December 31, 2014

India's moral Dichotomy : Mourns Nirbhaya and watches Ragini MMS2



Mention the word MMS and people will be titillated to no end as in India this has come to mean sexual content . Ragini MMS2 is a fitting example of moral dichotomy of India
India is a country where people love to flaunt high moral standards but even a cursory look at the Indian society will tell us that the reality is very different. If movies like Ragini MMS 2 do so well despite failing to deliver on quality content, the reason is that they titillate the viewers. Playing with the libidos and making them curious throughout the movie. The fan following of Ragini MMS2.
The very fact that Ragini MMS 2 still trends high is proof enough that people in India love sexually titillating content. We do love taking part in candle light vigils after every “ Nirbhaya” and “Damini” is raped but would round up the day watching the latest MMS in the night may be anytime as the need be.


December 29, 2014

Air Asia 8501 gone missing : How prepared is India's system for surveillance of our air space



The world  witnessed another tragedy in South East Asia when Air Asia Airliner 8501 went missing yesterday. Though there may be striking similarities with the missing of Malaysian MH370 but those are only superficial. Though there was one striking similarity. Both the planes didn't have GPS aided navigation. They were being tracked on radars. Air Asia 8501 carried 155 passengers on board. The Black box is yet to be recovered. The search operations are on  though suspended during the night. Albeit some ships were reported to be searching the area where the Air Asia 8501 is likely to has vanished. 


Air Asia 8501 experienced bad weather that is the likely reason behind this tragedy unlike MH370 which had gone the radar after its pilots turned off the radio transmission. It also changed its scheduled course. 

This tragedy should make us more alert with regards to the safety of our air space.

India has conceived GAGAN expanded as GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation System.  This is with a view to provide better surveillance of our air space. GAGAN will provide better navigation and tracking facilities. It has an approximation of 1.5 meter horizontally and 2.5 meter vertically. 

GAGAN :
The project envisaged at a cost of 7.74 billion Indian rupees is planned in three phases. It has established 15 Indian Reference Stations, 3 Indian Navigation Land Uplink Stations, 3 Indian Mission Control Centers, and installation of all associated software and communication links.

The system will use eight reference stations located in DelhiGuwahatiKolkataAhmedabadThiruvananthapuramBangaloreJammu & Port Blair, and a master control center at Bangalore. 

The Indian government has stated that it intends to use the experience of creating the GAGAN system to enable the creation of an autonomous regional navigation system called the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS).




December 28, 2014

It's raining Beauty for India : Wins 4 beauty pageants this month

Indian beauty on a roll

India is considered a super power in beauty pageants with 5 Miss World and 2 Miss Universe crowns. India is one of the most successful countries in the beauty pageants. India holds a unique record of winning the two most coveted crowns Miss Universe and Miss World in the same year twice, in 1994 and 2000. In fact in 2000 India held 4 major crowns in the world of pageants. This year has been somewhat a repeat of the year 2000 with Indian girls winning four beauty crowns. Though Koyal Rana was not able to make the final cut at Miss World, she made India proud by emerging the topper of the leader board before the final round. She made it to top 10 as the highest scorer. She also won Beauty with a Purpose title and was adjudged the best in designer gown. She was also in top 5 of beach beauty and Multimedia.  After the semi-final the scores were set to zero again and no rounds happened to shortlist the candidates for final. Transparency was missing from Miss World this year as we do not know how the top 5 were chosen. Nevertheless it was a good performance from Koyal Rana. 




Asha Bhatt, 22 year old engineering student from Karnataka won Miss Supranational 2014 on December 6, 2014 beating 70 other contestants. Miss.Miss Supranational is considered 3rd most coveted title after Miss Universe and Miss World. It is better than Miss Earth and Miss International in terms of production quality and Brazilian Beauty portal Globalbeauties lists it as a Grand slam pageant. Miss Earth 2014 was won by host country girl Jamie Herrell. It was second time in 14 years that Philippines won the title of Miss Earth. There has been a lot of criticism surrounding this pageant as the host country makes the semifinal cut almost every year.

