Modi, Raga and Avengers : The show must go on..

Modi, raga and avengers.
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Are you all not exhausted reading discussions on the colour of chaddis, on the chors and chowkidars?
During this election, the most hilarious quotes I heard in my surroundings were in the form of statistics.
Some say “clean sweep”, others say 300 plus.
And then the old man whom I sat next to in the flight declared 220+help of allies for NDA will be the way forward to form a new Sarkar. He explained in detail during the 55-minute journey on why he believes in BJP not winning more than 220. He presented the report state wise. It was like a thesis paper supported by facts and figures. I wish he knew so many details about his wife side relatives.
Every street corner has an adda, a discussion, an opinion, a perspective a judgment and a strong conviction.
It is a good thing in democracy to have the freedom to discuss debate and chose one’s representatives.
A section of the crowd is lamenting on INC not choosing Priyanka Gandhi to fight MODI, while others declare her as trump card not to be wasted for a single-seat, but use her to maximize the number.
If ISIS did not take responsibility for Sri Lankan bombings may be a section of media would have attributed the same to MODI. And a couple of leaders like Omar Abdullah, Mehboob mufti and few other too might have jumped in to seize the opportunity.
If there are incidents of bombings resulting in deaths of innocents, all of us should come out united and condemn it openly rather than blaming America.
If we do not take a stand against terror and indulge in whataboutery, believe me, someday not very far from today we or our loved ones too will be at the receiving end, and then it will be too late to even condemn.
In the same breath, I want to add, please do not alienate Muslims in your neighbourhood from the dialogue and discussion based on what an XYZ person of same faith has done elsewhere.
Inclusiveness is the only way forward and the only road to peace. There are good and bad people in every REGION, RELIGION, CASTE AND COUNTRY Instead of generalizing, Judge a person based on what he or she personally stands for.
Vandemataram, abinandam, airstrikes, Pulwama Ghar mein ghus ke maara, mai chowkidar hoon : nice catchphrases … full marks to the campaign designers
Rafael, GST, jobs data, nyay scheme, sister as brahmastra and demonetization: good homework well done
The biggest dilemma for a voter who doesn’t want to vote for Modi is the perception of not having an alternative.
Rahul Gandhi couldn’t successfully create an image of being a prime ministerial candidate in the minds of the voter and that is also helping Narendra Modi.
If we keep all this election discussion aside for a minute and try to take a breath, then there is this sudden influx of data from all the angles on AVENGERS – END GAME.
When I confessed to not knowing a word about it, I got glimpses of being a cavewoman.
The daughter started whispering in the father’s ear something, then he picked up the phone and they booked 2 tickets to watch the movie. I said thank you for sparing me from that multicolour nonsense, I feel blessed to have complete control over all the remote controls in the house for 3 full hours. The dogs too remain disciplined in their absence.
I prefer a kalank not "kalank - the daag " but kalank the movie over avengers any day.
I come to work to close some important issues but I find a euphoria on many faces, on prodding they revealed like prize winners on how they seized the tickets for first day itself through a very competitive and tedious booking process, few crazy guys are going to watch it back to back on Friday Saturday and Sunday.
The talk centred around this movie though came in like a breath of fresh air but in retrospect I find the election debates more tantalizing and entertaining.
Modi or raga …avengers or kalank
The show must go on!

