing the collapse of
society in USA and by demonstrating her incapability of handling adversity,
the hurricane has created circumstances that will influence the progress of
world history in the next few decades. USA has too many enemies across the
world. While you and I sympathize with the unfortunate people of New
Orleans, the enemies of USA are rubbing their hands with glee at having seen
a big chink in the armor. They know that a nation without a society cannot
face adversity and a country that cannot face adversity is doomed, sooner or
later. Many of these enemies of USA predict that USA will meet the same fate
as USSR, probably even worse than that. Time alone will prove them either
right or wrong.
If the people of USA look at Katrina as a blessing in disguise and see her
as an opportunity for them to understand their weaknesses as a society and
rebuild the damaged social structure of their country, 29 August 2005 would
be remembered as the golden turning point in the history of USA. On the
other hand, well, I dread to even imagine that. Please join me in wishing
the best to America and her people!
ANIL CHAWLA
6 September 2005
Author - ANIL CHAWLA
The true test of any individual or society or nation comes when it faces
adversity. United States of America faced such a test on 29 August 2005 when
Hurricane Katrina with wind speeds of more than 100 mph touched ground.
Katrina has been called as "a natural disaster of unprecedented proportions
for America". There can be no disputing the fact that Katrina has caused
extreme destruction in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana (especially
Greater New Orleans). Katrina had a strong impact on Florida. She also
affected Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and many other Eastern U.S.
states.
Having said that, let us note that the percentage of population that has
been affected is less than five or ten per cent of the population of USA.
New Orleans, that has been the worst affected, had a population of less than
half a million before the disaster struck (484,674 as per 2000 census).
USA's population is around 296 million. So, the population of New Orleans is
less than 0.2 per cent of the country's population. Given the fact that USA
is a developed and rich country, it stands to reason that the country should
have had no problems in facing up to an event that affected such a miniscule
percentage of its population.
Compare this with the Tsunami disaster that struck a small poor country like
Sri Lanka (along with India and some others) on 26 December 2004. Sri
Lanka's population is about 20 million. About 40 per cent of the country's
population was affected by Tsunami waves. The number of deaths was much
higher in Sri Lanka than in case of the tragedy in South East USA. Yet, Sri
Lanka faced the disaster with much more aplomb. If my memory serves me
right, there were no rotting corpses in Sri Lanka a week after Tsunami waves
struck. In Sri Lanka there was no looting; there were no rapes; army and
police did not have to fire a single shot against civilians on rampage; and
even though there was a severe shortage of resources, there were no
allegations of discrimination based on either race or religion or caste.
Now compare it with the total anarchy that prevailed in New Orleans. A few
glimpses:
* As I write it, the news has just come in that the people, holed up in the
city's famous (now infamous) sports stadium called Superdome, have been
evacuated. About 70,000 persons had taken shelter in this stadium. Many died
in this shelter due to starvation, dehydration and also due to attacks by
criminal gangs.
* The ambulance service in charge of taking the sick and injured from the
Superdome suspended flights after a shot was reported fired at a military
helicopter. Richard Zuschlag, chief of Acadian Ambulance, said it had become
too dangerous for his pilots.
* Police shot and killed at least five people after gunmen opened fire on a
group of contractors traveling across a bridge on their way to make repairs.
* Organized and well-armed gangs were roaming in the streets, looting empty
houses and ransacking shops.
* There may be no better way to explain the desperation on the city's
ravaged streets than this: In the past few days, two police officers took
their lives with their own weapons and dozens have turned in their badges.
* On Tuesday, 6 September, corpses were still lying all around the place.
Probably, the priority is to move the living before taking care of the dead.
* Voluntary, religious and charity organizations have been conspicuous by
their absence. One reads that about USD 300 or 400 million has been raised
by charity organizations including Red Cross but there are hardly any
volunteers out in the field helping out.
* There are widespread accusations that African Americans (blacks, in
politically incorrect language) are being discriminated against. African
Americans formed 67 per cent of the population of New Orleans.
* Tsunami had come without prior warning, but there was a warning of at
least two clear days for Katrina. On Sunday, 28 August New Orleans Mayor,
Ray Nagin, had ordered mandatory evacuation of the city. All those who had
cars fled. Motorways were jammed. George Bush declared state of emergency.
But no one made any arrangements for evacuation of poor people (read blacks)
who did not own cars. They just moved into shelters like the one in
Superdome where they were abandoned to rot, without food, water, toilet
facilities and police protection.
The picture that emerges from the above glimpses is one of sheer neglect and
callous insensitivity of a country, which claims to be the world's richest
and most powerful. There have been strong comments from various quarters
about the attitude of President George W Bush and his team during this
crisis. He was vacationing when the crisis occurred and he took it very
lightly. It has also been said that he suffers from a
compulsive-obsessive-disorder that forces him to focus exclusively on Iraq
and the so-called war against terrorism even when there is a category-five
hurricane knocking at his doors. These are strong words about a person who
is surely, human and suffers from infirmities that all humans, and in
particular politicians across the world, are susceptible to.