Miss Supranational 2014 was held in Warsaw, Poland. She also won the Miss talent round at the contest. Thailand took second place and Gabon emerged third. USA and host country Poland were 4th and 5th respectively







In the same month of December India won three other beauty pageants.
Ruhi Singh, won Miss Universal Peace and humanity in Beirut Lebanon. This is the very First year for this pageant and it hopes to bring peace in the most unsettled part of the world, Middle East..












Swetha Raj, won the coveted Miss Asia Pacific World 2014. This was third year in a row that India won this title. Swetha raj was Miss India Australia as well. The 2014 Miss Asia Pacific World, May Myat Noe from Burma, was crowned on 31 May 2014 but was dethroned after three months.



India’s fourth crown for the month and year is Miss Tourism Queen International 2014 (China Version). India’s Parul Bindal won the crown in Shenzen China on December 12. Here is video link for her crowning moment.


Asha Bhatt, Miss Supranational 2014












December 25, 2014

PK : A movie for 'sickular' not secular


In the movie PK, the director could use a better narrative. Using metaphor of lord Shiva is a marketing gimmick. This is a movie for self-proclaimed secular folks. I understand that the movie attempts to give a message but the story telling was derisive to extent of obnoxious. A movie for pseudo secular, pseudo intellectuals. It seems that to be progressive you need to talk bad about a religion, be it Hindu or Islam. The deformities of the society should not be blamed on the religion. Blame the right people or own it up as a society. You do not become any better just by telling the follies. Religion, in fact is a thing made by us only, the purposes have changed though, throughout the course of history. I do believe in god, although when I think too deeply into it then I am led to believe that real gods are the molecules like amino acids and all, which originated life on earth. The director while attempting to give a 'message' forgot that he is also using religion for his benefit. Is Amir going to denote 3-4 crore he charges, for the cause of religion reform?


December 24, 2014

That thing called 'Power' : Elections and Democracy

“With great power comes great responsibility”, the ever relevant words of Voltaire, the man who greatly influenced the French revolution that gave the world the ideas of Liberty, Equality and Justice. The psychology of power is very intriguing and leads us to a better understanding of as to why men/women with power behave the way they do. With great power also comes the fear of losing that power. It is the fear of losing this power that leads to moral corruption that forms the basis of any corruption. Probably it is this fear of losing the power that compels our politicians to follow every possible way to retain and sustain themselves in power. If only they could realize that the power comes with a responsibility that requires a commitment to commit themselves to a cause of greater welfare of the people, things would have been very different all over the world. Almost everywhere in the world you can find dictators from the continent of South America to Africa to closer home in Pakistan. When they fail to deliver up to the expectations of the people and resort to corrupt means to subjugate them to their power then it leads to another struggle, one of the kind that we saw in the French revolution. Fear of subjugation to this brute power also leads to chaos. One such example in the recent past is the Arab spring. Democracy is a good way to keep in check the trend of dictators assuming powers for a long time, consequently ruining others at the cost of their own good. The success of democracy is India is a glaring example of power of people acting together for a common cause. Hope the successful elections in Kashmir will lead to a responsible and accountable government who will bring together all the different parts of Kashmir. The results of Jharkhand elections are also encouraging from the perspective that the new government will be stable and will devote itself to the welfare of the state.

December 19, 2014

The US says it is monitoring 'forced conversions' in India : India doesn't need to learn either secularism nor it needs to learn managing diversity from a 300 year old country formed on the debris of native american cultures.

United States recently said that it’s monitoring the situation with regards to the forced conversions of non-Hindus to Hinduism. The situation is not as grim as it is made to look in the western media.  Take a look at this for example:




The situation is not as grim as they have tried to make it look in the above mentioned news report.