sunderbans - the most sundar trip

This was long overdue girls. An ode to our friendship and our maiden holiday together.
Vishika, Preeti, Nita, Simmi, Renuka and Aparna.
We are a group of 7 friends, call ourselves saptarishis, 7 stars.
2 of them moved to Kolkata at the end of 2018 as their husbands were posted out.
Aparna’s husband took charge as SP Baruipur.
And colonel Renuka and her husband colonel Sameer too were in army headquarters in Kolkata.
We all were missing each other, as it has been 4 months since we departed.
Aparna invited us to take us on a tour of Sunderbans. Renuka too insisted we spend a night with her in Kolkata at fort William and then the 7 of us go to Sunderbans together.
We wanted to spend time together on valentine’s day, but as 14th Feb was midweek we couldn’t afford to take leave and go on a trip.
One among the 5 of us had a daughter preparing for class 10, so Simmi had to stay back in Siliguri for her daughter.
The 4 of us packed our bags and 3 babies and set on a voyage to Sunderbans via Kolkata.
We reached Kolkata around 8 pm on 15th February, col. Sameer received us at the airport (Renuka's husband) and drove us to his house.
The 5 of us set the house on fire. The guest rooms booked in fort William were waiting for us, but we refused to leave home, so Sameer had to leave making the space comfortable for us.
We fed the babies rocked them to sleep and then had long chat till 3 am.
This was the next day of Pulwama attack, Renuka's leave was cancelled so she had to drop out of the vacation to Sunderbans. we decided to cancel the trip and stay back in Kolkata with Renuka, but Aparna has already sent a vehicle for us to go visit her and then head to Sunderbans.
Unwillingly we decided to leave but, on a condition, that none of us will sleep that night. It was 3 am, ALAM the driver who was sent by Aparna to pick us from Renuka's place started calling to locate the address. Renuka guided him.
It was 4 am by the time Alam reached, we had coffee and Renuka packed sandwiches for us to have on the way.
So, Sameer and Renuka bid goodbye to us on a condition that we will spend the night with them on our return journey too.
We promised and hit the road with droopy eyes.
I usually sit in either of the 2 front seats.
If I am not behind the wheel, irrespective of who the driver is I always prefer to ride shotgun.
For courtesy sake, I ask the accompanying men and women their seat preference, if given a choice I would never abandon the front seats.
On that day too I and Alam were in the front seat.
In the next row were nita, Preeti and Preeti's son Nirvan in the third row was Vishika with her 2 little munchkins.
We started the journey towards baruipur, Alam was quite all along, just the occasional small answers to our questions on traffic, RTA’s and citizen discipline on the road.
I have this habit of interrogating drivers as they are the right people to explain geopolitical dynamics,  with elections around the corner, I thought he will have some juicy stuff to share but He kept his tongue tied, made no-lose comments, criticised none.
Alam was a lean muscular man in his late fifties, he had a thick dark mane, was wearing a khaki shirt, regular brown trousers and sports shoes. The uncoated thick glasses in a black sheath frame could partially distract one from the early onset of wrinkles on his cheeks and forehead, they made him look older than his age. The muscular hands exposing the veins on the forearm and the lean erect posture were indicative of the hundreds of hours he put behind the wheel. During his career span of 3 decades, he drove around officers, criminals, memsahibs, arms and ammunition all around the state.
We reached Aparna’s place in the next 2 hours. While on the road enjoyed the sandwiches grilled by team Renuka, but all along it was the invisible Mukesh giving us company. Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam haseen, Humein darr hai hum kho na jaaye kahin , Suhana Safar...
It was our first all-girls trip and it brought us closer than ever before. We took A small break at Aparna’s place, fed the kids and started our journey towards Sunderbans immediately. We were missing simmi and Renuka all along. Out of the 7, only 5 of us could make it to that beautiful boat ride in tranquil waters of Sundarbans.
30minutes into the journey we found fresh fruit stalls lining up the roads in the small villages leading to Sundarbans.
On enquiry, Alam told us that they were fresh local produce. We stopped to snack on the fruit. Alam took a special interest in picking up the best fruits, got them cut into same size pieces, seasoned with local spices. He handed us one portion each and hopped on to the driver’s seat.
I offered him a portion of guava from my share, he took the piece and said thank you. I realized later that offering him fruit was the inception point of the Naughty ideas and thoughts in the minds of my girlfriends watching us from behind.
Both sides of the road were lined up with drum stick trees. When we asked about why only drum stick trees here…. He got into a chatty mode.
If you want to pull a Bengali into the conversation, talk to them about the following 4 things food, music, literature and politics. One of the topics will click with everyone. Food and politics clicked with Alam. He explained about local flora and fauna, answered every question patiently. He narrated 8 recipes with the combination of fish, potatoes and drumsticks. I started making notes mentally of every word he spoke. When we were chatting, for me, only the Car,  the road, Alam and the music existed.
The girls started taunting in English, one said “is this love per sq. feet? “, the other said “wish you belated happy valentines’ day”, the third said this holiday will be the most memorable one only and only for one person … they went on and on only in English assuming he will not understand.
I replied saying stop burning girls, you will all rot in hell one day for not accepting fellow woman’s happiness.
I will not exchange this seat with anyone of you even for a million bucks. They set the discussion on fire and we laughed like crazy all in Alam's presence.
He dropped us at the pickup point and left immediately. We all got down from the car, Aparna’s army was ready to escort us to the private launch. We took snacks, water, nariyal pain etc tugged in the kids and walked towards the banks of the delta of Ganges. One by one we got in and started settling down, that’s when I noticed a smiling man in a t-shirt waving at us, I asked Aparna who is that man waving at us? she said our driver Alam. He looked young and interested in that t-shirt. We waved back to him.
