"Them"

Kick them.
Beat them.
Whip them.
Burn them.
Kill them.
Maim them.
Rape them.
Simply exterminate them.
And then there will be calm and peace and quiet in this earth after the scum of the earth (read: dirty people) will be eradicated!.
When the end is extermination and vanquishing a race per se, would the means matter?
To you or me or them?

So then with this eventual goal egging one on, everything and anything is justifiable, laced with aggressive intolerance, virulent chauvinism of untold proportions, a warped sense/knowledge of history, irrational pride. (?)

Leading to rabid hatred, blind intolerance and illogical conservatism.

The venom is spreading slowly but surely.
The future is unsettlingly scary.
The future is now.
:(

PS : Soon to be heard : "And then they came for me" :(
But who is going to be left ? [or right] !

my [band] stand!

Stand stand stand - they say.
Take a stand!
Either this or that.

Pro life.
Anti life sentence.

Pro marriage.

Anti live in.

Pro abortion.
Anti birth.

Pro welfare state.
Anti gun rights.

Pro renewable energy.
Anti oil drilling.

Pro left.
Anti right.

Pro peace.
Anti national.

One extreme or the other ?

Which one to choose and take a stand- which shall not be attacked, criticised, ridiculed or derided?

Choose, baby, choose!

Choose, huh, yippee, I made my choice!

Pro choice?

Ughh, what kind of a choice is that?
You have squandered all your choices now!

So let me be.
Pro choice I am … after all, is n’t this the right choice, baby?

A – HA! :)

Got to kill the drought of my posts...

As hockey moms ...oops, excusez moi, (forget I ever said that)... as Ms. Gorgeous would put it in her folksy manner, "Kill, baby, kill!"

Oh, she is currently No.1 on my Favourite People list. She knocks me over, literally! And tops it over by giving me this labyrinthine complex.

Pray, why, you may wonder ? Nopes, not about the gorgeous part. [Despite my 'cool glasses" look, I can't match the beauty contest material of Ms. Gorgeous with her hotshot glasses.]

Well, the story actually goes back to the one day (a little less than 24 hours may be) I spent in Ayodhya when I was 10 -11 years old. So it makes me feel like some big expert on the Ayodhya dispute and pushes me to yearn for greater things in life. After all, I also lived in the neighbourhood of Ayodhya for a few years over and above the one day visit.

No wonder Mr. Nice is floored by Ms. Gorgeous!

Its a folksy thing, people! You gotto catch it... while you can ;) LOL

The Left's right : it just left

Too much drama on the news night today- the Kabul Mission bomb blast, selection of the national cricket team for the forthcoming test tour of Sri Lanka and of course, the biggest of them all - finallement, the Left has left the UPA Government.

Watched a fiery session of Barkha Dutt interviewing Ms. Brinda Karat and Mr. Kapil Sibal couple of hours back and the acidic crossfire between the two, of course with Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad from the BJP chipping in about his great party here and there (reminding me of mustard seeds tempered in a hot dish of sambhar)!

I found the exchanges between Ms.Karat and Mr.Sibal riveting – clearly that’s the effect the news channels aim for with TV audiences, a good match - in terms of English communication skills, media savviness, boldness (even temerity), adroitness at twisting around words and coming up with derisive statements made with the sole intention of making the other person in the studio seem like a first rate idiot, solely responsible for the failed relationship. It was raining aces and overhead smashes. [Perhaps the effect of watching a 4 + hours epic Wimbledon final on Sunday night.]

Mr. Sibal asserts ‘bad timing’ and Ms. Karat retorts ‘PM issued a statement on foreign soil’. ‘Hey, hold on, Brindaaa!’ shoots off Mr. Sibal, ‘PM made the announcement aboard Air India – which is considered Indian territory.’ [Whoa, Mr. Sibal, you sure do the lawyer community proud!]

Being no sore loser, Ms. Karat ups the ante bringing in ‘uranium for buses and cars’! [Oops! Which world did I suddenly find myself in ?] And, yeah, there’s more coming, baby...‘why so much push only for the Nuke deal, what happened to the Iran-Pakistan pipeline if energy security is a national concern’, belligerently demands Ms. Karat.

Mr. Sibal’s unfazed response : ‘We are acting in the national interest to end 60 years of our isolation, beyond retaining power!’ What a noble gesture to our countrymen from the country’s grand old party. And then, oozing charm, Mr. Sibal croons, as regards the Iran-Pakistan pipeline, you know the problem, Brindaaa. You know where it’s stuck and how our Petroleum minister is negotiating. Come on [hon].

So on and on it went – Each one justifying one’s position and defending the act of the political party one belongs to.

It just showed how low the relationship has sunk. As Barkha Dutt concluded, there was just so much acrimony and bitterness between the two at the moment that there hardly appears to be space for any reconciliation in the near future.

Well, who knows! Like is often said, in politics and diplomacy (and some other arenas also), there are no permanent friends or enemies - only permanent interests. Maybe the Congress and the BJP should get together. Oh, of course, lest we remember to forget, it will always be in the national interest!

The year of the Lotus has just begun in Karnataka.
The southern bastion has been broken into....

"Khoon (kaun?) in a democracy"

Ladees and juntelmen, bhaiyon aur behenon, aap ke liye haazir hai, ek skit of a different kind....."Khoon (kaun?) in a democracy"
[Er, how different, you be the judge!]

Claps and then….