Christianity came to India before it even reached Europe. They have been living here peacefully and have been allowed to preach their religion. What the above news story completely ignores is the background to the current situation. For centuries the missionaries have tried to lure people to Christianity.It is needless to say that they failed terribly in doing that. Well, that can be part of a different discussion. Religious propaganda of missionaries was one of the reasons behind the 1857 rising , It was then that the British decided not to carry on their religious propaganda in India

Well , it seems that US has forgotten the days when it obliterated the native Indians of North America , In fact wherever the westerners have gone to settle they have almost completely ruined the native cultures there. South American civilizations are a good example of that. The same happened in Australia where the aborigines were sent to the missionary schools to make them civilized. They tried to do the same but were quick to realize that it will not be possible in India. The white man's burden theories were evolved to help them convert Blacks to Christianity. Not long ago Blacks were lynched publicly in that country and racism is still pretty alive. 


India has done a tremendous job at managing its diversity for thousands of years. Western and Islamic cultures are too monolithic and lack the vibrancy that India has. The recent changes may hide the true picture that both Christianity and Islam have tried to convert people. With regards to the present situation, these so called religious conversions are just a strategy to bring notice to the conversions going unchecked for so long. Hindu religion has not been a religion of equality and it is beginning to reform itself. But USA does not have any moral character to preach us. 

India doesn't need to learn either secularism nor it needs to learn managing diversity from a 300 year old country formed on the debris of native american cultures. They should focus more on protecting Blacks from bullets of trigger happy white American policemen and killings of school children. India is capable of managing its issues US lacks the moral ground to preach India.It lacks history and character to preach India. India is not an "ally" in their war against terror. They were the creators of Taliban for their interests in Afghanistan They ignored ISIS thinking that it will help them throw out Assad regime in Syria. Where ever they have gone , be it Vietnam , be it Iraq or Afghanistan or Pakistan they have only made the situation worse. USA is bigger powerful version of Pakistan, may be even worse. Sitting in white house US presidents have changed many governments and then they claim to be the protectors and torch bearers of democracy in other countries. It creates terror outfits to use them then leave them to destroy that country. 


 India does well in keeping them at a safe distance and keep telling them their "place" every now then , in WTO and in climate Talks.We are not yearning to win  America's friendship. They should better look within before they tell India what to do. 


December 17, 2014

Pakistan and its perceived existential threat from India or is it that it needs India for its existence



It would not be an exaggeration to say that despite an independent existence for past 67 years Pakistan continues to see India as an existential threat. The two countries stand at different platforms today in the gamut of world affairs. Ever since Pakistan became an idea and consequently a reality, it has seen India as a threat to its existence but it is also a bigger fact that it needs a perceived threat from India for its very existence today . Pakistan is a country supposedly created for Indian muslims. What could be a bigger irony for a nation created on an identity of religion alone that it could not even keep itself together for 25 years. With creation of Bangladesh in 1971, the very ideology behind Pakistan ceased to exist. It blamed India for the loss of its eastern part not realizing that it never did justice to the Bengali Pakistanis. Pakistani text books continue to hide the truth and blame the Hindu Baniya (merchants) for “Sakut e Dhaka” or fall of Dhaka.  More than 40 years later not much has changed , even today many Pakistanis believe that India carried out 26/11 attacks itself and there are ‘analysts’ in Pakistan who believe that 9/11 attacks were a handiwork of USA so that it could attack Saddam Hussein. Knowing that it cannot defeat India in a direct war, it resorted to covert war (read terrorism).