Aparna ensured that we get the best hospitality in our 8 hours launch ride. Served us breakfast and multi-course lunch, we had vodka with us which we mixed in coconut water and drank on sly. Those 8 hours will remain frozen on my soul forever. The sunset, the water, the greenery at both the horizontal ends, the homecoming villagers mostly tribal with a mobile phone in every hand, fellow tourists in various launches, the occasional spotting of animals, the awesome food and most important the company of people who mattered the most to me. We had so much fun sometimes chatting, sometimes just sitting silently; other times clicking pictures, taking turns in babysitting, eating, drinking, watching sunset….
We decided not to spend the night on the island as we had small kids with us who may need medical attention in case of an emergency, so we decided to turn back and head towards Kolkata. Aparna got the bookings cancelled.
Alam was waiting for us on the banks of the delta back in his khaki shirt. We disembarked the boat and headed towards the car. It was going to be a long journey back home. We were lagging in sleep by one night, totally exhausted by now but the company of each other kept us going.
On the way back there was a big candlelight march taken out by one political party in the honour of Pulwama martyrs.
There was another group which came in from the opposite direction leading to an altercation and then riots, right in front of our eyes. Aparna came to the rescue she called the local police station and ensured that we were removed from that spot as fast as possible.
While stay put on the road I decided to get down and go see what the fight was about and who the miscreants were? I carried my phone to record the clashes if it may help police nab the culprits. Unwanted heroics I must say.
As soon as I got down Alam starting shouting don’t go, it is not safe, why are you going…. I didn't care to listen …. when our loved ones are not with us, we become adventurous, if I had my daughter travelling with me, my first worry would have been to reach her to a safe location, here I was independent and free to explore the option of seeing a riot live.
I recorded the fight and came back to the car, Alam was angry now for leaving the car without his permission putting myself at risk. The girls started again in English “see how concerned he is about your wellbeing “, “you and only you surely mean something to him” “he felt hurt after you disembarked the car without his permission” … they went on making naughty comments. We all laughed like crazy sitting amidst a riot, posing a danger to our lives.
We all planned to abandon the car walk backwards to reach the nearest police station and take rescue in it for time being or maybe a night long too. Vishika was readily positioned with her Baby Bjorn in place. Preeti held nirvan tight and we all were in the position to jump off the car and run at a moment’s notice.
But Alam assured us that he will not allow any harm to come our way. He took his lathi got down from the van and started guarding the car against all the 4 sides. His favourite catchphrase was dandha maarke, Thanda koredega, he hurled this at everyone within a meter’s distance from the car.
Meanwhile, a large police battalion arrived, thanks to Aparna she was relaying the information live from the spot to her husband. After an hour of lathi charge tear gas etc the mob dispersed slowly, and our car was escorted out safely from the scene. Alam displayed pride in rescuing us and I praised him to the sky for the same. The girls, as usual, were ranting from behind. we ensured that all our dialogue was only and only in English so that he (Alam) will not get any inkling of how we were twisting the storyline.
We dropped Aparna at baruipur and headed towards Kolkata to a resort at 9 pm. It was another 2-hour drive. Now Alam was on a different high so he was little rash and heroic on the road which wasn’t making the kids seated in the last row very comfortable. He would slow down only when we requested him to. He drove us through one-way lanes, breaking traffic signals. On the way, he ordered someone to get a parcel of fresh fruits packed for us from a nearby village.
As we were nearing the end of the road trip with Alam, the girls started making fun of us even more. Like how he was doing everything to impress me etc. even I joined them in making fun of alma’s heroism behind the wheel.
At 11.30 pm we reached the resort, we all got down from the car, the housekeeping staff collected our bags and left. It was time to bid goodbye to Alam. each one of us took turns in thanking him.
I was the last one to speak to him.
I said thank you very much Mr.Alam, you will be remembered forever from here on.
He extended his hand out for a shake. Holding my hand, he said. Madam, I graduated with English political science and economics from a reputed college in Kolkata. I was the topper in English during that year. I understood every word of your discussion today, I know I am not fortunate enough to be the “date: to anyone of you, but believe me, this ride will stay with me too till my death.
Did I say with the expression of pleasant surprise   "hey Alam a graduate and a driver?"
He said I had 12 siblings, I lost my father at a very young age, it was my responsibility to run the family, so I picked up the first job which came my way without waiting.
Maybe I would have become an English teacher at the most or maybe a proofreader in some publication for getting a distinction in English. That’s all good English can do for us, so let us not take pride in speaking great English. It is just another language, a mode of communication, not even our own, but a borrowed one.
I draw more salary, more perks, and more powerful connections than my contemporary who picked up the job as a school teacher.
……… just because I am a driver doesn’t mean I cannot speak English.
At that moment I saw a Shahrukh khan in him saying “do not underestimate the power of a common man “
We were dumbstruck and at the same time ashamed too of our behaviour, nevertheless, we overcame it in a moment and praised and thanked him once again.
Back in the resort at the dinner, we lamented for not taking his ph. number.
Our Sundarbans holiday will be the most memorable one forever, what say, girls?
All thanks to Alam that he made our maiden holiday the best holiday.
I had to record this for all of us and leave a copy of it here. 2 decades down the lane when we go on a holiday again, we will open this and read then….