It is easy and a bit too tempting to join the chorus of Skin-Bush-Alive (not
counting the innumerable unprintable slogans about Bush circulating on the
net). While one cannot defend George W Bush, it is important to understand
that the malaise is more deep-rooted and will not disappear if George Bush
is hanged on the nearest electric pole.
Sitting in India, nobody I know can understand how a rape can occur in a
sports stadium packed with 70,000 people. Women in India feel safe when
there is a crowd and are afraid only when it is lonely. Temporary camps are
routinely set up in India to house persons displaced due to either floods or
riots or tsunami or some other calamity. Police protection in such camps is
virtually non-existent. Yet, women have never felt unsafe in any such camp.
There must be something drastically wrong in a society that cannot remain
peaceful and orderly without an omnipresent policeman.
Americans like to talk about this or that poor country drifting into
statelessness. The truth is that their own country has reached the stage of
societylessness. Society, as an organic being, has ceased to exist in USA.
New Orleans, with its population of less than half a million, is a small
town. In any small town in India, everybody seems to know everyone else and
while in normal times there may be petty rivalries and quarrels, in times of
crisis, the whole town stands up together as one. This did not happen in New
Orleans. The looting, ransacking, intimidation, rapes, and murders were the
handiwork of citizens of New Orleans. The so-called normal law-abiding
citizens had no spirit or willingness to rise up and face the destructive
elements within their own brethren. Each one of them trusted the state to
take care of these matters and abdicated their responsibility as a
responsible member of the society. The fiasco at New Orleans would hopefully
make Americans realize that there can be a society and a country without a
formal state, but a state without a society has a precarious existence.
Every society needs leaders and traditionally persons heading the state have
provided leadership to the society in times of crisis. Though, of course,
there are many other leaders that spring up in difficult times. New Orleans,
in particular and USA, in general, have suffered from the total absence of
leadership. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has been fuming over what George W
Bush did not do. He may well be right. But there are things that Ray Nagin
has also failed to do. He failed to provide leadership to his people in this
hour of crisis. I saw an aerial photograph of large number of inundated
school buses lined up in a yard. Why were these not called up on the day
before the hurricane struck to move people out of town? Was it not possible
to make teams among people holed up in the Superdome to take up self-defense
and policing? Was it not possible to contact, inspire and motivate voluntary
agencies across USA to take up relief work? No American commentator has
raised these questions. Probably because, all this sounds too strange in a
country where people are held together by the order of law implemented by
the state. In most other countries, social bonds and duties are stronger and
more important than laws laid down by the state. In times of crisis and
adversity, it is these social bonds and duties that help the society
survive. In USA there is no society, it is just individuals who tolerate
each other to the extent that the policeman in the street bids them to. When
there is no policeman, some of these individuals jump at the throats (or
groins) of some others, while everyone else just looks away.
United States of America must take a critical look at its social bonds and
structures. For two centuries or so the values of America have been
selfishness and self-centeredness. Religion, as a way of thinking and life,
has been dying a slow death in the mainstream of American thought. There is
no doubt that Christianity is today more potent force in American politics
than it ever was in the past hundred years. Conservatives and evangelists,
who exploit Christianity as a political weapon, have reduced Christianity to
either a ritual of going to Church every Sunday or parroting all that is
written in the Bible or a set of family values where one rises above one's
own selfishness and spends quality time with one's children on every
weekend. The classic Christian values of compassion, universal brotherhood,
love and care, willingness to sacrifice one's pleasures for the other - are
essential for the existence of any society. It is these values that seem to
have vanished from United States of America.
An oriental value that could possibly be useful for America is respect for
elders. Americans see old persons as painful but unavoidable baggage. In
oriental societies, old and experienced provide moral guidance. In a way, at
a micro level, aged persons provide leadership to the society in eastern
countries. In the absence of such a leadership in America, might-is-right or
bullyism or ruffianism holds sway, as it happened in the Superdome at New
Orleans.
But, one cannot really blame the bullies of New Orleans. They were only
doing what America has been doing for the past many decades on the
international arena. Unfortunately for USA, the ethos of might-is-right when
internalized among her own people leads to results, which are truly
terrible.
Hurricane Katrina, in spite of its category five status, would have only
been a small blip in the history of USA. But by exposing the collapse of
society in USA and by demonstrating her incapability of handling adversity,
the hurricane has created circumstances that will influence the progress of
world history in the next few decades. USA has too many enemies across the
world. While you and I sympathize with the unfortunate people of New
Orleans, the enemies of USA are rubbing their hands with glee at having seen
a big chink in the armor. They know that a nation without a society cannot
face adversity and a country that cannot face adversity is doomed, sooner or
later. Many of these enemies of USA predict that USA will meet the same fate
as USSR, probably even worse than that. Time alone will prove them either
right or wrong.