Be it giving support to Khalistan movement or Kashmir separatists, Pakistan has always tried to bleed India. It helped USA to set up Taliban in order to help arrest the Russian influence in Afghanistan all through the late 70s and 80s. After Russia’s withdrawal from Afghanistan it used them against India.  It even supported Taliban who have taken Afghanistan to dark-age but now the same Taliban is destroying it.  Now it is realizing that it has achieved nothing but only self-destruction and a tarnished global image as well. All because it wanted to ‘settle’ some score with India, wanted to bleed India by thousand cuts. Pakistani establishment need to re-think its attitude towards India. Pakistan cannot claim to be frontline state by fighting against terrorists on its western borders if it breeds terrorists on its eastern borders. Else the results would only worsen with time.The fact of the matter is that Pakistan has failed terribly at evolving a national identity. Pakistan has ceased to exist in many areas in FATA and Baluchistan. Shias are being killed for being shia, sunnis( ahmadis) are being targeted for not being the right kind of muslim. Christians are being targeted with blasphemy laws. The plight of Hazaras is not even discussed in the media because no one seems to care for them. Hindu girls are kidnapped and forced into marrying muslims. The only thing that seems to bring Pakistanis( well most of them ) is hatred towards  India. It was not surprising to see Hamid Gul blaming India for the attack on the army school in Peshawar.

 It needs India to survive else everybody has allegiances which are more towards religion and sects and religions don't need countries to survive. Pakistan needs a huge shift in its orientation towards terrorism. If TTP is a terrorist group them Laskar is a terrorist group too else the time is not far when there would be similar attacks in Pakistani Punjab too. Extremist ideologies do not leave any room for others. We should not be too hopeful that much is going to change in Pakistan  in its attitude towards India because now it is at a point where it needs India to survive , hatred towards India.








December 10, 2014

India's Rape Problem : Why India needs to shed its notions of masculinity

As has been the trend for the past two years after the rape of a paramedical trainee  in New Delhi on December, 16 2012 ,the net sphere was quick to respond to the Uber rape case. The news channels were abuzz with their usual taglines " The Biggest debate of all time" . For Indian Electronic media everyday brings one such news where they can bring superlative adjectives to their best use.  All  the channels covered the incident with elaborate reporting in their panel discussions with participants from the women rights groups , legal experts and of course the political commentators.

The debates were replete with the usual cliches but what caught my attention was the point raised by a lady that it is time that India should discard its notions of masculinity. Men in India seem to celebrate being a man just for being born as one. A more conscious look at the 'masala' movies of Bollywood would suggest the same. From the 'dabangs (Influential men ) 'of UP to the 'Bhais (Mafias )' of Mumbai all seem to have one thing in common, The ultra solid screen presence complete with choicest swear words from Hindi. Without uttering those no man is considered man enough. The movies from the south are not an exception to this trend in fact it is the Telugu movies ,the script writers resort to when they want the 'masala' that will make the cinema goers whistle and applaud. The promos of the latest release of Ajay Devgun feature this dialogue " She appears whenever I unzip my pants" is an evidence of the same .Movies are said to be a refelction of society .

  IF INDIA IS REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT ITS WOMEN THESE PATHETIC CELEBRATIONS OF MASCULINITY MUST STOP.



The boys while growing up in India realize this early that they have got to walk the walk and talk the talk that a 'man' does. This is specially true for the badlands of western UP and Haryana.  On the contrary the girls realize this even earlier and most seem to give a tacit acceptance of the trend and develop a strong sense of security . They learn the difficult art of decoding the male gaze very early if life. I do not want to suggest that this is the only reason behind India's rape menace. There have to be many factors behind it. It is time that we learn to value our women. There seem to be truth in the argument that some men in India just cannot accept the rising status of women. Violence against them becomes as easier way to establish their  self conceived notions of superiority. I feel incompetent to suggest any solutions but do feel that the need of the hour is a big change in the way we look at women in India. We do not need 'feminists' in this country the way the west defines it , all we need is giving the Indian women their right place in the society.But that is going to require a big change in Indian men . Do we want women who want to be paid for their duties as a mother like many women want the western countries. Will Indian women ever demand so , the answer is NO . Indian women are one of the most compassionate in this world and most 'Selfless' as well . It is time we value them not just in words but in our actions as well . They can find many alternatives in this world but going by the reputation Indian men have not many ( from the rest of the world ) will 'tolerate' us. 