A voice wails: "And there she lies, her blood soaked body…her life cut short by this dastardly act."
"Murder, murder, murder!"
[no, no, yeh Mallika nahi hai bhai, aise kamar ke close-ups nahi milnewala.]

Another voice joins in: "She gave her life for the country and its people! Her people!"
"Hail Martyr!"
[oops, sorry Hitler, but this line really sounded good here.]

A voice questions: "Is it a jinx or a curse? Father, sons and now the daughter? Aey Khuda, ab aur kaun bacha hai ?"

Somewhere not sure from where, a distant echo : "Abhi aur hai na! Sad 'Woh' (!), ladka and chokri abhi hai."

A voice whispers: "Khandaan ka naam tho abhi roshan karna hai!"

An agitated voice, counter-whispers: "Arey, arey, naam! Naam tho khandaan ka nahi hai, magar khoon hai na ? Jaldi naam badal dalo! Aakhir khoon khoon hi hai!"
[Bhaisaheb, khoon khoon ke sevaai, aur kya ho bhi saktha hai?]

Sad 'Woh': "Unki aakhri tamanna … unhone likhke rakhkha hai! Ab jo hoga, jaise mohtarma chahthi thi….. Mein unki ichcha ka paalan karoonga. Her wish is my command."
[AaaH!! How romanteeeq.]

A voice sternly announces: Sad 'Woh' ko tashreef karne ke liye bolo. Chori se bolo kuch naach gana na karen. Ladke ko bulao!

Mohtarma ke anthim vasiyat naama sunai ja rahi hai!

"Yeh party, meri party … iske liye maine kya nahi kiya hai…. Kitne baar jail gayee hoon, hazaaron case ladi hai maine,….. aur apna khoon bahaya hai. Aur mera khoon hi isse aage le jaayega. Aur kaun hai ?"

[Right, who else can take 10 % cuts, build mansions, open multiple bank accounts across Europe, jet-set between Dubai, New York and London. Oh, London, a bit more… New York too long, you see, gets a bit boring.]

Voices : "Ab usko yeh zimmedari leni padegi. Ladke ko. Magar padai katam karne ke baad. Abhi chota aur nadaan hai. …"

[Chota bachcha samaj ke humno na samjhana re!]

Beta ka durbar mein pravesh!

Voices : "Kitna smart dikhta hai na ? Kuch "higher studies" kar raha hai, bolte hai.
Maaloom nahi kya. "Abroad" mein!
Achchi baat hai! Aakhir uski maa ka beta hai.
Khoon ka rishta hai."

[Oh Mother! Lead us from darkness to light. Take us out of this drudgery. We shall all get our deliverance from this mire through and only through your bloodline. Yessssss!]

Beta : I shall follow my mother's wishes. This was her wish. I have no choice but to accept it. This is the only way democracy survives and democracy is the need of the hour, right now, right here. We believe in democracy. Lets all vote for my mother and the life given a(way) to democracy.

[Beta ho to aisa!!]

Sad 'Woh', in a discerning tone: "Ladka naadan hai. Aur tab tak…..main hoon na!"

[Of course, Sad saheb, hum aapke hain kaun jo 'nahi' kahne waale? Jo Zinda wohi Sikandar! Khoon bhari aag, aap mein ab bhi hai. 10 % se 50 % honewala hai!]

Curtain slowly falls. Claps galore. Some silent voices though.

[Legacy, dynasty, democracy, aah!
What legacy do I have to live to… except my own ? Shut up. You just don't have the bloodline, okay ? So forget it.]

[Ok Agreed. I shall start my own business. A political party. And shall bequeath it to my son. Nah, I'll name my daughter as my successor. Being the president for life of a political party is definitely better than being (un)married. Hee hee hee.]

(c) SG : All profits from this skit shall go to the sustainance and promotion of the bloodline of democracy.


DISCLAIMER : This is merely a satirical look at what is happening in young democracies having a feudal outlook (read : India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka... ) There is no intention to cause disrespect caused to any person (living or dead), event or situation.

Democratic attitudes

How different is Nandigram different than Godhra? We- the educated urban middle class and supposedly socially well placed– were shocked and voiced dissent against Narendra Modi for allowing the “state sponsored” genocide but why is there almost a muted, indifferent reaction to the state sponsored genocide that is happening in Nandigram? A people’s protest against acquisition of their land is quelled and suppressed forcibly, a ruling party’s cadre which runs the State Government cordons off the area, goes on a defensive warpath justifying the action taken, the police is asked not to interfere and people are killed. Who cares?


What is the farmer, the land tiller, the landless labourer’s contribution to the national economy ? Why can’t he give (sacrifice) his lands for the national benefit – the benefit of the ‘public’ at large. We definitely need our bigger cars, our high rise apartments, our huge malls, the plush multiplexes, designer brands, boutique restaurants - after all, we work so hard in air-conditioned offices and contribute to the gross national product of the country being its educated class.

It is disturbing to note that this non-inclusive pattern of development is being pursued relentlessly, in most cases in an autocratic fashion, alienating the vast poor underbelly of the country; we justify this snatching away of their lands and forcing a lifestyle change on them without putting in place adequate opportunities and choices for the displaced. We demand and expect that such a class alone repeatedly pay the price for the development of the nation, the fruits of which are reaped mostly by the affluent.

Is n’t there something intrinsically unjust and unfair in such an expectation? Whatever happened to balanced sustainable development and the democratic process? Does it end with singing paeans to democracy ?