If the people of USA look at Katrina as a blessing in disguise and see her
as an opportunity for them to understand their weaknesses as a society and
rebuild the damaged social structure of their country, 29 August 2005 would
be remembered as the golden turning point in the history of USA. On the
other hand, well, I dread to even imagine that. Please join me in wishing
the best to America and her people!
ANIL CHAWLA
6 September 2005
Sunday, September 11
Saturday, September 10
candy and vinegar
I wasn't really surprised. These days I hardly find anything inspiring. It was like watching a rerun of Friends for the millionth time. Just another joyless incident that I want to dramatize and demand sympathy about. Oh it isn't even important.
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Imposible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing." - Adidas
Had the Vinayaka Chathurthi fiasco again. Same old story. Same absurd pretentiousness. Same plastic smiles. It was plain tiresome. Then why do I even go and participate in this horseplay?
I don't know why L.K.A and Vajpayee are at loggerheads. That too over Khurana. He doesn't seem to me, a significant enough player on the political front. Yeah so he was the CM of Delhi and he must be having a lot of muscle support in the NCR region, which automatically translates into a number of votes but just suppose Vajpayee had supported or even not shown dissent on this issue, atleast the BJP wouldn't look so vulnerable. So open to criticism. It's pathetic. But atleast Bihar has some kinda options, other than Laloo Prasad Yadav! All the million communist parties that seem to have mushroomed everywhere. That reminds me of a really dumb joke.
I don't know how some people are naturally gifted with the ability to narrate jokes well. They make even the most insipid ones sound hilarious!
Anyway an Indian and an American..yeah age-old face-off..wonder why Manmohan is such a meek come-and-take-what-you-want kinda man.. Anyway, an Indian and an American argue about who has the better scientific capabilities and technologies.
The American says, "a woman once gave birth to a child without a leg and our world famous surgeons made an artificial one for him and now he's an athletic champion."
So the Indian retorts, "a woman once gave birth to a child without a head and our world famous surgeons put a coconut right there and he became the CM in India!"
I'm just addicted to Rockstar INXS. I was rooting for Jordis till last week but she seems to have lost all her confidence and she's out of the competition. Now, Marty definitely has my vote. He's better then that overtly envious JD.
I read this post on my boyfriend's blog about how girls are supposed to be these mystrious creatures.
Baby, I have news for you. All it takes is a phone call, a message, some innovative ways of saying "I love you" and maybe carnations once in a while. It's not a conversation filler. It's not another way of saying you're sorry. It's not a weapon, it's not a refuge. It loses it's value when it's overused. It loses it's magic when it's underplayed. It's a commitment, not a last resort. It's a promise, not a compromise. It's damn good fun and I want it to stay that way. For all I care, you can go to Bangalore or Stanford or Timbaktu but just come home to me.
I am an insecure, obsessive fool. That doesn't mean I don't trust you. That's just the way I love you.
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Imposible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing." - Adidas
Had the Vinayaka Chathurthi fiasco again. Same old story. Same absurd pretentiousness. Same plastic smiles. It was plain tiresome. Then why do I even go and participate in this horseplay?
I don't know why L.K.A and Vajpayee are at loggerheads. That too over Khurana. He doesn't seem to me, a significant enough player on the political front. Yeah so he was the CM of Delhi and he must be having a lot of muscle support in the NCR region, which automatically translates into a number of votes but just suppose Vajpayee had supported or even not shown dissent on this issue, atleast the BJP wouldn't look so vulnerable. So open to criticism. It's pathetic. But atleast Bihar has some kinda options, other than Laloo Prasad Yadav! All the million communist parties that seem to have mushroomed everywhere. That reminds me of a really dumb joke.
I don't know how some people are naturally gifted with the ability to narrate jokes well. They make even the most insipid ones sound hilarious!
Anyway an Indian and an American..yeah age-old face-off..wonder why Manmohan is such a meek come-and-take-what-you-want kinda man.. Anyway, an Indian and an American argue about who has the better scientific capabilities and technologies.
The American says, "a woman once gave birth to a child without a leg and our world famous surgeons made an artificial one for him and now he's an athletic champion."
So the Indian retorts, "a woman once gave birth to a child without a head and our world famous surgeons put a coconut right there and he became the CM in India!"
I'm just addicted to Rockstar INXS. I was rooting for Jordis till last week but she seems to have lost all her confidence and she's out of the competition. Now, Marty definitely has my vote. He's better then that overtly envious JD.
I read this post on my boyfriend's blog about how girls are supposed to be these mystrious creatures.
Baby, I have news for you. All it takes is a phone call, a message, some innovative ways of saying "I love you" and maybe carnations once in a while. It's not a conversation filler. It's not another way of saying you're sorry. It's not a weapon, it's not a refuge. It loses it's value when it's overused. It loses it's magic when it's underplayed. It's a commitment, not a last resort. It's a promise, not a compromise. It's damn good fun and I want it to stay that way. For all I care, you can go to Bangalore or Stanford or Timbaktu but just come home to me.
I am an insecure, obsessive fool. That doesn't mean I don't trust you. That's just the way I love you.
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