December 08, 2014

Sanskrit Vs German and India


Two centuries of British rule over India have certainly left a deep imprint on Indian psyche. It could be seen even during the national struggle where a so called nationalist leader like Jawaharlal went on to say that he is British by education and it was true. Many so called nationalist leaders with their Oxford backgrounds seemed to shun the very impression that Indian education could have some positives as well . Today the convent educated girls are the most sought after in the Indian matrimonial ads and unfortunately it is seen as the only certificate required for being 'cultured' among many wannabe elites of Indian society. Yet they still want a girl " Grihakarya Daksha " meaning adept at managing house chores. Recent controversy of German vs Sanskrit was marked by many jokes doing the rounds in the Indian net sphere targeting Sanskrit  bolster the impression that Indians are yet to understand the antiquity and greatness of Sanskrit. German may have many advantages to offer its students.

English language is a part of Germanic language family of European languages and that way it is German which can be said to be the mother of English. The Indian Foreign services officers give priority to German because only then they get priority to work in English speaking countries. Our Foreign secretary is a German speaker. First modern Europeans to show interest in India were German like Max Mueller and it was his study that made the ground work for the Aryan theory. Though Nazi Germany's claims to Aryan roots were complete bogus. Probably they just stole this word from Sanskrit which means someone from noble family and has been used in India for thousands of years unlike Nazi Germany where it made a sudden appearance. Keeping history aside ,Germany is one of the most sought after countries for pursuing higher education courses and engineering in particular. Knowledge of German may be very useful for those Students. But I was left aghast at the stupidity of some Delhi Radio jockeys using Sanskrit for jokes not realizing that it is Sanskrit which binds us together. A language much older than Greek and Latin. To this day many East Asian languages like Burmese, Cambodian, Thai, Malay and  Indonesian Bahasa show unmistakable imprint of Sanskrit . A languages that predates early christian and Judaism era by a  thousand years.  It is a classical language , a language whose influence continues to extend beyond the time when it is no longer spoken colloquially. Sanskrit and Geeta should not be used for political mileage. The previous government may have had its reason to teach German as the third language in Indian schools but it is our responsibility to make students familiar our future generations with our past. The antiquity of India's civilization and richness of its culture has many admirers. History should not be tweaked for political reasons but history should not be untold as well for the reason that no country can survive being cutoff from its identity and past . The ministry's decision to teach Sanskrit is correct.



December 05, 2014

Climate Change : China and USA the real spoilers come together, Likely to put blame on India for not doing enough in the scheduled climate talks in Lima


Climate change is an issue that should concern all of us. There are countries and populations which are more vulnerable to climate change by the virtue of their geographic location. The small island nations like Maldives, Mauritius and many other small island nations in the oceans across the world face an existential threat. About 50% of world's population lives within 200 kilometres from the coast. The cities located on the coast line like Mumbai, Shanghai and those like Singapore and Hong Kong are among the biggest business centres of the world. Climate change articles have now become permanent features in the newspapers across the world.


 Like always USA is playing it cleverly and has come together with China to play spoil sport and put the blame on India which at present is a distant 4th in carbon footprint. China as expected is the largest at 24 per cent contribution followed by USA at 17 per cent. If the rise in world's average temperature has to be kept below 2 degrees Celsius then these two countries need to do more and not just act like it. As per Sunita Narain, Director at Centre for Science and Environment China and USA together will account for 50 per cent of 1000 giga billion tons of carbon emission by 2100. At present these two countries contribute about 40 per cent. China and USA have signed a deal this November in the run up to the talk being held in Lima, Peru. Under the deal, China committed to cap its output of carbon pollution by 2030 or earlier and to increase its use of zero emission energy to 20% by 2030. The US agreed to reduce its emissions by between 26% and 28% from their 2005 levels by 2025.


“The US-China deal is a game changer, and it adds tremendous momentum to these talks in Lima," says Jody Freeman, the director of Harvard University's environmental law program and the former White House counsellor for energy and climate change. "The US and China are the two indispensable nations on this problem. Together, they’re responsible for 40 per cent of global emissions.”