Why I want MODI to WIN and also to LOSE

Why I want MODI to WIN and also to LOSE
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Modi is a charmer, a great orator, sometimes a good mimic artist.
Modi is hardworking, capable and dedicated.
Modi is a commoner, patriot and a nationalist.
Modi is a good diplomat, and a great manipulator too.
But in the same breath, I want to add that India is not just NAMO.
We cannot project an individual to be above the state, the moment we do that Modi becomes bigger than India.
When we make a person bigger than the system he is going to represent, remember we are carving a monster out of an ordinary individual. A Frankenstein monster.
You can make me agree to the fact that Modi has done great work, delivered more than any other prime minister could in past 70 years, brought Hindutva agenda to the forefront, curbed radical Islam effectively, cut down on illegal funding to NGOs etc, but in all honesty, with a hand on my heart I can admit to the collateral damage which came in through these policies.
while we were willing to celebrate him, suddenly this new breed of cheerleaders and hyperbole nationalists arrive from nowhere to redefine patriotism and draw Laxman Rekha’s for us everywhere.
Now if we write against him, we are labelled as secular
If we protest against him, we become an urban Naxal.
India can never cater to a billion-plus population if it has its poll policies and practices cantered around only Pakistan, and sadly this election is all about Pakistan.
He is using Pakistan to win an election, and without winning an election he cannot deliver what he is willing to deliver for India is a fair enough argument.
A politician can play as dirty as he wants, to win, to lead, or to succeed …no denying that.
What scares me the most is the future of India in the next 5 years, as we have now changed the political discourse, shifting the narrative from development to warmongering.
In all probability, he may come back to power, and Once he wins the election, Modi should shift the gear and move into the trajectory of “WHAT MATTERS THE MOST TO INDIA – ITS DEVELOPMENT”.
I will not even dare to foresee Rahul Gandhi as the prime minister of India or for that matter any leader from mahagatbandhan. None of them can match Modi’s current fervour or temper in running this country.
What matters the most after winning is will they become the servants of the system or indulge in abuse of power to silence the dissent.
By forcefully and violently quietening the dissent, we are going to do more damage to the future of the state.
Dissent can be answered or silenced only through proper institutions, instead of fighting dissent on the streets Modi and Co Should use the institutions to set new benchmarks.
Imagine an India dominated only by right-wing philosophy; will we not become another Pakistan? do we want that?
Let us aspire for an India which is fair to everyone irrespective of their faith.
Believe me, we are destroying democracy and the state by bequeathing all the powers into one single hand.
Unilateral growth of any single individual or party will not work in the country’s favour.
Let us allow democracy to flourish, systems to do their work, bring in reforms through proper legal amendments.
Let us restore the dignity of every Indian irrespective of their faith and political affiliation.
Allowing someone to use fear, force and intimidation on fellow Indians who do not subscribe to their faith and ideology will be detrimental to our future.
Let us be fair if we want “time” to be fair to our future generations.
Let us rise and raise our voice against intimidation and coercion.
Our faith should not be bigger than our virtues.
Jai Hind 🇮🇳

The back office should now shift the focus from MODI to rigged EVM's.

The back office should now shift the focus from MODI to rigged EVM's.
You know , we just have another 3 days in hand to compile and compose tweets, jokes, statistics , meme's on how elections can be rigged by manipulating the EVM's.
The chamcha's of all the leaders sans party lines should get busy from today on. They have to start writing the drafts of a victory note if the leader wins and also a note in defense of the leader, if he loses .

The chamchas can be seen all over the TV sets on thursday , so they might have started going to saloons, grooming sessions, reading victory notes of famous leaders as they will have to quote them on live television.
They should execute the task of defending the leader by blaming EVM's , polarisation, illiteracy of voters and in the end dump everything on pakistan.
But if the leader wins then praise him to the sky, build an image of larger than life, as he will be watching then on the TV , if the job is well executed then few biscuits will go their way , but believe me if they fail then isolation is the only punishment.
If there is any pair which can give a tough competition to the one of a husband - wife , then it is the pair of a leader and a chamcha. The dynamics are more or less similar, defend your boss.. ( is that not what women do for their husbands ?, defend him everywhere ).
For few biscuits people sell their soul and accept to lead the life of a shadow .
But don't lose heart , remember we come from a country of the great Bhagats singh's and subash bose's .
This nation knows how to rebel against the wrong , and who to remember fondly.
Boses and bhagats singhs contemporaries who played the chamcha's to fuedal lords are wiped out from our memory but whereas even today we sing songs in praise, respect and reverence of the rebel leaders.
They chose to die like a martyr than enjoy the fruits of "JI-HUZURI"
India and indians will stop eulogising feudalism and fuedal leaders soons, the bhaktas and chamcha's will die a slow painful death realising their folly in the final days of their life.
India will rise and awaken truly once again on that day.
for some inspiration on who certifies to be a patriotic leader please read #Conundrum
by #Chandrachurghose & #AnujDhar