Todd Stern, the US state department’s climate change envoy, said the US-China deal could push other big polluters such as India, Japan, Brazil and Russia to come forward with their own post-2020 targets. That in turn boosted prospects for a good outcome in Paris

US media has often criticized India for not doing enough as the 4th biggest emitter but what they conveniently forget is that India's per capita emission is about 1.5 tons which is far too less than the world average at 4 and far too below than that of US and China despite its huge population. China has said that it is going to peak around 2030, which means that they are going to add more. India happens to be the fourth biggest polluter because of it 1250 million strong populations. It ranks far below the world average per capita emission. US politicians should focus more on the domestic issues like racism and come to terms with the fact that US no longer has the influence it once had and the world is not going to toe their line. Indians can see beyond beautifully crafted statements and are not fooled by aura of orators. They criticize India for not doing enough for the relationship that Obama once said was important to them. They need to understand that India is not going to be an "ally" they are used to having. When it comes to taking the actions that can really help mitigate the challenges posed by climate change they back off for instance sharing the energy efficient technology with the developing countries as it hurts their companies. India has done commendable job in tackling climate change issues. From ambitious solar energy targets to energy efficiency, we are doing a good job and will continue to do so as we understand that it is for our own benefit.

The Lima talks are a run up to the climate pact deal to be finalized next year in Paris. India is often called the spoiler by the US media be it the WTO deal that it is said to have sabotage a few weeks back. India must resist any pressures and be firm to its stand of universal but differentiated responsibilities. I expect that India's representatives to the talks in Lima will be able to show mirror to USA and China and show to the world that the so called deal is actually an attempt of biggest polluters getting together, acting like they are acting but in reality it falls far behind what they need to do as the 41% contributor to the current situation. 


December 03, 2014

Miss World 2014 : The Early Favorites so far Miss India , Miss South Africa , Miss Australia, Miss Turkey , Miss Indonesia and Miss Russia

This December is going to rain beauties all over. With Miss World taking place in London and Miss Supranational and Miss Intercontinental taking place in Europe. Miss World is definitely in another league as it is much older than the other two. It happens to be the oldest continuing pageant in the world and is back to its home country after many years. Last time it was held in London was in 2000 when India emerged as the winner, pretty Priyanka giving India 5th Miss World crown. It was also a back to back as the previous year Yukta Mukhi of India won the coveted crown. The grand finale of this event will take place on December 14 where Megan Young of Philippines will crown her successor. The pageants has a few fast track events like Sports,Top model, Beach beauty,Talent and Beauty with a Purpose( BWAP ) . BWAP is the most prestigious of them all and fortunately India has always done well in this event. This year as well India has been shortlisted for BWAP and has made it to the finals of other events as well. She features prominently among the early favorites to win the crown. The favorites so far based on media coverage are :

   

My favorite beside Miss India is Miss Russia followed by Miss Haiti. 

Miss Russia : Anastasia Kostenko (Pic Courtesy : Miss World 2014 official website )


December 01, 2014

Gauhar Khan slapped for wearing "Short Provocative Un-Islamic dresses" : Why some Indians want to be custodians of religion and culture

Gauhar Khan Slapped for wearing short dresses and un-Islamic demeanor

It is a well known fact that India is a country where women are associated with pride be it the pride of family,caste, gotra or religion. Yesterday Gauhar Khan was slapped by a fanatic self proclaimed custodian of Islam for wearing short revealing dresses and un-Islamic behavior. Ironically he himself was dressed in jeans and jacket and watched a music show based on Indian version of rock music which I assume is not allowed according to certain sects of Islam .

I hail from Lucknow city and have many Muslim friends and I do not want to give this article any negative hues which may be used to tag me as a bigot. I know for sure that no religion is a monolith comprising of one identity. What boggles me is the pathetic attitude of so called custodians of religions  who assume that it is their 'god-given' right to tell women what to do . Be it how they dress , should they use cellphones and have pre-marital sex. Should they marry someone from another gotra. To confuse the matter we have our scripture which tell us : " Gods reside where women are worshiped " . I think most societies have  denied women the right to decide for themselves and treat them as valued possession that can be used as an object of desires and can be used as object of worship as the need be. The most common swear words in Hindi and English are  same and even sound the same and it is needless to say that they are actually meant to demean the female relatives of the person who is being targeted by those swear words. Ironically in India the god of power takes a female form called  "Shakti " . But I think these definitions and notions take the light away from the gender discrimination issues. The defenders are quick to remind us the age old adage " Yatra narastu pujyante ramante tatre devta " and blah blah blah . It is not about what is written in the scriptures but how it is acted upon . The truth doesn't need to be told. We as a society are yet to come to terms with the rising status of women in India. I am using India in a wider sense here , not just the big cities but rural India as well which by many definition is real India .For sure we have come long way from the days of "sati" and commendable progress has been made particularly in areas of education. But we need to consciously work together to keep our society free of self proclaimed custodians of culture. Culture is like flowing water , it knows what way it wants to take. Indian women with their unique beauty and charms are full of compassion and know where to draw the lines. Indian women are known around the world for being beauty with compassion whereas the men have a quite opposite reputation , though a little too negative and exaggerated.  I think this can be explored more so I will be writing more about it in the posts to come.


November 30, 2014

Continued from the last post ...


One common stereotype of India is 'Conservative' ,yet it is this country that has produced " The Kamasutra". India is not a country that is to be described based on what you see with your eyes only. There may be a very elaborate context to what you witness which when revealed would completely change the way you are looking at something. India packs within itself 5000 years of culture and living in its 1.2 billion people . Hindus still solemnize the marriage going around the sacred fire , a custom that goes back to 4000 years. India is a country that can seem strange to its own citizens , such is the scale of its diversity. I have now tried to stop trying to understand everything about  India with my limited knowledge and an existence that goes back only to 1984. Now I try to enjoy being a native of India ... A land of wonders.

A wonder that is India

If there is one book that every civil service aspirant is advised to read before starting arduous preparation for the toughest examination of India ,The UPSC examination also known as the IAS exam colloquially ;it is the book authored by A.L. Basham aptly called " A wonder that was India ".
It has been in print for past 50 years now and still serves as a stepping stone for foreign origin students of Indian history.

Though I am not a big fan of the book but I am choosing this as the title for my first post with a slight change in the title but that does justice to this land of wonders that I call my motherland. India is a country stereotyped in many ways  We associate ourselves very strongly with our religion.. I remember going to Varanasi ghats with my father as child and I was left wondering why the tourists visiting the country would pay money just to watch a Hindu funeral. But is it necessary to have stereotypes of a land as ancient , as living , as vibrant , as diverse as India .  As it happens with most 'silent' type kids there were things which I could not understand at that time and then there are things which I don't understand even now. Why people worship the idols for a few days only to be immersed in the river a few days later . Why the girls I could play with as a 5 years old child would not be allowed to play with the boys a few years later. Why the railways stations are so dirty despite the never ending  announcements seeking passengers co-operation in keeping them clean. Why the traffic man treats the blue/red beacon cars differently. Probably it was that time when I was dreamed of being in one such car.


Years later I have gained some understanding of my country. I have talked to travelers visiting India second time , just to feel what its like to be in a chaotic place . Ah... that feeling so elusive in their native countries. Tourists who want to leave India blaming some old wise man who suggested them to travel to this 'exotic' land but didn't warn them of the consequences of travelling to a country of 1250 million people where nothing seems to work at the first sight , at least not the way they are used to back home.India is a country with a civilization that goes back 5000 years from present and has retained many of its ancient charms despite numerous challenges and constant attacks on its territory.  India has perfected the art of assimilation without any loss of identity making her culture a kaleidoscopic mix that has no parallel in this world.    Continued.....